World Premiere of HIGH NOON Written by Eric Roth & Directed by Michael Arden Will Come to Broadway in 2023

The world premiere production of HIGH NOON, based on the iconic and beloved Academy Award-winning film of the same title, will arrive on Broadway in 2023.

Based on Stanley Kramer's trailblazing 1952 Academy Award-wining film, HIGH NOON is written for the stage by Academy Award winner Eric Roth and directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Arden. HIGH NOON will become the first Western play to premiere on Broadway in over 85 years.

Mr. Roth has been nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, A Star is Born, Dune and Forrest Gump, for which he won the award. He will make his Broadway debut with HIGH NOON. Michael Arden returns to the stage following acclaimed revivals of Deaf West's Spring Awakening and Once on This Island, for which he received Tony nominations for Best Direction with both productions. Once on This Island won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical that season.

Paula Wagner said: "When Eric Roth presented his vision for a stage adaptation of HIGH NOON, I immediately saw the potential for a theatrical presentation of the iconic story about doing the right thing in spite of public opinion and external pressure. More relevant today than ever, Stanley Kramer's film continues to captivate audiences with a classic Western portrayal of a person standing up for what is right in the face of apathy and rejection. Mr. Roth will bring these classic characters to life in a timeless situation of bravery and civic responsibility. The talent and vision of director Michael Arden will provide a fresh perspective on these classic themes. Hunter and I are looking forward to bringing HIGH NOON to its rightful place on the stage."

The upcoming Broadway production will take place in real-time over the course of two hours, similar to the film. Exact dates, additional design team, casting and theatre will be announced at a later date.

HIGH NOON is considered one of the most influential films of its time, credited for not only advancing the Western genre as a whole, but also the roles and portrayal of women. Turner Classic Movies recently celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the beloved film starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, which received seven Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Score and Best Song, Best Screenplay and Best Picture as well as four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Score and Best Black and White Cinematography.

HIGH NOON was selected by the Library of Congress in 1989 to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." The film's influence has resurfaced throughout the years in not only Western films, but across genres where filmmakers have recreated or borrowed from the quintessential story.

Karen S. Kramer said: "Today....we see our Constitution being challenged unlike any time in our history. The story of HIGH NOON reminds us of what we stand for -- truth, justice and the hard-fought values of our democracy. We are blessed that the future of HIGH NOON is now in the capable hands of such talents as one of the esteemed voices of our time, writer playwright Eric Roth and the stellar producer Paula Wagner. The legacy of Stanley Kramer's HIGH NOON is safely upheld with these two great artists. We look forward to the re-imagined story for future generations."

101 Productions, Ltd. serves as General Manager.

Karen S. Kramer and her partner, Steve Jaffe, serve as consulting producers.

ERIC ROTH

ERIC ROTH (Playwright) Academy Award® winner Eric Roth attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, Columbia University and UCLA. His first produced screenplay was Robert Mulligan's The Nickel Ride which premiered at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. Among the movies Mr. Roth has written include The Drowning Pool with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Suspect starring Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neesan, Mr. Jones starring Richard Gere. He wrote Rhapsody in August for the legendary film director Akira Kurosawa. He wrote the Academy Award Winning for Best Picture Forrest Gump for which he won the Oscar and the Writers Guild Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Other films include The Horse Whisperer directed by and starring Robert Redford, The Insider for which he was nominated along with Michael Mann for Best Adapted Screenplay, Ali directed by Michael Mann and starring Will Smith, Munich directed by Steven Spielberg for which he was nominated along with Tony Kushner for Best Adapted Screenplay, The Good Shepherd directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett for which he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close directed by Stephen Daldry starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, A Star is Born starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga for which he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay along with Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters. He produced David Fincher's Mank starring Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried which was nominated in 2021 for Best Picture. In 2022 he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay along with Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts for Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. In television, Mr. Roth was the executive producer of five-time Emmy Award nominated Best Drama "House of Cards" for Netflix, "Berlin Station" for Paramount Television and Epix, and 2018 Emmy Award nominated Outstanding Limited Series "The Alienist" for Paramount Television and TNT. He is executive producing with Billy Crystal the show "Before" for Apple Television. Currently, Mr. Roth wrote with Martin Scorsese the screenplay for Killers of the Flower Moon directed by Mr. Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. He wrote with Robert Zemeckis the upcoming Here directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for Miramax and Sony Studios. He is writing the adapted screenplay from the Jo Nesbo short story London for Lionsgate, directed by Ben Stiller and starring Oscar Isaac as well as a biopic for Cher for Universal and Playtone and a love story for Netflix. Mr. Roth won the prestigious Laurel Award for Screen in 2012, the Writers Guild of America West's lifetime achievement award. Along with John Houston, he has written the most nominated Adapted Screenplays (six) and along with Billy Wilder, Mr. Roth has written the most Best Picture nominations (eight). He lives in Los Angeles and has 7 children and 6 grandchildren.

Michael Arden

Michael Arden (Director) is a 2-time Tony nominated director for his Broadway revivals of Spring Awakening and Once On This Island. He won the Ovation and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical for Spring Awakening. Once On This Island received the Tony Award for Best Revival and enjoyed a sellout national tour. Other theatre credits include: A Christmas Carol starring Jefferson Mays (LA Ovation Award for Best Play and Direction) which will open on Broadway this Holiday Season, Maybe Happy Ending at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Joseph... at Lincoln Center and ALIEN/NATION with his company, The Forest of Arden, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and a new production of Guys and Dolls at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo, Japan. Michael's new production of PARADE by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond will open this Fall at City Center. He regularly directs The Conners for ABC, and has appeared in numerous features and TV shows. Michael is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and alumni of The Juilliard School. He has been named on Variety's Broadway Impact List and the Winner of an NAACP Award. Michael directs around the globe, and has mounted large scale productions in Russia, Germany and Japan. His company The Forest of Arden seeks to bring immersive, sight-specific work to communities and provide space for inclusive and equitable art. www.theforestofarden.com

Paula Wagner

Paula Wagner (Producer) develops and produces film, theatre, television, and new media projects through her company, Chestnut Ridge Productions. Broadway producing credits include Pretty Woman: The Musical. After Broadway, the show ran in Hamburg, and has been running for a year on the West End. The first national US tour began in 2021 and is now heading into its second year. Additionally, she produced The Heiress starring Jessica Chastain, Grace starring Paul Rudd & Michael Shannon and Terrence McNally's Tony-nominated play Mothers and Sons. Ms. Wagner is a co-founder of Cruise/Wagner Productions, which produced notable films such as Mission Impossible I, II, III, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, The Others, Shattered Glass and she executive produced Steven Spielberg's War of the Words. She served as CEO of United Artists from 2006 to 2008, and earlier in her career was a prominent talent agent at Creative Artists Agency. Recently, she produced the acclaimed movie Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad and Kate Hudson. Additionally, she was an executive producer on the critically-acclaimed and award winning Lifetime original movie Five, five short films directed by five female directors. She produced The Governors Awards ceremony for the Motion Picture Academy in 2013 and produced both the 2011 and 2012 Producers Guild Awards show.

Wagner was honored by Premiere magazine with the Women in Hollywood Icon Award in 2001. The following year she was featured in Bravo's "Women on Top," a documentary which profiled exceptional women in entertainment. In October of 2006, she received the Sherry Lansing award from the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Organization. She was also honored by the Costume Designers Guild with its Swarovski President's Award in 2008, and at the Deauville American Film Festival in 2012. She was one of the recipients of the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in 2016, and the Cameraimage Producer with Unique Visual Sensitivity award in 2017. Wagner is a member of AMPAS, PGA, Broadway League and an ambassador of ReFrame for Women In Film, a formal action plan to further gender parity in the media industry. Wagner is an alumnae of Carnegie Mellon University and serves on the Board Of Trustees.

Hunter Arnold

Hunter Arnold (Producer) Select Broadway and West End: Hadestown (Tony), The Inheritance (Tony and Olivier), A Strange Loop (Tony), Company (Tony), The Kite Runner, Into the Woods, Cabaret (Olivier), Back To The Future (Olivier), Moulin Rouge! (Tony and Olivier Nomination), Dear Evan Hansen (Tony and Olivier). Select Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors. Select Film: A Christmas Carol starring Jefferson Mays. @huntercarnold