Jerusalem in San Francisco

[donny4321]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 5:37pm

The first professional production of Jerusalem outside of Broadway and the West End is opening this weekend in San Francisco. Will it be worth seeing without Mark Rylance in the leading role?

From the SF Chronicle article:
Jerusalem, about a complex character known as Johnny "Rooster" Byron - folk hero, scoundrel, drug dealer and rake - makes its West Coast debut at San Francisco Playhouse, and it marks Butterworth's first work to appear on a local stage...

The SF Playhouse production, directed by Artistic Director Bill English and starring Brian Dykstra as Johnny, marks the first production of the play that Butterworth hasn't been involved with, and that's OK with him.

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I can't imagine anyone stacking up to Mark Rylance, but here's hoping that English and Dykstra can do it justice! I missed it on Broadway, and am looking forward to seeing it out here.

Playwright Butterworth juggles stage and screen

[willep]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 6:07pm

I can't imagine anyone else in the role either, but it will be interesting to hear what people think.

[mikem]

Posted: 1/23/14 at 8:16pm

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been another production of Jerusalem since the Mark Rylance version. That version closed on Broadway in Aug 2011. I guess the show is a "big" play in many ways, which may make it less attractive to regional theatres, but I'm still surprised it's taken over 2 years for another version to be put up.

[donny4321]

Posted: 1/24/14 at 2:30pm

I was surprised to learn that as well, it's certainly a daunting play to stage. For what it's worth, the set looks great for a small regional theatre.


Jerusalem at San Francisco Playhouse Updated On: 1/24/14 at 02:30 PM