Finn Wittrock, Sarah Wayne Callies, Julie Halston and Shuler Hensley to Lead THE GUARDSMAN at the Kennedy Center

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents the Kennedy Center production of The Guardsman in the Eisenhower Theater from May 25 to June 23, 2013. Principal casting includes Finn Wittrock as The Actor, Sarah Wayne Callies as The Actress, Julie Halston as Mother, and Shuler Hensley as The Critic. The cast also includes Annie Funke as Maid, John Ahlin as The Creditor, and Naomi Jacobson as The Female Usher. A fresh Kennedy Center adaptation based on the 1910 comedy by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár, The Guardsman features a new translation by Richard Nelson and is directed by Gregory Mosher. The press opening is Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

Budapest's hottest young actor suspects his new actress wife is getting restless, so he takes on his most daring role yet-disguising himself as a dashing Emperor's guardsman-to test her fidelity and win her love. The Guardsman ultimately asks the question: "Where does the acting end and true emotion begin?"

The Guardsman was performed for decades in a drastic adaptation tailored to the light comedy skills of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Molnár was unhappy to see the passionate heart of his play cut out, but like many a writer before and since, he kept quiet and cashed the royalty checks. Playwright Richard Nelson recently re-discovered Molnár's original version, and has restored the young wife's real despair at being trapped, and her husband's insane jealousy of the other man, who is of course the actor himself. The funny play about the bad marriage is a classic setup, the greatest modern example being Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, while disguised lovers animate comic romps from Così fan tutte to Some Like It Hot. With The Guardsman, Molnár, who is best known forLiliom (the source for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel), created a comedy that ranks among the best of the genre.

The original Broadway production of The Guardsman opened on October 13, 1924 starring real-life husband and wife acting team Alfred Lunt as The Actor and Lynn Fontanne as The Actress in their first-ever collaboration. It ran for 248 performances in the Garrick Theatre. In 1931, The Guardsman was adapted for the screen by Ernest Vajda and Claudine West with direction by Sidney Franklin and featured Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, in their only film, reprising their roles.

The Kennedy Center production of The Guardsman features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

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