The Tony winner will reprise his role from the London premiere of Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of the classic Paddy Chayefsky screenplay, directed by Ivo van Hove.
Four years after winning the Tony Award for best actor in a play for his electrifying performance as Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way, Bryan Cranston will return to Broadway this fall in the iconic role of Howard Beale, the “mad prophet of the airwaves,” in the broadcast news media satire Network.
Lee Hall and Ivo van Hove are adapting the play, which is based on the 1976 film by Paddy Chayefsky. It won four Oscars, including best actor for Peter Finch’s portrayal of Beale. The ever-timely satire depicts a media landscape where the line between facts and fiction becomes hazy. The movie follows Beale, a news anchor who begins to capitalize on hysteria after an on-air outburst results in a spike in ratings for his broadcast.
“We are excited as hell to bring Ivo van Hove’s brilliantly innovative and electrifying production of ‘Network’ to Broadway this fall,” producers David Binder, Patrick Myles, David Luff, Ros Povey, and Lee Menzies said in a statement. “The incomparable Bryan Cranston brings Howard Beale to brilliant life, and we are so thrilled for American audiences to have the opportunity to experience his masterful performance and this spectacular new play.”
“The incomparable Bryan Cranston brings Howard Beale to brilliant life and we are thrilled for American audiences to have the opportunity to experience his masterful performance and this spectacular new play,” said the producers in a statement.
Courtesy of Jan Versweyveld
Cranston first appeared in “Network” at London’s National Theatre in 2017. He previously won a Tony Award for his Broadway debut as President Lyndon B. Johnson in “All the Way.”
Reviewing the production for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Demetrios Matheou wrote: “It’s bold, intelligent, funny, with a conceptual and technical swagger that is sometimes quite breathtaking.” He also praised Cranston, noting that the actor brings “his usual acumen and charm, and a face that he plays like a Stradivarius.”
Belgian experimental director Ivo van Hove, who won a Tony in 2016 for his high-intensity take on Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, staged the acclaimed multimedia production. It transfers from London to Broadway’s Cort Theatre, beginning previews Nov. 10 before a Dec. 6 official opening.
“Network” will begin performances on Nov. 10 and officially opens on Dec. 6. The 18-week limited engagement will run at the Cort Theatre.
(Excerpts) Read more at: Variety.com and HollywoodReporter.com