Denzel Washington is returning to Broadway, once again fronting a revival of one of the quintessential Great American Plays.
Variety reports the two-time Oscar winner will star in next spring’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh for super-producer Scott Rudin. Rudin also mounted Washington’s last two Broadway revivals: the 2010 production of Fences, which the actor then directed for last year’s film adaptation (above), and the 2014 production of A Raisin in the Sun (which Denzel was just a taaaad too old for, but you didn’t hear it from me.) Both productions won Tonys for Best Revival.
O’Neill’s Iceman was originally staged in 1946, and its three-plus hour length, coupled with the complexity of the leading role of Theodore “Hickey” Hickman – an alcoholic salesman – has made it a bucket-list play for many an actor. Though the original production was indifferently received, a 1956 off-Broadway production starring Jason Robards affirmed the play’s greatness. Robards would reprise the role for a TV production (directed by Sidney Lumet) and again for a 1985 Broadway revival; other stage and film productions have featured Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Kevin Spacey, Nathan Lane, and James Earl Jones.
Washington’s iteration of Iceman will begin previews on March 22, 2018, and is set to open on April 26 at the Jacobs Theater.