July 9, 2009–Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will star in a Broadway production of Keith Huff's “A Steady Rain,” bowing at the Schoenfeld Theater in September. John Crowley (“The Pillowman”) helms the show, about two Chicago cops whose friendship is rocked by a domestic dispute.
“Steady Rain” will be begin previews September 10 at the Schoenfeld ahead of a September 29 opening for a run of 12 weeks. Top ticket price will be $130, a first for a straight play.; right now, the top price is $121.50 for “God of Carnage” and “Waiting for Godot.”
The two high-profile actorss already look poised to turn “Steady Rain” into a top-selling hit along the lines of Julia Roberts vehicle, “Three Days of Rain,” which in 2006 racked up weekly sales figures.
Jackman previously appeared on Broadway B.O. in the 2003 Peter Allen bio-musical “The Boy From Oz,” a hit production that despite mixed reviews for the show won raves for Jackman's performance. After winning the Tony, he went on to reprise the role in an Australian arena tour that also pulled in big bucks.
Daniel Craig, whose stage credits in London include “A Number” and “Angels in America,” will make his Broadway debut in “Steady Rain.”
Huff's play had its 2007 world premiere in Chicago, after which it was remounted at the Royal George Theater. In Chi cago, the play starred Randy Feinmeyer and Peter DeFaria.
Creative team for the Broadway staging includes Scott Pask (the set designer who won a Tony for his work on “Pillowman”), Hugh Vanstone (lights) and Mark Bennett (music and sound).
Producing team of “Rain” is led by Federick Zollo, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Wilson and Broccoli are both producers of the James Bond franchise currently toplined by Craig; Zollo, Wilson and Broccoli previously worked together on the financially disappointing 2005 tuner “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
