Brian d'Arcy James to Depart Shrek for Time with Linney and Silverstone

Brian d’Arcy James, who stars as the title character in Shrek the Musical, is departing that show’s belches and bogs for a new Broadway gig. The two-time Tony-nominated actor is set to star opposite Laura Linney and Alicia Silverstone in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still, directed by Daniel Sullivan. The limited engagement begin previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 5 and officially opens on January 28, 2010.

In addition to Shrek, in which James received a Tony nomination and won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, the actor appeared at MTC in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination. He also ppeared in the off-Broadway productions of Next To Normal, Port Authority and the Broadway productions of The Apple Tree, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Carousel, Titanic and Sweet Smell of Success for which he garnered Tony and Drama Desk nominations.

In Time Stands Still, Sarah and James, a photographer and a journalist (Linney and James), have been together for nine years and share a passion for documenting the realities of war. But when injuries force them to return home to New York, the adventurous couple confronts the prospect of a more conventional life.

The fourth cast member and creative team will be announced in the coming weeks. No one has been announced to take over the title role in Shrek the Musical.