Oscar Winner Helen Mirren Will Star in Peter Morgan's The Audience on Broadway in 2015

Her Majesty is coming to Broadway! As previously speculated, Oscar winner Helen Mirren, who reprised the role of Queen Elizabeth II in the acclaimed 2013 West End production of The Audience, will star in a New York mounting of Peter Morgan's new play. The Daily Mail reports that Mirren has confirmed that she will begin rehearsals in mid-January next year, with the show starting previews in February. The drama will officially open at a Shubert theater to be confirmed in March.

The Audience follows the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 to the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. For 50 years the Queen has sat with all of England’s Prime Ministers for private, weekly meetings at Buckingham Palace. The Audience breaks the silence on these highly secretive meetings. Morgan is apparently contemplating adding Tony Blair, who didn’t feature in London, to the New York line-up.

Morgan wrote the screenplay for the hit 2006 film The Queen, which also starred Mirren as Elizabeth II; her performance won her the Academy Award. She earned Tony nominations for A Month in the Country and Dance of Death. Mirren’s London theater credits include Teeth ‘n’ Smiles, The Seagull, Henry VI, The Roaring Girl, Two Way Mirror and Some Kind of Love Story. Her additional film and TV credits include The Debt, Excalibur, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Frasier and a cameo as Becky’s Inner Voice on Glee.