Cast Set for the Cate Blanchett-Led The Present; Broadway Theater & Dates Announced

The cast is now set for The Present on Broadway. Joining the previously announced Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh are the 11 additional members of the world premiere Sydney Theatre Company production, which played its final performance in September last year. Previews will begin on December 17 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it will open officially on January 8, 2017.

In addition to Oscar winner Blanchett and theater veteran Roxburgh, the cast will include Anna Bamford as Maria, Andrew Buchanan as Osip, David Downer as Yegor, Eamon Farren as Kirrill, Martin Jacobs as Alexei, Brandon McClelland as Dimitri, Jacqueline McKenzie as Sophia, Marshall Napier as Ivan, Susan Prior as Sasha, Chris Ryan as Sergei and Toby Schmitz as Nikolai. The Present will mark the Broadway debut of the entire cast.

The Present is adapted by Blanchett’s husband Andrew Upton from Chekhov’s Platonov, which was discovered in 1920 (16 years after the Russian playwright’s death). It follows the widow Anna Petrovna (Blanchett) as she celebrates her birthday with a slew of guests, including the acerbic Platonov (Roxburgh) and his wife. Over the course of the party, unresolved relationships and regret quickly rise to the surface.

The Barrymore Theatre is the current home of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; the Tony-winning play will end its run on September 4.