Will Nathan Lane and Billy Crudup Headline a Revival of The Front Page?

Broadway superstar Nathan Lane likes to mix plays and musicals, and he may have found his next role: fiery editor Walter Burns in the classic newspaper comedy The Front Page. The New York Times reports that Lane and 2011 Tony nominee Billy Crudup (Arcadia) headlined a starry reading of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s 1928 play on June 6, organized by producer Jeffrey Richards and directed by 2011 Tony nominee Daniel Sullivan (The Merchant of Venice, Good People).

In addition to Lane (most recently on Broadway in The Addams Family) and Crudup, the reading featured John Larroquette (Tony-nominated for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) as Chicago’s corrupt mayor and Dan Lauria (Lombardi) as the crooked sheriff.

The Front Page has been revived on Broadway four times since its 1928 debut, most recently by Lincoln Center Theater in a 1986 mounting that starred John Lithgow as Walter Burns and Richard Thomas as Hildy Johnson.

Although the Times story cautioned that Lane “was not believed to have any immediate plans to play Burns,” Richards, his producer in David Mamet’s November, has ample reason to woo the two-time Tony winner: Lane’s name is a box office magnet, particularly in a “name” property such as The Addams Family, The Odd Couple and The Producers.