God Save the Queen! Theater & Dates Announced for The Audience on Broadway, Starring Helen Mirren

We now know when Her Majesty will be gracing Broadway with her noble presence! Peter Morgan’s The Audience, starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II, will begin previews on February 17, 2015 and play a limited engagement through June 28. Directed by Stephen Daldry, opening night is set for March 8 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Further casting will be announced later.

Mirren received the Olivier Award for her performance in The Audience in London’s West End, reprising her Oscar-winning role from the film The Queen, also written by Morgan. 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.

For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses. The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional—sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can’t help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign to today.

The production will feature design by Bob Crowley, with lighting by Rick Fisher, sound by Paul Arditti and music by Paul Englishby.