Complete Cast Set for Broadway's Democracy
James Naughton, Richard Thomas, Robert Prosky and Michael Cumpsty will headline the upcoming Broadway mounting of the National Theatre production of Democracy. Terry Beaver a Tony nominee for The Last Night of Ballyhoo, John Dossett a Tony nominee for Gypsy, Julian Gamble, John Christopher Jones, Richard Masur last seen off-Broadway in Sarah, Sarah and Lee Wilkof a Tony nominee for Kiss Me, Kate will also be featured in the play. Democracy will begin performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on November 2.
Naughton most recently appeared on Broadway in Prymate. He won Tony Awards for his performance in City of Angels and Chicago. His other Broadway acting credits include Whose Life Is It Anyway?, I Love My Wife. His Broadway directing credits include The Price and Our Town. This year, he has appeared off-Broadway in Roses in December opposite his daughter, Keira Naughton, and the Encores! mounting of No Strings.
Thomas played John-Boy in the TV hit The Waltons from 1972 through 1977 and has revisited the character in subsequent reunion specials A Walton Thanksgiving, A Walton Wedding and A Walton Easter. His Broadway credits include Sunrise at Campobello, Strange Interlude, The Playroom, Everything in the Garden, Fifth of July, The Front Page and Love Letters. He has appeared off-Broadway in The Seagull, Square One and Tiny Alice among others. Earlier this year, he appeared off-Broadway in Terrence McNally's The Stendhal Syndrome.
Prosky earned Tony nominations in 1984 for Glengarry Glen Ross and in 1988 for A Walk in the Woods. He has also appeared on the Great White Way in A View from the Bridge and Moonchildren. He has more than 50 films to his credit, including Thief, Broadcast News, Dead Man Walking, Things Change, The Last Action Hero, The Lords of Discipline, Outrageous Fortune, Dudley Do-Right, the 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street and Mrs. Doubtfire. On television, he created the role of Sgt. Jablonski on Hill Street Blues.
Cumpsty starred in Frayn's last original Broadway play, Copenhagen. His other Broadway credits include Enchanted April, 42nd Street, Electra, 1776, Racing Demon, The Heiress, Translations, La Bete, Timon of Athens, Artist Descending a Staircase. For the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he also teaches, Cumpsty has been featured in seven productions.
Democracy follows the astonishing career of Willy Brandt Naughton, the first left-of-center chancellor in West Germany in 40 years, and his downfall at the hands of his trusted assistant, Günter Guillaume Thomas, who is secretly spying on Brandt for the notorious East German Stasi. The play examines Guillaume's dual identity, as his duty to Brandt's enemies conflicts with his genuine love and admiration for his prey.
Democracy, directed by Michael Blakemore, is scheduled to officially open on November 18.
