Zaks to Direct Spacey in The Philadelphia Story
by Broadway Staff • Sep 13, 2004
Jerry Zaks is set to helm the Old Vic mounting of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, starring Old Vic Artistic Director Kevin Spacey. The production, which will run from May 3 through July 23, has its eye on a spring 2006 Broadway transfer, according to Variety.
Zaks has been a Broadway presence since he made his debut acting on the Great White Way in 1971 in Fiddler on the Roof. His New York directorial debut came a decade later with Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy. His work as a director has earned him four Tony Awards for The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me a Tenor, Six Degrees of Separation and Guys and Dolls and three more Tony nominations for Anything Goes, Smokey Joe's Cafe and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Zaks was the 1994 recipient of the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. He was represented on Broadway last season by Little Shop of Horrors and is currently at work on the upcoming revival of La Cage aux Folles.
Zaks has been a Broadway presence since he made his debut acting on the Great White Way in 1971 in Fiddler on the Roof. His New York directorial debut came a decade later with Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy. His work as a director has earned him four Tony Awards for The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me a Tenor, Six Degrees of Separation and Guys and Dolls and three more Tony nominations for Anything Goes, Smokey Joe's Cafe and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Zaks was the 1994 recipient of the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. He was represented on Broadway last season by Little Shop of Horrors and is currently at work on the upcoming revival of La Cage aux Folles.
The Philadelphia Story centers on a pretentious socialite who is set to marry an equally pretentious executive when her ex-husband arrives and stirs things up. Helen Hunt, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the performers who have been rumored for the female lead role of Tracy Lord.