Cynthia Nixon to Headline The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Off-Broadway

Cynthia Nixon will headline a New Group production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Performances of the revival, directed by New Group Artistic Director Scott Elliott, are expected to begin off-Broadway in late September.

Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie centers on the title character, a teacher who has progressive and radical ways. She decides to transform a group of young girls into the crème de la crème of Marcia Blaine school, but expects undivided loyalty from these girls referred to as "the Brodie Set" in return. As news of Brodie's illicit personal life and Fascist stands surface, the relationship between her and these impressionable youths turns dangerous.

Muriel Spark wrote the popular novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which Jay Presson Allen turned into a play. The stage version played on Broadway in 1968 with Zoe Caldwell in the title role. A popular film, based on Allen's play, was released in 1969 and earned star Maggie Smith an Academy Award.

Best known for her Emmy winning portrayal of Miranda on Sex and the City, Nixon is up for a 2006 Tony Award nomination for her acclaimed performance in Rabbit Hole. She has also appeared on the Great White Way in The Women, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Indiscretions for which she earned a Tony Award nomination, Angels in America, The Heidi Chronicles, Hurlyburly, The Real Thing and The Philadelphia Story. Nixon is a founding member of the Drama Dept. Her credits with the company include Kingdom on Earth, June Moon, As Bees in Honey Drown and The Country Club.

The New Group is still in the midst of its 2005-2006 season. The company will present Seth Zvi Rosenfeld's Everything's Turning Into Beautiful, with Annabella Sciorra and Bobby Cannavale, starting in July.