Jane Kaczmarek, John Pankow and Kate Burton have joined the cast of the forthcoming Los Angeles revival of John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves. Directed by Nicholas Martin, the production will open the newly renovated Mark Taper Forum when its limited engagement runs September 14 through October 19.
Rounding out the show's cast is Diedrich Bader, Mia Barron, Angela Goethals, James B. Harnagel, James Immekus, James Joseph O'Neil, Rusty Schwimmer and Mary Kay Wulf.
First produced off-Broadway in 1971, House of Blue Leaves is set during the Pope's 1965 visit to New York City and the havoc the event wreaks on one family's apartment in Queens. Known for its bold fourth-wall breaking, surreal musical interludes and dark humor, the play was revived in 1986 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre in Lincoln Center, before moving up to the Vivian Beaumont for its Broadway debut in 1987. Starring John Mahoney, Swoosie Kurtz, Stockard Channing, Julie Hagerty, Danny Aiello and a then-unknown Ben Stiller, that production earned eight Tony nominations, including wins for Kurtz, Mahoney and director Jerry Zaks.
The L.A. revival will feature set design by David Korins, costume design by Gabriel Berry, lighting design by Donald Holder and sound design by Philip G. Allen. Music and lyrics are by Guare with additional music and arrangements by Michael Friedman.
