To Be or Not to Be Postpones First Preview by Two Days

Manhattan Theatre Club has postponed the first Broadway preview of Nick Whitby's To Be or Not to Be. The production, which was originally scheduled to begin previews on September 11, will now hold its first preview on Saturday evening, September 13. Based on the 1942 film comedy of the same name, To Be or Not To Be will open as scheduled on October 2 at the newly renamed Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Casey Nicholaw.

The delay in performances reflects the fact that two leading actors have departed To Be or Not to Be in the past two weeks: Craig Bierko was replaced by David Rasche, and Brian Murray was replaced by Peter Maloney. The cast also includes Peter Benson, Robert Dorfman, Steve Kazee, Jan Maxwell, Michael McCarty, Kristine Nielsen, Brandon Perler, Rocco Sisto, Jimmy Smagula, and Marina Squerciati.

To Be or Not to Be centers on the acting couple Joseph and Maria Tura Rasche and Maxwell, who are about to open yet another smash with their theatrical troupe at the Polski Theatre in 1939 Warsaw. As the German invasion gets underway, the theater is closed by the censors, forcing the troupe to face desperate times. But when a handsome young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy, what is a group of actors to do?