Complete casting has been announced for the upcoming New Group revival of Wallace Shawn’s Marie and Bruce, starring the previously announced Marisa Tomei and Frank Whaley. New Group artistic director Scott Elliott directs the play, which begins performances on March 14 and officially opens April 5.
Joining Tomei and Whaley are Tina Benko, Russell G. Jones, Cindy Katz, Devin Ratray, Alok Tewari, Adam Trese and Alison Wright.
A comedy about marital strife, Marie and Bruce premiered in 1979 at the Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court in London, directed by Les Waters and starring Stephanie Fayerman and Philip Donaghy. It was followed a year later by a production at the Public Theater, New York Shakespeare Festival, directed by Wilford Leach, produced by Joseph Papp and starring Louise Lasser and Bob Balaban. The 2004 film Marie and Bruce, with screenplay by Wallace Shawn and Tom Cairns (who also directed) starred Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick as the title characters.
Benko was last seen off-Broadway in The Little Foxes at New York Theatre Workshop. Jones originated the role of Christian in Ruined at Manhattan Theater Club; other stage credits include A View from 151st Street and Our Lady of 121st Street. Katz was last seen at The New Group in Mike Leigh’s Two Thousand Years. Ratray is making his off-Broadway debut in Marie and Bruce, and is best known for playing Buzz in Home Alone and Home Alone 2. Tewari’s stage credits include Rafta, Rafta, War, The Power of Darknessand Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Trese has appeared on Broadway in 12 Angry Men and A View from the Bridge. Wright was last seen at The New Group in Rafta, Rafta; other stage credits include The Thickness of Skin and Short Stuff 5.
Marie and Bruce includes set design by Derek McLane, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, lighting design by Jason Lyons and sound design by Shane Rettig. The limited engagement is scheduled to end on May 7.