Brendan Fraser Departs Grangeville Off-Broadway, Paul Sparks Steps Up

Paul Sparks will replace Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser in the upcoming world premiere of Grangeville off-Broadway. Fraser is departing the production due to "unforeseen circumstances."

The play, by The Whale writer Samuel D. Hunter, begins performances at Signature Theatre on February 4 and runs through March 16. The production was to be a return to the stage for Fraser, last seen on Broadway in 2010's Elling, which played only nine regular performances.

Sparks has performed on Broadway in Hedda Gabler and, most recently, Grey House. Off-Broadway, he was seen most recently in Waiting for Godot alongside Michael Shannon. He joins Tony nominee Brian J. Smith in the two-hander.

Across a void of thousands of miles and oceans of hurt, two half-brothers tentatively reconnect over the care of their ailing mother. Older sibling Jerry (Sparks) is belligerent as a teenager, sensitive as an adult and still lives in Grangeville, Idaho, while Arnold (Smith) is an artist living in Rotterdam who is drawn back into his past. Their remote connection collapses their physical distance while underscoring just how many social worlds apart they are.

Grangeville is directed by Jack Serio, who directed the 2023 production of Uncle Vanya in a Flatiron loft.