History Boys Original Cast to Reunite at the National Before Heading to B'way

The original cast of The History Boys will reunite at the National Theatre before the show heads to Broadway. A recast version of the acclaimed play is currently running at the National's Lyttelton space, but on January 23 most of the original cast members, including Olivier Award winner Richard Griffiths, will return to the production.

The History Boys consists of an unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university, a maverick English teacher at odds with the young and shrewd supply teacher. There is also a headmaster obsessed with results, and a history teacher who thinks he's a fool. Staff room rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence provoke insistent questions about history and how one should teach it.

The cast currently appearing at the Lyttelton also appeared in a U.K. tour of the show. It features Desmond Barrit as Hector, Bruce Alexander as the Headmaster, Tobias Menzies as Irwin and Diane Fletcher as Mrs. Lintott. Starting on January 23, Griffiths will return as Hector and Stephen Campbell Moore will reprise the role of Irwin. The original group of schoolboys will also step into the production on that day. On January 30, the rest of the original cast, including Frances de la Tour as Mrs. Lintott and Clive Merrison as the Headmaster, will return to the production.

The History Boys is scheduled to run at the Lyttelton through February 1. The original cast will then come to Broadway, where the play is scheduled to begin performances at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 14.