Ian McShane to Headline Broadway Revival of Pinter's The Homecoming

Ian McShane is gearing up to star in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming in fall 2007, according to Variety. Daniel Sullivan is set to direct the Broadway revival.

This production was originally announced in March as a star vehicle for Liev Schreiber, who will now instead headline a revival of Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio for the same producers, Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel. No reason was given for the change in above-the-title stars.

British character actor McShane has enjoyed a long stage career in London, appearing in the original staging of Joe Orton's Loot and starring alongside Judi Dench and Ian McKellen in The Promise, which transferred to Broadway's Henry Miller Theatre for a month in 1967. McShane made his musical debut as the devil in the 2000 West End musical The Witches of Eastwick. On TV, McShane produced, directed and starred in the popular BBC series Lovejoy and has enjoyed a career renaissance recently with his work on HBO's Deadwood, which earned him a 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV Drama. Included in a long resume of film credits are The Wild and the Willing, Villain, The Last of Sheila, Sexy Beast, Nine Lives and Scoop.

The Homecoming is set at a family gathering in North London. Teddy has brought his wife, Ruth, home to meet her in-laws. But this is not a congenial group. Who will be the winner in the fierce battle for supremacy waged among the attendees?

The Homecoming was first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in the summer of 1965. It has had two Broadway mountings, the first in 1967 when it lasted 324 performances and the second in 1991 in the form of a limited engagement that ran 49 performances.