Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams will return to Broadway this season to star in David Harrower's Olivier Award-winning drama BLACKBIRD. The production, to be directed by Joe Mantello.
BLACKBIRD tells the story of Una and Ray. Fifteen years earlier they had a relationship and haven't set eyes on each other since. Now she's found him again.
Michelle Williams's girlish and haunted face is so eloquent in 'Blackbird,' you might wish you had binoculars for a closer look...Williams's Broadway debut, in 'Cabaret,' was so wispy she practically disappeared, but now she's commanding. She's believable and shattering as this damaged young woman. Daniels, ideally cast as an average guy-next-door, is her match. He convinces as a man on the edge, a shifty bird on a wire. The play itself isn't quite as successful...it takes time to settle into believable rhythms...Still, 'Blackbird' is taut, twisty and provocative. There's value in works that make your mind fly to uncomfortable places and send out cries you can't unhear.
It was nine years ago when Jeff Daniels first appeared in Joe Mantello's taut production of Scottish playwright David Harrower's volatile two-hander, Blackbird. Revisiting the play with the same director on Broadway opposite a sensational Michelle Williams, the actor now brings a noticeably deepened middle-aged gravitas that adds fascinating layers to his character -- of bitter defensiveness, corrosive dishonesty, subjugated desire, and ultimately, ice-cold fear. Unyielding in its needling focus, this riveting drama is a stark examination of love, pain and loss that's both compassionate and unforgiving, all of which helps it navigate the move to a bigger stage with a corresponding amplification of its emotional power.
2007 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2016 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jeff Daniels |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Michelle Williams |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | David Harrower |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Michelle Williams |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or off-Broadway) | Blackbird |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Jeff Daniels |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Michelle Williams |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Blackbird |
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