Bruce Norris‘ incendiary 2018 play Downstate has confirmed its teased Broadway bow, with performances set to begin October 17 at the Booth Theatre. Opening night will be November 15. Broadway fans have been waiting for official word since the title appeared on the Booth Theatre marquee last month.
The play made its world premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf in 2018, and played London’s National in 2019 and Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons in 2022. The work centers on four men convicted of sexual offenses against minors living in an Illinois halfway house when one of their accusers returns for a confrontation. The Off-Broadway bow drew attention when conservative political voices, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, accused Washington Post theatre critic Peter Marks of “normalizing” pedophilia following his positive review of the show’s nuanced exploration of a seemingly taboo story. While Marks and Norris do not condone the actions of the characters, the social media attacks led Marks to make his Twitter account private.
The Broadway bow will be a new staging of the work, directed by Tony winner Joe Mantello (Death of a Salesman). Some of the play’s original cast will reprise their work in the new production, including K. Todd Freeman and Francis Guinan. The Broadway cast will also feature Cassie Beck, Adrian Martinez, Al’Jaleel McGhee, Thomas Sadoski, Ivy Wolk, and Liza Colón-Zayas.
The creative team will include scenic designer Scott Pask, costume designer Ann Roth, lighting designer Heather Gilbert, and sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman.
Scott Rudin and Barry Diller are producing.
Tickets will go on sale September 10 at DownstateOnBroadway.com. Rudin and Diller are partnering with The Shubert Organization on a new pre-sale ticket offer package involving both Downstate and Small Mouth Sounds, the latter also announced this morning and now set to begin performances on Broadway this spring starring Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd. Downstate ticket buyers will get an exclusive, single-use code that will unlock access to select Orchestra and Front Mezzanine tickets for Small Mouth Sounds.