Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in a theatrical production of Anton Chekhov’s The Present. In the past, the two time Academy Award-winner (pictured, via) has acted in several literary-themed movies including the Lord of the Rings, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Cinderella.
Here’s more from The New York Times: “The Present, also known as Platonov, centers on Anna Petrovna, who is celebrating her 40th birthday at her summer home in the country. She holds a party that includes uncomfortably mismatched collection of characters. Chekhov wrote it as a young medical student in the 1880s but it went nowhere and the playwright put it aside. It was unearthed in a Moscow bank vault in 1920, 16 years after his death.”
Deadline reports this play will mark Blanchett’s debut on Broadway. Starring alongside her will be Richard Roxburgh. Andrew Upton, Blanchett’s husband, adapted Chekhov’s piece. John Crowley, the director behind the Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn, has agreed to take the helm on this project. At this point in time, neither the New York City-based venue nor the opening date have been announced. (via Theater Mania)