Tony Award-winning actors Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow are returning to Broadway next year in a behind-closed-doors play written by “A Dolls House Part 2” scribe Lucas Hnath titled “Hillary and Clinton.”
Scott Rudin, who’s producing the play, announced that it will be directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello on Thursday.
“Hillary and Clinton” takes audiences behind closed doors in the state of New Hampshire during the early days of 2008, as a former First Lady named Hillary (Metcalf) is in a desperate bid to save her troubled campaign for president of the United States. Her husband, Bill (Lithgow), sees things one way; her campaign manager, Mark, sees things another, according to the statement announcing the play.
“If any of this sounds familiar, don’t be fooled; in a universe of infinite possibilities, anything that can happen, will,” the statement reads.
Throughout the play, Lucas Hnath examines the politics of marriage, gender roles, and the limitations of experience and inevitability in this timely look at an American dynasty in crisis.
Previews for “Hillary and Clinton” will begin March 16, 2019, ahead of an official opening night on April 18, 2019. A theater for the show has yet to be announced.
“Hillary and Clinton” playwright Hnath received a 2017 Tony Award nomination for Best Play with “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” which was this year’s most produced play in America. And Metcalf has had a year full of accolades. She won the 2018 Tony as a featured actress for her roll in “Three Tall Women,” after winning in 2017 for her leading role in Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”
Metcalf also garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her supporting role in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird.” She picked up an Emmy nomination this year for “Roseanne” as well.
Lithgow, who wrapped up his one-man show “John Lithgow: Stories by Heart” this summer, won the best supporting actor Emmy in 2017 for his role as Winston Churchill in Netflix’s “The Crown.” He will play the late Roger Ailes in Annapurna’s upcoming untitled film about the sexual harassment scandal that put an end to the former Fox News chairman’s career.
The creative team on “Hillary and Clinton” includes Chloe Lamford (set design), Tony and Academy Award winner Ann Roth (costume design), and Tony Award winner Hugh Vanstone (lighting design).