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Morgan Freeman Back to Broadway in "The Country Girl"
posted on May 8, 2008
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Academy award winner Morgan Freeman is back on Broadway for the first time in 20 years, in “The Country Girl.” Freeman last appeared on Broadway in Lee Breuer's "The Gospel at Colonus" in 1988. Freeman stars alongside Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets's "The Country Girl," directed by Mike Nichols.
The production is playing a limited engagement on Broadway at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street). It opened on April 27th.
The title character, Georgie (Frances
McDormand), is married to actor Frank Elgin (Morgan Freeman), once a
great theatre star, now down on his luck. When Frank is offered a major
role by hotshot director Bernie Dodd (Peter Gallagher), he has the
chance to make a major comeback.
Director Mike Nichols is an Academy Award-winner and eight-time Tony Award-winner, most recently for the smash hit musical
"Monty Python’s SPAMALOT." His most recent film is "Charlie Wilson's War" with Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts.
Freeman's other acclaimed New York stage appearances include "The
Mighty Gents" for which he received both Drama Desk and Clarence
Derwent Awards, as well as a Tony Award nomination. Freeman is the
recipient of three Obie Awards for his work in "Coriolanus," "Gospel at
Colonus," and Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Driving Miss
Daisy." His most recent New York stage appearance was as Petruchio in
"The Taming of the Shrew" with Tracey Ullman. He received his first
Academy Award nomination for his chilling performance in "Street
Smart,"
which also brought him the 1987 L.A., N.Y., and National Society of
Film Critics Awards for best supporting actor, as well as an
Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination. Freeman
earned his second Academy Award nomination for "Driving Miss Daisy,"
and his third for his performance in the critically praised hit "The
Shawshank Redemption." He received a Best Supporting Actor Academy
Award for Clint Eastwood’s "Million Dollar Baby."
All of these performances were a far cry from his character Easy Reader
on the popular children's show, "The Electric Company." In 1993,
Freeman made his film directorial debut with "Bopha!," starring Danny
Glover and Alfre Woodard. His other numerous film credits include the
multi-award-winning Glory, Steven Spielberg’s "Amistad," "Hard Rain,"
"Deep Impact," "Nurse Betty," "Along Came a Spider," "Kiss the Girls,"
"The Sum of All Fears," Robert Redford’s "An Unfinished Life," "Batman
Begins," "Evan Almighty," Ben Affleck’s "Gone Baby Gone," the next
chapter in the Batman saga "The Dark Knight," and narration on the
Academy Award-winning documentary "March of The Penguins."
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