Ralph Fiennes To Star As Robert Moses In New York Staging Of David Hare’s ‘Straight Line Crazy’; Nicholas Hytner & Jamie Armitage Direct
27.06.2022 - 19:13
/ deadline.com
Following its acclaimed run at The Bridge Theatre in London, David Hare’s Straight Line Crazy starring Ralph Fiennes as New York powerbroker Robert Moses will make its Big Apple Off Broadway debut this fall at The Shed. Directed by Nicholas Hytner and Jamie Armitage, the play will run Oct. 18 to Dec. 18.
The announcement was made today by producers Alex Poots, Artistic Director and CEO of The Shed; Madani Younis, Chief Executive Producer of The Shed; and Tim Levy, Co-Director of the London Theatre Company.
The limited nine-week engagement begins previews Oct. 18, with an official opening on Oct. 26 at The Shed’s Griffin Theater as part of the venue’s fall 2022 season.
Hare’s play examines the questionable legacy of Robert Moses and his enduring impact on New York. The play presents an imagined retelling of the arc of Moses’s controversial career in two decisive moments: his rise to power in the late 1920s and the public outcry against the corrosive effects of that power in the mid-1950s.
“When I first read Straight Line Crazy,” Fiennes said in a statement, “I was compelled by its provocation, humor, and of course by the portrayal of Robert Moses. It seemed its natural home was NYC and now—thanks to The Shed—the play can be seen there. I’m excited. It’s a New York play—that’s simply what it is.”
Said Hare, “I am very excited to bring Robert Moses home. We had a great educational run in London at The Bridge Theatre where few of the audience had heard of him. But it will be fascinating to bring this controversial figure back to the city, and to the state, on which he left such a lasting mark.”
Moses was considered the most powerful man in New York for four decades, as he envisioned and built public works whose aftereffects