Actor Chris Noth Cast in Theater Previews at Duke's World Premiere of
Gore Vidal's On the March to the SeaDurham, N.C. – Chris Noth, who won a Theatre World Award for his performance as Senator Joseph Cantwell in the award-winning reproduction of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, has signed on as one of the leads in the premiere of On the March to the Sea by Gore Vidal, according to Theater Previews at Duke, the local producer of Vidal’s new play. The play will run Feb. 22 – March 6, 2005 at Reynolds Theater on the Duke campus in Durham, N.C.
A distinguished stage actor, Noth may be best known for his roles as Mr. Big in HBO’s Sex and the City, in which he appeared as Sarah Jessica Parker’s love interest, and as Detective Mike Logan in the TV series Law and Order.
Noth will play Union Soldier Colonel Thayer, a complex character who is conflicted in his role in the Civil War as he participates in Sherman’s march toward the sea. He alternately shows humanity and insensitivity toward his Southern hosts as his regiment commandeers their greatest source of pride and accomplishment—their home. Noth played the same role in the developmental reading at Hartford Stage Company this fall.
“We are very pleased to have signed Chris Noth to be a part of our premiere here at Duke,” says Zannie Giraud Voss, producing director at Duke. “We look forward to his active participation in campus life here at Duke, along with that of Mr. Vidal as they bring to life this outstanding new play.”
On the March to the Sea will be directed by Warner Shook and produced as a staged theatrical concert reading.
Tickets go on sale for the production Monday, Jan. 10 at University Box Office (919-684-4444, www.tickets.duke.edu).
Gore Vidal, known as a “literary lion” of our times, is an outspoken and prolific American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, historian and essayist, one of the great stylists of contemporary American prose. He has written 22 novels, short stories, political and literary essays, reviews and a volume of memoirs. Vidal remains active in several other arenas, including politics, television and publishing. In 1993, a collection of his criticism, United States: Essays 1952-1992, won the National Book Award.
Theater Previews at Duke’s mission is to serve as a breeding ground for professional, innovative and high quality new plays and musicals, and to offer audiences the opportunity to engage in productions in a variety of stages of development. The presence of the playwright is an essential part of the program. Theater Previews provides the personnel, space, time and support required to bring his or her vision to fruition in the course of producing work that makes a contribution to the field on a national scale.
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