‘Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?’ Starring Laurie Metcalf & Rupert Everett Cancels Broadway Run

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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the much-anticipated Broadway revival starring Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett with a powerhouse creative and production team, will not resume performances at Broadway’s Booth Theatre after the coronavirus shutdown, producers announced today.

In a brief announcement put out this morning by producers Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen, the cancelation was attributed to “cast scheduling conflicts amid the shutdown.”

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Broadway went dark on March 12 due to concern over the coronavirus, with a planned reopening of April 13, but the likelihood of extending the shutdown well into the summer is growing. The Broadway League representing theater owners and producers is considering an extension.

Last night, producers of Hangmen announced that the new Martin McDonagh comedy would not be returning to Broadway after the shutdown for financial reasons. But the nixing of the Edward Albee classic, which was to have been directed by Joe Mantello, one of Broadway’s top and busiest directors, reflects another huge obstacle created by the shutdown: How to keep big name, tightly scheduled casts and creatives intact beyond the timeframe initially anticipated.

Virginia Woolf would have reunited Metcalf and Mantello in an Albee classic – the first time was in 2018’s Three Tall Women, the rapturously reviewed staging for which Metcalf (and co-star Glenda Jackson) won Tony Awards. Metcalf and Mantello have also teamed up on A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Hillary and Clinton.

Mantello’s staging of Virginia Woolf had played nine previews prior to the March 12 shutdown, and was scheduled to open on Thursday, April 9. In addition to Metcalf and Everett, the revival was to have starred Russell Tovey and Patsy Ferran.

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