Two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook) returns to Broadway in Bernard Pomerance's Tony Award-winning classic THE ELEPHANT MAN. Directed by Tony nominee Scott Ellis, THE ELEPHANT MAN is one of the hottest productions to emerge from the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival, where it had theatergoers lining up hours ahead of time in the hopes of securing a ticket. This extremely limited engagement also stars Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson ("Six Feet Under") and Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle).
Based on the real life of Joseph Merrick, THE ELEPHANT MAN tells the story of a 19th-century British man (Cooper) who became a star of the traveling freak show circuit. When the renowned Dr. Treves (Nivola) takes Merrick under his care, he is astonished by the man's brilliant intelligence, unshakable faith and, most of all, his resounding desire for love and understanding. He introduces Merrick to the beautiful actress Mrs. Kendal (Clarkson), who is deeply touched by this pure and genuine soul. As a complex friendship blossoms among the three, Treves and Kendal struggle to protect Merrick from a world of questionable intentions... and so begins a story of love as unique as "The Elephant Man" himself.
The Booth Theatre is one of Broadway's most intimate venues and seating is limited.
Advance purchase is highly recommended.
Pomerance's 1977 bio-drama calls for the central role to be performed without special makeup or prosthetics. It seems almost absurd witnessing hunky Cooper so subsumed by a character renowned for his grotesque deformities that we forget whom we're watching. But in Scott Ellis' production, directed with as much compassion as precision, the illusion becomes complete. In fact, Cooper's tremendously moving performance, along with the sensitive work of co-stars Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola, transforms this rather starchy play from patronizing edification into a haunting emotional experience.
Never seen The Elephant Man onstage? Then the Broadway revival of this 1977 play, by Bernard Pomerance, will provide a palpable sense of the drama's clear storytelling and elegant dismantling of Victorian hypocrisies. The two-act evening also provides a chance for audiences to gawp at a shirtless Hollywood celebrity, Bradley Cooper, just as 1880s London gaped at the severely deformed man he is portraying, Joseph (here John) Merrick. What the cast, under the direction of Scott Ellis, does not bring out so well is Pomerance's humour.
1979 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1979 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2002 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2014 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2015 | West End |
West End West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Elephant Man |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Elephant Man |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Bradley Cooper |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Bernard Pomerance |
2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Bradley Cooper |
2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Elephant Man |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Alessandro Nivola |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Bradley Cooper |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Patricia Clarkson |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Hal Luftig |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Elephant Man |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Brian Zeilinger |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Scott Zeilinger |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | WLE MSG, LLC. |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jonathan M. Tisch |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Douglas Smith |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Shubert Organization |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Stephanie P. McClelland |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Peter May |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Arielle Tepper Madover |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Edward M. Kaufmann |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Van Kaplan |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jeffrey Finn Productions |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Larry Hirschhorn |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Roy Furman |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Patrick Catullo |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Caiola Productions |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Roger Berlind |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Catherine Adler |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Terry Allen Kramer |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | James L. Nederlander |
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