BRENDAN Fraser, that mummy-hunting matinee idol, will make his Broadway debut this spring as Brick in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
The production, which will open at the Cort Theatre in February, comes to New York via London, where it has been running since last spring.
The show will be produced by Bill Kenwright and directed by Anthony Page, the same team behind the hugely successful revival of “A Doll’s House” a few seasons back.
Fraser’s co-stars will be Ned Beatty, as Big Daddy, and, pending Equity approval, Australian-born Frances O’Connor as Maggie.
Fraser, who is said to earn about $10 million every time he does a “Mummy” movie for Universal, received mixed reviews as Brick, the hard-drinking ex-football player with a homosexual past.
Page’s production also drew mixed reviews – although, with Fraser’s box-office drawing power, it turned out to be one of the West End’s biggest hits.
The revival’s strongest artistic asset, however, appears to be Beatty. “He will win a Tony, no question. He’s fantastic,” said one New York producer.
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With “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” now in the mix, the most hotly contested Tony race next year will be for Best Revival of a Play.
The potential nominees are “Noises Off,” which sells more than $100,000 worth of tickets a day; “Dance of Death,” which is holding up very nicely; and “The Crucible,” starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney and opening in January at the Virginia.
There’s also “Mornings at Seven,” which Lincoln Center is producing on Broadway in the spring; “The Women,” a hot, hot ticket at the Roundabout; and “Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune,” starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci.
Other possibilities: “The Elephant Man,” featuring cute theater couple Billy Crudup and Mary Louise Parker; “The Man Who Had All the Luck,” Arthur Miller’s first Broadway play; “Private Lives,” a London import starring Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan; and “Hedda Gabler,” which boasts a strong central performance by Kate Burton.
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Plans are still afoot to transfer “Elaine Stritch: At Liberty,” to Broadway from the Public – provided the producers can persuade Stritch to do at least six performances a week.
The 76-year-old wants to do five at the most, but it would be impossible for the show to break even.
There was tantalizing talk last week that Stritch would share the Booth Theatre with Bea Arthur, who’s bringing her one-woman show there for six weeks in the spring.
Stritch and Arthur would have alternated evenings, each doing four shows a week. But then Arthur, 75, decided she’s up for eight and the deal fell through.
Of a Broadway transfer, Stritch, a diabetic, says: “It would be wonderful, kid, but I got to think of my health first. In fact, I’m off to the doctor right now.”
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Odds and ends: “Rent” is making another run at London. Producers Allan S. Gordon and Elan McAllister will bring a touring production of the show to the West End for a limited engagement starting in December.
The first time “Rent” went to London five years ago, it wound up losing more than $1 million.
“I think it will work this time,” says Gordon. “It’s a good production; it’ll be in a smaller theater, and the economics make sense.”
