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| Denzel Washington with a fan: New avatar |
Denzel Washington has spun a charm around Broadway. A revival of Shakespeare?s Julius Caesar starring Washington is ploughing in the millions for its producers Carole Shorenstein Hays and Freddy DeMann.
Slated to open in April after previews in March, Julius Caesar has already raked in $ 2 million in terms of advance ticket sales, which is likely to increase further. Insiders feel the production might yield $ 9 million through its entire run of three-and-a-half months at the Belasco theatre.
Two-time Academy Award winning actor Washington will essay the role of Brutus in the political tragedy. He is working for about $1,200 a week, but will reportedly get a share of the profits as well.
The 49-year-old actor first appeared on stage in a production of Eugene O?Neill?s The Emperor Jones, while still a student at Fordham University. He made his Broadway debut in Checkmates, a comedy which ran to 172 performances in 1988.
Off-Broadway, Washington has acted in Coriolanus and Richard III with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and A Soldier?s Play at the Negro Ensemble Theatre. The last title fetched him an OBIE Award.
On the big screen, Washington has bagged Oscars for his stint in films like Training Day and Glory. Also known for his work in Philadelphia, Malcolm X, The Hurricane and The Manchurian Candidate, he debuted as director with Antwone Fisher.
To be directed by Daniel Sullivan, Julius Caesar features some classically trained actors like Jessica Hecht, Colm Feore, William Sadler and Tamara Tunie. The crew includes Ralph Funicello (set design), Jess Goldstein (costume design), Mimi Jordan Sherin (lighting design) and Dan Moses Schreier (sound design).
Julius Caesar hasn?t been seen on Broadway since 1950. Casting for the other major roles ? Cassius, Marc Anthony and Julius Caesar ? is likely to feature some top-rank artistes.
To herald the advent of spring, Spandan, in association with Tollygunge Club, has organised a quartet of music, dance, poetry and enactments on March 12.
The performers include theatre veterans Bijoylakshmi Burman and Renu Roy, TV artistes Sudipa Basu, Aparajita Auddy, Deboleena Dutta and Arindam Sil, Rabindrasangeet singers Pramita Mullick and Suchhanda Ghosh, and actress Swastika Mukherjee.
?We will read everything from Keats to Joy Goswami and even dance to Vivaldi?s Four Seasons,? said Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, who has conceptualised the event.
