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 The play, about a loving but odd American family, won the
Pulitzer Prize in 1937. Previews begin on Aug. 26 and the play
opens on Sept. 28 for a limited 19-week run.
Jones ("Fences," "The Great White Hope"), who last appeared on
Broadway in a revival of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" in 2012, is
Martin Vanderhof. He heads a multiracial cast as the income
tax-averse patriarch of the family in the role made famous by
Lionel Barrymore in Frank Capra's 1938 Oscar-winning film of the
same name.
"It is about forces attracting each other in the family. It's
like they are in orbit and the principle is that you can be
yourself as long as you don't hurt anyone else," Jones, 83, said
in an interview, with his famously resonating voice.
Vanderhof gave up his job decades earlier and hasn't paid any
taxes for just as long. He wants all of his extended clan to
find happiness.
Trouble brews when his granddaughter Alice (Byrne), the sanest
member of the family and a secretary in a Wall Street firm,
falls in love with the boss's son, Tony Kirby. Actor Fran Kranz,
33, takes on the role played by James Stewart in the film.
"Inside the action of the play she finds the man of her dreams
and there is a problem, a class problem," Jones said about the
family dilemma.
Alice is torn between her devotion for her wacky clan and the
man she loves. His snobbish, upper-crust family disapprove of
the match.
"If just felt really right," Byrne, 35, said about the role,
although she admitted to being nervous about her first venture
on Broadway.
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"It's a period piece. It's a classic, beloved play that hasn't been
done in since the 80s," added Byrne, who appeared in the hit comedy
"Bridesmaids" and superhero action film "X-Men: First Class."
The 1983 Broadway revival of the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
play starred Jason Robards as grandpa. The popular play was also
made into a TV series and TV movie.
Byrne sees her character as a conduit for the audience and the voice
of reason. Although she loves her family, she is aware and somewhat
embarrassed that they are unconventional. Because of the differences
between them, Alice believes a marriage to her fiance would never
work.
"The idea of the American family is such an interesting, morphing
concept. This is a very modern family, even for the 30s, obviously
it was an incredibly modern play," said Byrne.
"The themes and the sentiments behind it are still relevant and kind
of radical," she said.
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Frances Kerry)
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