Bradley Cooper to take Broadway's 'Elephant Man' to London

[January 24, 2015]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best actor Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper and the cast of "The Elephant Man" will be taking the hit Broadway play about a severely deformed man in Victorian England to the London stage this summer.

Cooper, 40, has won rave reviews for his portrayal of John Merrick, a sideshow attraction because of his grotesque appearance, in the revival of the Bernard Pomerance play that opened on Broadway late last year for a limited run.

The play will transfer to London's Theatre Royal Haymarket on May 9 and run through Aug. 8.

"Never did we think we would have the privilege to perform this show on Broadway, let alone in London," Cooper said in a statement.

Co-stars Alessandro Nivola, who plays the surgeon who rescues and befriends Merrick, and Patricia Clarkson, the English actress who introduces him to upper-class society, will join Cooper in London.

Cooper, nominated for a best actor Academy Award for his role as Navy SEAL sharpshooter Chris Kyle in "American Sniper," does not use prosthetics. He contorts his face and body to convey the physical deformities of Merrick in a dazzling performance that Variety described as "stunning, deeply felt and very moving."

The Broadway production will close on Feb. 21.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Gunna Dickson)

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