The Royal Family Opens on Broadway Tonight

The Royal Family will hold court at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre tonight when it has its official Broadway opening. The 1927 comedy by playwriting greats George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber is about a family of flamboyant theater performers called the Cavendishes (based on the legendary real-life Barrymore clan). This Manhattan Theatre Club production of the play stars a cast of theater pros, including Rosemary Harris, Jan Maxwell, Larry Pine, Reg Rogers, Tony Roberts (Broadway's Xanadu), John Glover (recently on Broadway in Roundabout's Waiting For Godot revival), and Ana Gasteyer (Wicked, TV's Saturday Night Live). Directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt), the production is scheduled to run at the Friedman Theatre through November 29th.

Ana Gasteyer Joins The Cast of Broadway's The Royal Family

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Ana Gasteyer, best known for her impressions of such personalities as Celine Dion and Katherine Harris, is joining the cast of the upcoming Manhattan Theatre Club revival of the classic play The Royal Family. Gasteyer will play Kitty Dean, who is related by marriage to the Cavendishes, the fictional clan of stage celebrities whose exploits are explored in The Royal Family. Written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, the comedy first appeared on Broadway in 1927 at the Selwyn Theatre (which is now known as the American Airlines Theatre). The new MTC production will begin preview performances at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 15, with its official Broadway opening on October 8.