Al Pacino Returns to B'way in Mamet's 'China Doll'

Producers Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, and Steve Traxler are pleased to announce that Al Pacino will return to Broadway in the world premiere of "China Doll," a new play by David Mamet. It will begin previews on October 20, 2015, with an official opening on November 19, 2015, at The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street).

The play will also feature Fran Kranz ("You Can't Take It With You," "Death of a Salesman," "Dollhouse"). Tony Award-winner Pam Mackinnon ("The Heidi Chronicles," Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance," Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?') will direct. The creative team will include scenic design by Tony Award-winner Derek McLane ("Gigi," "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," "33 Variations"), lighting design by Russell H. Champa ("In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)"), and costume design by Tony Award-winner Jess Goldstein ("Jersey Boys," "Proof," "The Rivals").

Mamet is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose plays include "Race," "Oleanna," "American Buffalo," "Speed-the-Plow," "November" and "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" among others. He will be represented on the West End by a production of American Buffalo starring Damian Lewis, John Goodman, and Tom Sturridge will begin April 16, 2015, at the Wyndham Theatre.

Pacino, who was last seen on Broadway portraying the role of Shelly Levene in Mamet's acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Glengarry Glen Ross" and recently as Phil Spector in the HBO film written by David Mamet, is a two-time Tony Award-winner who also starred in the 1983 revival of "American Buffalo." He is an Academy Award-winner, four-time Golden Globe-winner, and two-time Emmy Award-winner. "China Doll" will mark his twelfth time appearing on Broadway, including "The Merchant of Venice," "Salom�," "Hughie," "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel," "Camino Real" and "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie" among others.

Kranz co-starred on Broadway this year as Tony Kirby in "You Can't Take It With You" opposite Rose Byrne and James Earl Jones, and was also seen in the recent Tony Award-winning Mike Nichols revival of "Death of a Salesman." "China Doll"will be his first time originating a Broadway role.

"China Doll" will mark the tenth presentation of a David Mamet work by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, and Steve Traxler on Broadway and the West End.

"China Doll" opens on November 19 at The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street).