Oscar Winner Cate Blanchett to Make Broadway Debut in Chekhov Play

The Oscar winner will make the jump from the big screen to the big stage, in an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's first play.

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, whose role in the film “Carol” earned her a nomination in the best actress category again this year, will return to the New York stage this winter to make her Broadway debut in "The Present," Andrew Upton’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s first play “Platonov.”

Joining Blanchett is fellow Aussie Richard Roxburgh, known for his role in the Australian TV series “Rake.” Roxburgh will also be making his Broadway debut in the production.

No opening dates, theatre or additional casting has been announced yet. John Crowley will direct.

“The Present” tells the story of a group of friends who gather at an old country house in the mid 1990s to celebrate the birthday of widow AnnaPetrovna (Blanchett). Tensions boil between AnnaPetrovna and Platonov (Roxburgh) with whom she shares, according to the release, “20 years of denial, regret and thwarted desire.”

The production transfers following a critically acclaimed, sold-out engagement in Sydney, Australia. It will be presented by the Sydney Theatre Company, of which Blanchett and Upton once served as co-Artistic Directors.

Previously, Blanchett and Roxburugh appeared together in a Sydney Theater Company’s production of “Uncle Vanya” at New York City Center, which was presented as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Blanchett has also brought Sydney Theatre Company’s productions of “Hedda Gabler,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Maids” to New York — though never to Broadway.

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