PRESS RELEASE
BROADWAY

For immediate release, please
Contact: Richard Kornberg, Don Summa 212 944-9444

LIAM NEESON AND LAURA LINNEY TO STAR IN ARTHUR MILLER'S THE CRUCIBLE
DIRECTED BY RICHARD EYRE

TO OPEN AT BROADWAY�S VIRGINIA THEATRE
THURSDAY, MARCH 7 AT 6:30PM

Producers David Richenthal, Manocherian/Leve/Boyett, Max Cooper, Allan S. Gordon, Roy Furman, Us Productions, Elan V. McAllister, Adam Epstein, and Margo Lion have announced that Arthur Miller's The Crucible, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, and directed by Richard Eyre, will open at Broadway's Virginia Theatre, 245 West 52 Street on Thursday, March 7, at 6:30pm. (Previews began Saturday, February 16.)

Arthur Miller�s most produced play, The Crucible, originally opened at Broadway�s Martin Beck Theatre on January 22, 1953, winning the Tony Award for best play. The production was directed by Jed Harris and starred Arthur Kennedy, Beatrice Straight, Madeleine Sherwood, and E.G. Marshall. (The play also had a successful off-Broadway production that ran for 571 performances in 1957-58.)

In The Crucible, New England farmer John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth hire a young woman, Abigail Williams, as a domestic and subsequently release her from her duties. In revenge, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft, a serious accusation in the highly-charged political and social atmosphere of 17th century Salem, Massachusetts. To save himself, Proctor initially confirms the charges and admits to his adulterous affair with Abigail. Ultimately he recants and perishes with his wife and a host of other innocent suspects.

Although initially seen as a comment on McCarthyism and the concomitant actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee, The Crucible goes deeper to discuss how an oppressive ideology affects a community and breeds fear and mistrust.

The cast of The Crucible is Liam Neeson (John Proctor), Laura Linney (Elizabeth Proctor), John Benjamin Hickey (Reverend John Hale), Christopher Evan Welch (Reverend Parris), Angela Bettis (Abigail Williams), Tom Aldredge (Giles Corey), Stephen Lee Anderson (Hopkins), Kristen Bell (Susanna Walcott), Laura Breckenridge (Girl in Courtroom), Jennifer Carpenter (Mary Warren), Betsy Hogg (Betty Parris), J.R. Horne (Judge Hathorne), Patrice Johnson (Tituba), Sevrin Anne Mason (Mercy Lewis), Paul O�Brien (Thomas Putnam), Jeanne Paulsen (Ann Putnam), Frank Raiter (Francis Nurse), Dale Soules (Sarah Good), Helen Stenborg (Rebecca Nurse), Henry Stram (Ezekiel Cheever), Jack Willis (Marshal Herrick), and Brian Murray (Deputy Governor Danforth).

Liam Neeson will be seen in two films this year: Martin Scorsese�s anticipated Gangs of New York, co-starring Leonardo DeCaprio, and opposite Harrison Ford in the true story of Russia�s nuclear submarine tragedy titled K-19: The Widowmaker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Mr. Neeson made his Broadway debut starring opposite Natasha Richardson in the 1993 revival of Eugene O�Neill�s Anna Christie for which he received a Tony nomination. He returned to Broadway in 1998 to star in David Hare�s The Judas Kiss, which he originated in London�s West End. Mr. Neeson�s films include John Boorman�s Excalibur (his film debut), Gun Shy, George Lucas�s Star Wars: Episode I � The Phantom Menace, The Haunting, Les Miserables, Neil Jordan�s Michael Collins (Venice Film Festival best actor, Golden Globe best actor nomination, and London Evening Standard Award best actor), Roger Donalson�s The Bounty, Lamb (Evening Standard nomination), Duet for One, A Prayer for the Dying, Roland Joffe�s The Mission, Peter Yates�s Suspect; The Good Mother; Sam Raimi�s Darkman, David Leland�s The Big Man, Shining Through, Under Suspicion, Leap of Faith, Michael Apted�s Nell, Rob Roy, Before and After, Ethan Frome, Woody Allen�s Husbands and Wives, and, perhaps most notably, his Oscar nominated performance in the title role of Steven Spielberg�s Schindler�s List for which he also received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Laura Linney received an Oscar nomination in 2001 for her performance in Kenneth Lonergan�s You Can Count on Me, and she will be seen in the upcoming feature, Mothman Prophecies, co-starring Richard Gere. Ms. Linney�s other films include The House of Mirth, Peter Weir�s The Truman Show, Clint Eastwood�s Absolute Power, Congo, Primal Fear, Lorenzo�s Oil, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and A Simple Twist of Fate. Ms. Linney is also known for her starring role in the acclaimed television adaptations of Armistead Maupin�s �Tales of the City� and �More Tales of the City.� Other television credits include Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of �Blind Spot,� co-starring Joanne Woodward, and Stanley Donen�s �Love Letters,� co-starring Steven Weber. Ms. Linney�s Broadway credits include Honour, opposite Jane Alexander, and Phillip Barry�s Holiday, opposite Tony Godlwyn, as well as Six Degrees of Separation, The Seagull, and Hedda Gabler. For her performance in the off-Broadway hit, Sight Unseen, Ms. Linney received a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk nomination. Ms. Linney is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Brian Murray's most recent credits include Edward Albee's The Play About The Baby (Obie Award) and the Atlantic Theatre Company production of Hobson's Choice. On Broadway he appeared in Uncle Vanya (Drama Desk nomination), Twelfth Night, The Little Foxes (Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination), Racing Demon, A Small Family Business, Noises Off (Drama Desk Award), Black Comedy, Sleuth, Da, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tony nomination). Off-Broadway, Mr. Murray has appeared in Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Entertainer, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Misalliance, Molly Sweeney, Travels With My Aunt (Drama Desk, OCC awards), Mud River Stone, Ashes (Obie), Spread Eagle, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, and The Butterfly Collection. He directed The Circle with Rex Harrison; Blithe Spirit with Richard Chamberlain, Blythe Danner and Judith Ivey; Hay Fever with Rosemary Harris; Arsenic and Old Lace with Jean Stapleton; and The Showoff with Pat Carroll. His film and television credits include Bob Roberts, City Hall, "The Investigators," "Illusions," "Liberty," "Hamlet," "Twelfth Night," and Disney's upcoming "Treasure Planet." Mr. Murray is the recipient of the 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence and the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Considered America�s greatest living playwright, Arthur Miller is credited�along with Eugene O�Neill and Tennessee Williams�with putting American drama on the map of world theatre. His body of work has increased in popularity over time and continues to grow with a vitality and vigor that belie his age. Recent productions of earlier work, such as the landmark 1999 50th Anniversary production of Death of a Salesman, which won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival, as well a special Lifetime Achievement Award for Mr. Miller; the 1999 Broadway Revival of The Price; the 1997 Roundabout revivals of All My Sons (New York Drama Critics Circle Award, 1947) and A View from the Bridge (1955); and the 1996 screen adaptation of The Crucible (1953); as well as successful London productions of more recent plays, like Broken Glass (1994), have helped the playwright find new audiences and garner renewed praise and critical acclaim. Additionally, some of the major themes covered in Mr. Miller�s work, the rampant materialism in American society and contemporary man�s spiritual malaise, for instance, are as current and topical now as when he first began writing for the stage.

Mr. Miller�s other plays include The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944), which will be revived on Broadway this season; Ibsen�s An Enemy of the People (translation, 1950); A Memory of Two Mondays (1955); After the Fall (1964); Incident at Vichy (1964); The Price (1968); The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972); The Archbishop�s Ceiling (1977); The American Clock (1980); The Ride Down Mount Morgan (1991); and The Last Yankee (1993). His work was the subject of the Signature Theatre Company 1997-98 season, which included a new play, Mr. Peters� Connections. Mr. Miller�s work in other media includes the screenplays for The Misfits (1961) and Everybody Wins (1990) and the screen adaptation of The Crucible (Academy Award nomination, 1997) as well as the teleplay for the Emmy Award-winning television film �Playing for Time� (1980). His books include Situation Normal, In Russia, Chinese Encounters, Salesman in Beijing, his acclaimed memoir Timebends, and Focus, which was the basis for a 2001 feature film.

Richard Eyre served as artistic director of London's Royal National Theatre from 1988 to 1997. He has directed scores of plays on both sides of the Atlantic, including the recent Broadway and London productions of four David Hare plays: The Judas Kiss, starring Mr. Neeson; Skylight, starring Michael Gambon; Amy's View, starring Judi Dench; and Racing Demon. Mr. Eyre's tenure at the National Theatre included many directing highlights, most notably Guys & Dolls (SWET and Standard Awards for best director); Futurists (Time Out Award for best director); The Changeling; Hamlet; The Voysey Inheritance; The Night of the Iguana: Macbeth; the David Hare trilogy: Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges, and The Absence of War; Sweet Bird of Youth; John Gabriel Borkman; King Lear; and The Invention of Love. He directed his first production, The Knack, at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester in 1965, where he directed numerous other productions, including Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, Othello, and The Crucible.

My. Eyre's film, Iris, the story of Iris Murdoch, which stars Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, and Kate Winslet, and which is currently on screens in the United States, was awarded a 2001 Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review. His other films include The Ploughman�s Lunch (1983, Standard Film Award for best film), Loose Connections (1984), and Laughterhouse (1984, Venice Film Festival Award for best film). Mr. Eyre's documentary, �Changing Stages,� a six-part look at the theatre and its evolution, which he both wrote and starred in, was recently seen on PBS, and its companion book, co-written with Nicholas Wright, was published by Bloomsbury. For BBC television, Mr. Eyre has directed, among many others, "Waterloo Sunset," "Comedians," "The Cherry Orchard," "The Imitation Game," "The Insurance Man" (Tokyo World TV Festival Special Prize 1986) "V", "Tumbledown " (winner Italia RAI Prize 1988, BAFTA best TV single drama award 1989, Royal Television Society Award for best single drama 1989), "Suddenly Last Summer," "The Absence of War," and "King Lear." At the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Mr. Eyre directed La Traviata. He has received numerous honorary degrees and in 1997 received the Laurence Olivier Award for outstanding achievement. Mr. Eyre was knighted in 1997.

The scenic and costume design for The Crucible are by Tim Hatley; the lighting design is by Paul Gallo; the sound design is by Scott Myers; original music is by David Van Tieghem; the production stage manager is Susie Cordon. The Crucible is produced in association with Dede Harris/Mort Swinsky, Clear Channel Entertainment, Old Ivy Productions, Jujamcyn Theatres, Jeffrey Ash, Berinstein/Selig Golden/Skipper, Gene Korf, and Robert Cole, and by special arrangement with the Roundabout Theatre Company. The associate producers are Eric Falkenstein and Toby Simkin. Opening night festivities are sponsored in part by HSBC Bank.

The Crucible plays Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30PM with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:00PM at the Virginia Theatre, 245 West 52 Street. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL MATINEES BEGIN AT 2:00PM AND ALL EVENING PERFORMANCES (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OPENING NIGHT) BEGIN AT 7:30PM. ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PRODUCTION IS DARK ON SEVERAL SUNDAYS THROUGHOUT THE RUN. PLEASE PHONE OR CONSULT LISTINGS FOR EXACT SCHEDULE. Tickets are $40-$85 and may be purchased at the Eugene O�Neill Theatre box office or by phoning Telecharge at 212 239-6200. Outside of the metropolitan area, phone 800 432-7250. For group sales, phone 212 302-7000 or 800 677-1164. A limited number of same-day, $25 rush tickets are available for every performance (except opening night) beginning daily at 10:00AM and Sunday at 12:00 noon at the box office.

The Crucible website may be accessed at www.thecrucibleonbroadway.com. The Crucible website is sponsored by The AOL Time Warner Foundation in support of SHiNE and by Fat Witch Bakery.

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