You demanded more theater news, and now you’re gettin’ it!
Frank Langella, probably best known to mainstream audiences as the owner of the New York Knicks in Eddie, is returning to the stage one year after his Frost/Nixon triumph for the kind of role that ruins most actors. And it’s not that Sir Thomas More is a career-ender; it’s just that the late Paul Scofield sorta owned that part when originated it back in the early 60s. By the way, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who know Scofield was one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century, and those who’ve never seen A Man for All Seasons.
Langella’s a tremendous talent, so it’s astonishing to think that he’s never even been nominated for an Academy Award. Had Adrian Lyne’s Lolita gotten a fair release, Langella probably would’ve had a decent shot at a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his sickening portrayal of the perverted Clare Quilty; unfortunately, every distributor in America rejected the film because the point of Nabokov’s text was somehow more elusive in 1997 than it was in 1962.
A Man for All Seasons is much more direct. And, with Langella heading up Robert Bolt’s masterpiece, it should prove to be a can’t-miss show when it begins previewing in the fall. But will it get back to the big screen? And if it does, will we be able to make room for Langella’s interpretation?