Sally Field, Bill Pullman Set London Stage Debuts in ‘All My Sons’
By Robert Mitchell
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Hollywood stars and Bill Pullman are set to make their London stage debuts in a new production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.” The pair will headline a spring 2019 production at London’s Old Vic Theatre.
Field and Pullman will star as Kate and Joe Keller, an American couple who, despite hard choices and even harder knocks, are a success story, having built a home, raised two more sons and established a thriving business. Set in 1947, the story sees the Kellers’ lives about to be shattered. With the return of a figure from the past, long-buried truths surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare.
“All My Sons” is a co-production between the and U.K. theatrical touring company Headlong. It will be directed by Headlong’s New York-born artistic director, Jeremy Herrin, marking his first production at the Old Vic. Further casting and specific dates for the production have yet to be announced.
The two actors both appeared, though not together, in the original Broadway production of Edward Albee’s “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?,” which won the Tony Award for best play. Pullman starred alongside Mercedes Ruehl when the play opened in March 2002, with Field taking over alongside Bill Irwin the following September.
Field is scheduled to take part in October’s London Literary Festival at the Southbank Centre, not far walk from the Old Vic, to promote her upcoming memoir “In Pieces.” A two-time Oscar and three-time Emmy winner, she appeared on Broadway last year in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” at the Belasco Theatre.
Pullman is best known for his roles in hit 1990s films including romantic comedies “Sleepless in Seattle” and “While You Were Sleeping,” and sci-fi epic “Independence Day.” He returned for the sequel “Independence Day: Resurgence” in 2016. Pullman also stars in crime drama “The Sinner” for USA Network, which is currently airing its second season.
Miller’s play was first staged on Broadway in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan. Edward G. Robinson, Mady Christians and Burt Lancaster starred in a film version of the play the following year, directed by Irving Reis.
The most recent Broadway revival in 2008 starred John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest as the Kellers, with Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes in support. Two years later, a London West End production starred David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker.
