| To Be Or Not To Be is a Broadway play written by Nick Whitby. It is based on the 1942 motion picture To Be Or Not To Be. The production will mark Whitby’s New York playwriting debut. It will be directed by three-time Tony Awards nominee Casey Nicholaw. The 1942 comedy film To Be or Not to Be is about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It starred Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. In 1996, To Be or Not to Be was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The title is a reference to the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. To Be Or Not To Be will be the first production of Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2008-2009 Season. The production will begin previews at the Biltmore Theatre on Thursday, September 11 and will open on Thursday, October 2. The main characters include: Maria Tura (Jan Maxwell) — an actress in Nazi-occupied Poland. Mel Brooks remade To Be or Not to Be film in 1983. |
To Be or Not to Be – 1942 film starred Carole Lombard & Jack Benny |
A Tale of Two Cities Top Pal Joey |
