Garry Marshall to direct ‘Billy & Ray’ in New York

“Billy & Ray” -- a stage play about Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler and the making of “Double Indemnity” -- opened at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank last year to rave reviews, running for a little more than a month at the 130-seat theater space.

The drama, directed by filmmaker Garry Marshall, will have its New York debut this coming season in an off-Broadway production at the Vineyard Theatre, near Union Square. The company said on Tuesday that the play will kick off its 2014-15 season, with an official opening scheduled for Oct. 20.

“Billy & Ray” was written by Mike Bencivenga and starred Kevin Blake and Shaun O’Hagan during its run in Burbank. (No casting has been announced for New York.) The drama follows the often fractious relationship between Wilder and Chandler as they set about adapting James M. Cain’s novel for the big screen.

A Times review called the production “a vivid, suspenseful portrait of the creation of the movie that may have invented film noir.”

Marshall, the director of “Pretty Woman,” is the founder of the Falcon, where he has staged a number of productions.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT