‘Killer Joe,’ first play by Tracy Letts, aiming for Broadway
A white-trash ensemble drama with a nasty comic bite, “Killer Joe” was playwright Tracy Letts’ first stage effort, premiering in Chicago in 1993.
Having already been adapted for the big screen in 2011 by director William Friedkin -- and starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role -- the play will have its Broadway debut in 2014, producers announced Thursday.
“Killer Joe,” directed by Pam MacKinnon, hasn’t set an opening date or cast. Producers Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel previously worked with Letts and MacKinnon on the recent Broadway revival of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” for which Letts won a Tony Award for acting.
FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Spring arts preview
The Friedkin movie, which Letts adapted from his play, also starred Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon (wearing a merkin), Juno Temple and Thomas Haden Church. The movie’s violence and sexual content earned it an NC-17 rating.
The play follows a young man who hires a contract killer to dispose of his mother so that he can collect the insurance.
Letts recently adapted his Tony-winning play “August: Osage County” for the highly anticipated movie version starring Meryl Streep that will open in December.
ALSO:
Tracy Letts finally makes it to Broadway stage
Tracy Letts shines at Tony Awards, generates heat in Hollywood
Tonys 2013: Virginia Woolf gets plaudits, though posthumously
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