Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley to open new play off-Broadway

By Michael Granberry

Beth Henley '74

Thirteen years ago, it was my enormous pleasure to be sitting in a quiet cafe on L.A.’s west side, sharing a booth with a woman who graduated from Southern Methodist University the same year I did, 1974. Seven years after leaving the Hilltop, Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, for a knockout play called Crimes of the Heart, which later became a movie.

So, I was thrilled to learn this morning that Beth’s new play, The Jacksonian, will be produced by New Group as part of its 2013-14 Off Broadway season at the Acorn Theater in New York. The Jacksonian is the kind of dark comedy Beth does so well, set in her hometown of Jackson, Miss., in 1964.

The New York Times reported the news on its theater blog: “Directed by Robert Falls, the production will feature Ed Harris, Glenne Headly, Amy Madigan and Bill Pullman, who will reprise their roles from the play’s premiere last year at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Additional casting is to be announced.”

 

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