New York - UPI
James Earl Jones is to star in the Broadway revival of You Can't Take It with You this summer, producers announced. This will be the first time in more than 30 years the play will be performed on Broadway. The original production of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's comedy opened at the Booth Theater Dec. 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances. It won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Scott Ellis will direct the revival, which will begin previews in August for a Sept. 28 opening at a Shubert Theatre to be announced. You Can't Take It with You is being produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Steve Traxler, Jessica Genick and Will Trice. The play is about the Sycamores and the Kirbys -- two completely different families whose worlds collide when their children become engaged. "The Sycamore family may seem like the mad ones with their galaxy of unique and zany characters, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder," a synopsis said. Jones, 83, made his Broadway debut in 1957 and has since won Tony Awards for his work in the Broadway productions of The Great White Hope and Fences. He has appeared on Broadway in Gore Vidal's The Best Man, On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Driving Miss Daisy, as well. Jones is also an award-winning film and television actor, who has been presented with the Lifetime Achievement Oscar. His film credits include The Great White Hope, the Star Wars franchise, Field of Dreams, The Lion King, The Hunt for the Red October and Gimme Shelter.