Television star Ben McKenzie will complete the forthcoming Second Stage Theater production of Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons. The theatre company announced today that McKenzie will join the previously announced Jane Alexander, James Cromwell, Priscilla Lopez, Maulik Pancholy, Ashley Park, and Michael Urie in the strictly-limited, 10-week engagement poised to begin previews at the Helen Hayes Theatre on December 23, 2019 toward a January 23, 2020 opening. Grand Horizons will mark McKenzie’s Broadway debut.
Ben McKenzie first came to prominence in the popular TV series The O.C. He went on to star in the NBC cop drama Southland. More recently, McKenzie just completed five seasons Detective James Gordon in the FOX hit series Gotham. He will soon be seen in the Steven C. Miller action thriller Line of Duty opposite Aaron Eckhart, and in the Amazon feature The Torture Report with Adam Driver & Annette Bening. Other credits include Junebug, 88 Minutes, Decoding Annie Parker, Johnny Got His Gun, and the animated feature Batman: Year One. McKenzie is no stranger to the New York stage, appeared off-Broadway in Life is a Dream at the Soho Rep. Additionally, he performed in numerous productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including Street Scene and The Blue Bird. He was last seen on stage in The Glass Menagerie at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
Co-commissioned by Williamstown Theatre Festival and Second Stage Theater, Grand Horizons will be directed by Leigh Silverman. The commission is supported in part by The William and Mary Greve Foundation. The full creative team includes scenic design by Clint Ramos, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, and projection design by Bryce Cutler. The play is described as follows:
“Bill and Nancy have spent fifty full years as husband and wife. They practically breathe in unison, and can anticipate each other’s every sigh, snore and sneeze. But just as they settle comfortably into their new home in Grand Horizons, the unthinkable happens: Nancy suddenly wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the shocking news, they are forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best. By turns funny, shocking and painfully honest, Bess Wohl’s new play explores a family turned upside-down and takes an intimate look at the wild, unpredictable, and enduring nature of love.”
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. His latest book, Sitcommentary: The Television Comedies That Changed America, released on October 15. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.