Denis Arndt, Tony-nominee for his performance in the Broadway production of Heisenberg, has joined the cast of Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men. Arndt, who replaces Tom Skerritt who has departed the production for personal reasons, will join a cast that includes Josh Charles, Armie Hammer, Kate Bornstein, Ty Defoe, and Paul Schneider. Straight White Men is directed by Anna D. Shapiro. The production is produced by Second Stage Theatre.
Denis Arndt portrayed Alex Priest in Simon Stephen’s Heisenberg at Manhattan Theatre Club. Among his many and varied theatre credits, Arndt has appeared in The Ballad of Soapy Smith, Richard II (Public Theatre), both in New York City. His regional credits include productions at the Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, The Studio Theatre, Artists Repertory, Kansas City Rep, Mark Taper Forum, Intiman, Arena Stage, Goodman Theatre. TV audiences will recognize him from appearances on Mr. Mercedes, The Good Fight, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Boston Legal, 24, The Practice and CSI. Films include Basic Instinct, Distant Thunder, and How to Make an American Quilt, as well as several others.
Straight White Men, which begins previews at the Helen Hayes Theater on Friday, June 29, 2018 toward a Monday, July 23 opening is described as follows: “It’s Christmas Eve, and Ed has gathered his three adult sons to celebrate with matching pajamas, trash talking, and Chinese takeout. But when a question they can’t answer interrupts their holiday cheer, they are forced to confront their own identities. Obie Award-winning playwright Young Jean Lee takes a hilariously ruthless look at the classic American father-son drama. This is one white Christmas like you’ve never seen before.”
Playwright Young Jean Lee holds the distinction of being the first Asian-American female playwright to be produced on Broadway. Anna D. Shapiro will be making her Second Stage directorial debut with this production. The Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, Ms. Shapiro won a Tony Award for her direction of August: Osage County in 2008. The rest of the creative team for Straight White Men will include scenic design by Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Suttirat Larlarb, lighting design by Donald Holder, sound design by M.L. Dogg, choreography by Faye Driscoll and casting by Telsey + Company.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.