Sports-themed plays have ruled Broadway and Off-Broadway over the past year. Lombardi, a new play about legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi, is heading into its sixth month at Circle in the Square Theatre, and the wrestling world play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity wowed audiences last spring at Second Stage Theatre. That Championship Season, Jason Miller’s Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play about four former members of a basketball championship team, opens March 6th at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre with an all-star cast of Brian Cox, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Noth, Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland.
In Chelsea Thursday night, another award-winning sporty play began its six-week run at T. Schreiber, a studio where Edward Norton, Maria Bello, Peter Sarsgaard, and Debra Jo Rupp, among others, honed their acting skills. David Storey’s The Changing Room burst onto Broadway in 1973, winning critical acclaim and racking up awards. The New York Times hailed it as “mysterious and ultimately mesmerizing.” The Critics Circle named it best play, and it was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play. For his Broadway debut, John Lithgow won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor.
Nearly 40 years later, The Changing Room still offers an intimate portrait of male bonding and solidarity. Set entirely in the locker room of a Northern England semi-pro rugby team, the play occurs over the course of one game: before the action, during halftime and after the game. Directed by famed acting coach Terry Schreiber, the play deftly exposes class differences while showcasing how sports, rugby in this case, bring people together.
The play’s notoriety is due in part to the all male cast of 22 characters and its realistic treatment of nudity. Hey, the play takes place in a locker room after all. There isn’t anything sensational about the nudity, but if you’re easily shocked, then The Changing Room may not be for you. However, if you like to see classic plays for an affordable price (tickets are only $20) and don’t mind seeing a little skin, check out The Changing Room.
For more information and tickets, visit the T. Schreiber website.
T. Schreiber is located at 151 West 26th Street, 7th Floor, between 6th and 7th Avenues.
