Michael Riedel reports in today's New York Post that Nicolas Cage is considering a Broadway box next year starring in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's next in a new production produced by Robert Cole and Fred Zollo who last produced the Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman production of A Steady Rain.
Nicolas Cage has appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona (1987), The Rock (1996), Face/Off (1997), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Adaptation (2002), National Treasure (2004), Ghost Rider (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), and Kick-Ass (2010). Cage, at age 32, became the fifth youngest actor ever to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas.
Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960's that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. The book was dramatized by Dale Wasserman and is based largely on Kesey's experiences as a volunteer working with mental patients.
Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, the play explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity, ideas that were widely discussed at a time when the United States was committed to opposing communism and totalitarian regimes around the world. However, Kesey's approach, directing criticism at American institutions themselves, was revolutionary for its time.
The play was first produced on Broadway in 1964, two years after the novel was published. The Broadway production starred Kirk Douglas as McMurphy, Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbit, and Ed Ames as Chief Bromden. Douglas retained the rights to make a movie version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for a decade, but was unable to find a studio willing to make it with him. Eventually, he gave the rights to his son Michael Douglas, who succeeded in getting the movie produced. By then, Kirk Douglas was deemed too old for the role of McMurphy, and the role was given to Jack Nicholson.
This would be a dream come true! I know Nic has said before he wouldn't do stage work ( where is that interview Lady T? can you remember? ) but it seems to me his acting sensibilties would bring the most exciting theatre ever!!!!
Oh and One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest was I think Jack Nicholson's best role, an amazing film, and it would be fantastNIC on stage.
I know! Stupendous news! I love the movie too and I think Nic would be so truly awesome as McMurphy, and if it is true, I am going to start saving my pennies to go to New York to see it!
I wonder if I can use any more exclamation marks? Yup!!!!!!!!!!!
(I think the article said he wouldn't do live performance becasue he gets stage fright. Must look for it)
But then Nic has also said the things he is afraid of he has to do.. so ...this seems perfect. It is a harrowing story though..i wonder how it will translate to the stage?
What excites me the most about the idea of Nic doing live performance on stage is that he is a very magical actor....and what I mean by that is he creates these moments ( like the ones in The Bad Lieutenan twe were discussing recently Lady Trueheart ) on film that would be even more powerful in the intimacy and immediacy of a live performance..the energy would be tangible and the experience would be just amazing. whatever part od teh kaleioscopic rnage he brings, whther totally out there, or tender and almost contained or any shade inbetween, Nic in his nouveau shamaNIC flow in the flesh ( as it were ) would be like a force of nature!
Never say never eva, you never know "It Could Happen To You"!!
I am just happy that Nic may be appearing on stage, and if it happens, we can enjoy it from a distance and rejoice in other people's good fortune if they get to see him!
This would be so exciting! I hope it turns out to be true! I think he would be wonderful before a live audience, gracing the stage with his awesomeness!
It so would crazy diamond! let's hope the universe conspires to make this happen!!
It doesn't need to be One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, though it is an incredibly powerful story. Nic in live performance at all would be enthralling beyond belief, even if it wasn't techinically submersive theatre, I reckon he would draw the audience in because he is a magnetic performer!
I think I read before that One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest was a play before they made the movie so it was probably adapted for film. In that case, I would ssume that the play would be different in some ways. Kirk Douglas was supposed to play McMurphy in the movie but by the time it got made he was too old for the role.
I agree that Nic would just be stupendous in live theatre, would not matter to me what play it was, really, the thrill of seeing him live, wow!
CD? I beg your forgiveness for asking such a trivial question. but what is cd? I mean, in the way you used it. Of course, though my comment sounded quite narcisstic, please know I did not think that it in any way was aimed at my little self. I was just casually making conversation & advising that I was quite familiar with the background behind this amazing film.
So...who has read the novel by Ken Kesey? I did many years ago perhaps need a refresher! and this is goign to seem very random but it has been bugging me since the beginning fthis thread, why does 'Midnght Express' keep popping into my mind? perhaps it is just a personal associationi have as boththose movies had a deeeply powerful effect on me. certainly could not do that as a stage play...but it would be cool to see Nic in a remake.
I have read it, Lula, but like you, probably need a refresher. I seem to recall it differing in the way Nurse Ratchet ( sp?) was portrayed in the movie, but really remember most of all how it affected me. Great book.
I know I have seen Midnight Express but again, I mostly recall the effect on me. Was the man in the movie uite young, though? Don't recall at all. Horrific movie.
Oh my gosh how ever did Nirse Ratchet do that hair in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest? Her hair alone gave me nightmares!!!
Yes Midnight Express was horrific but nevetherless an incredible film, Alan Parker did an amazing job of bringing it to film. I guess Brad Davis who playe Bill, was quite young. Now i realise why it came to mind, as part of Bill's tortuous imprisonment he was placed in the sanitarium,and of course there are the attempted escape scenarios in both (without giving too much away)