Jerusalem opens to rave reviews on Broadway
Published on Wed 27 Apr 2011The Royal Court’s production of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway to rave reviews last week (21 April).
Ben Brantley’s review in the New York Times described Mark Rylance’s portrayal of Johnny Byron as a ‘performance for the ages…[one] that we will talk about for years to come.”
Vogue magazine describes Mark Rylance as “incapable of giving a performance that is anything short of mesmerizing” and Time Out, New York said “Anyone who cares about thrilling, world-class theatre must see Jerusalem.”
Dominic Cooke Artistic Director of the Royal Court said:
“We could never have predicted when Jerusalem opened in 2009 that it would go on such an incredible journey from the Royal Court to the West End to Broadway. Jez’s play has captured everyone’s hearts and we’re just thrilled for Jez, Ian, Mark and the whole Jerusalem team that it has translated so well to the Broadway stage.”
Jerusalem opened at the Royal Court Theatre in July, 2009 with critics praising playwright Jez Butterworth’s beautiful and comic elegy for a disappearing way of life in rural England and actor Mark Rylance, who was lauded as delivering one of the great stage performances of our time. The production played an extended sold out run at the Royal Court, before moving to the Apollo Theatre in the West End in January, 2010, where it received an unprecedented set of five-star reviews from 12 London newspapers.