Dan Stevens: Perez Reviews: The Heiress (PEREZ HILTON)

The Heiress is playing a limited engagement on Broadway and we were lucky enough to catch this production with an all-star cast that includes Jessica Chastain, David Strathairn, Dan Stevens and Judith Ivey.

Jessica Chastain can do no wrong! We love her even more now than before! She is well on her way to becoming one of the greatest actresses of her generation!

And we are now completely smitten with Dan Stevens! We've never seen Downton Abbey before, but this talented blonde Brit - yum! - got a very warm reception from the audience. He had a lot of fans in attendance, and rightfully so - Stevens quite expertly played a despicable character with so much charm, that you couldn't help but fall in love with him!


READ MORE: http://perezhilton.com/2012-11-02-perez-reviews-the-heiress-broadway-jessica-chastain#.UJUrYMXA-RY

Dan Stevens, Jessica Chastain: The Heiress Opening Night party

The after-effects of Hurricane Sandy didn't stop the Broadway opening night of Ruth & Augustus Goetz's The Heiress, which went on as scheduled on Thursday, November 1. Following the 6pm performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre, the cast, creative team, and guests headed to the swanky after party at the Edison Ballroom.

Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens, David Strathairn, and Judith Ivey lead the cast of the revival, which is directed by Moises Kaufman. The company also includes Molly Camp, Kieran Campion, Virginia Kull, Ben Livingston, Dee Nelson, and Caitlin O'Connell.

READ MORE: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/11-2012/matt-bomer-jessica-chastain-dan-stevens-and-more-m_63631.html#17

DAN STEVENS: The Heiress: Theater Review 6:00 PM PDT 11/1/2012 by David Rooney (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

NEW YORK – The gasps of pleasure that accompanied the stage entrance of Dan Stevens in The Heiress on press night indicated a large contingent of Downton Abbey fans in the audience. And the actor is a savvy casting choice in a part that requires beguiling charm and sufficient sincerity to keep us wondering about his character’s motives. But the good news doesn’t extend to the actress in the title role of this plush Broadway revival. An underpowered Jessica Chastain, hampered by questionable directorial choices, dilutes the emotional impact of this nonetheless compelling melodrama.


Adapted by Ruth & Augustus Goetz from Henry James’ novel Washington Square, the 1947 play won a Tony Award for Cherry Jones in the celebrated 1995 revival, and an Oscar for Olivia de Havilland in William Wyler’s 1949 screen version.

Making her Broadway debut, Chastain is not a natural fit for Catherine, the socially awkward, plain-Jane daughter of wealthy widowed medic Dr. Austin Sloper (David Strathairn) in mid-19th century New York. In her prolific burst of film work over the past two years, the lovely Juilliard-trained actress has impressed with her poise and delicacy, balancing fragility with quiet inner fortitude. But playing against type is less a problem in Chastain’s frustrating performance here than inconsistency of characterization.

As Morris Townsend, the cash-strapped gentleman whose ardent interest in Catherine causes her to blossom in a dizzying two-week courtship, Stevens is ideal. While Dr. Sloper pegs him as a gold-digging wastrel and is determined to open his daughter’s eyes to that view, Stevens brings such unsullied earnestness to the role that we want to believe in his honest intentions, just as he appears to want the same. Morris is so bewitched by the material comforts of the Slopers’ swanky home on fashionable Washington Square that he seems as much a victim of his desires as the architect of any calculated scheme.

Strathairn is also superb as Dr. Sloper, who takes his behavioral cues from his clinical profession. The insensitivity with which he treats his daughter makes it a challenge to find a glimmer of sympathy in this joyless man – as starchy and severe as his tall hat and topcoat. But Strathairn deftly reveals the pathos of the doctor, who has never been able to forgive Catherine for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth. It’s his tragedy as much as Catherine’s that his chilliness has caused her to grow up into the exact opposite of her vivacious mother.

Ivey, as always, is a consummate pro. Without any undue scene-stealing, she is a constant delight to watch. Her good-hearted Lavinia is a giggling, frivolous woman, slightly dim and a shameless flirt; even her widow’s weeds are covered in silly flounces and ruffles. But her girlish swooning over the romance in the air between Catherine and Morris masks a touching vein of melancholy. “Life can be very long for a woman alone,” she warns her niece.

READ MORE: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/theater-review-jessica-chastain-heiress-385300

Dan Stevens and Jessica Chastain's glowing review for The Heiress! (EW)

DETAILS
Opening Date: Nov 01, 2012; Lead Performances: Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens and David Strathairn; Director: Moises Kaufman; Genre: Drama

The frizzy wig Jessica Chastain wears in the Broadway revival of The Heiress does her no favors — but that is exactly the point. Her Catherine Sloper is the plain Jane living in 1850 New York City who becomes tongue-tied in the company of everyone other than her disarming widowed aunt (Judith Ivey). Even her wealthy physician father (David Strathairn) thinks she's a drip — ''a defenseless creature without a shred of poise'' — who pales in comparison with his late wife, who died in childbirth and whom he's idealized ever since.

So when the penniless but socially adroit Morris Townsend comes courting, Dr. Sloper is naturally suspicious. But as played by Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens with a fluid American accent, Morris is no one-note cad. While he freely admits to having blown through his own inheritance and acknowledges the material benefits of a union with Catherine, he also seems to genuinely draw her out of her shell.

READ MORE: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20643906,00.html

Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens Declines Fourth Series in Favour of Broadway 24 October 2012 (CONTACT MUSIC)

Dan Stevens, who plays Matthew Crawley, the only male heir to the Downton Estate, has revealed that he may not be returning for the fourth series, or indeed ever again. Crawley is pivotal to the plot of the entire concept, and his leaving will raise some serious problems for the writers. The Daily Mail reports that Stevens is choosing to leave to further pursue Broadway in New York, where he will be starring in The Heiress later this year. "New York for me is going to be one big adventure. I will be taking the whole family out and we will be there for six months." He said "I don't know if I will be returning to Downton."

READ MORE: http://www.contactmusic.com/news/downton-s-dan-stevens-declines-fourth-series-in-favour-of-broadway_3340584

Dan Stevens: Heir Meets Heiress By Laura JacobsPhotograph by Jason Bell (VANITY FAIR)

Delightfully goony,” wrote The New York Times of Dan Stevens’s performance in his first professional play. It was 2005, and the young British actor, straight out of Cambridge University, was at Brooklyn Academy of Music, cast as Orlando in Peter Hall’s touring production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. “A breezily confident professional debut,” agreed Variety, calling Stevens’s Orlando a “sweet, swooning lad.” 

It’s been seven years since that play, and now the world is swooning for Stevens. Playing the upstanding Edwardian heartthrob Matthew Crawley in the Masterpiece mega-hit Downton Abbey, he has acquired a global fan base and a high profile. This October he returns to the New York stage in the role of a more complicated heartthrob: Morris Townsend, the handsome bounder in The Heiress, the 1947 adaptation of the Henry James novel of 1880, Washington Square.

READ MORE: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/11/matthew-crawley-downton-abbey

Dan Stevens: For Love or Money: How The Heiress Charmed Audiences From Washington Square to Broadway FEATURES By Lindsay Champion October 18, 2012 - 6:04PM (BROADWAY BUZZ)

The Heiress is bringing a taste of 19th-century New York charm to Broadway, starring Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain as Catherine Sloper and Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens as her suitor, Morris Townsend. Read on below to chart the history of The Heiress from Henry James’ 1880 novella to the 2012 Broadway revival.

This Brilliant Stranger
Like many great artistic works, The Heiress was originally inspired by a piece of juicy gossip. In 1879, actress Fanny Kemble met with her novelist pal Henry James to spill the story of her younger brother, a fortune hunter. Kemble's sibling had proposed to a very rich but plain-looking woman, but he wasn’t in love with her. The woman (dubbed “Miss T.” in James' journal entry) fell head over heels for her suitor, but “her father disapproved strongly (and justly) of the engagement.” Eventually, the greedy beau got discouraged and disappeared. When Miss T.’s father died, he returned, but it was too late—the heiress refused to take him back.

READ MORE:  http://www.broadway.com/buzz/164848/for-love-or-money-how-the-heiress-charmed-audiences-from-washington-square-to-broadway/

Jessica Chastain and Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens Make Broadway Debuts as The Heiress Begins Performances NEWS By Broadway.com Staff October 6, 2012 - 9:25AM (BROADWAY.COM)

Performances for the revival of Ruth and Augustus Goetz’s classic play The Heiress begin October 6 at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre, starring Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain and Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens. Directed by Moises Kaufman, The Heiress will open officially on November 1, and will play a limited engagement through February 10, 2013.

Set in 18th century New York City, the play is based on Henry James’ novel Washington Square. The Heiress tells the story of Catherine Sloper (Chastain), an exceedingly wealthy but plain-looking woman who is pursued by a handsome, mysterious suitor (Stevens). Although Catherine is smitten, her father, Dr. Austin Sloper (David Strathairn), suspects the man is only after his daughter’s money. In addition to Chastain, Stevens and Strathairn, the production features two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey, as well as Virginia Kull, Kieran Campion, Dee Nelson, Molly Camp and Caitlin O’Connell.

READ MORE: http://www.broadway.com/buzz/164494/jessica-chastain-and-downton-abbeys-dan-stevens-make-broadway-debuts-as-the-heiress-begins-performances/

Dan Stevens: Bloomberg News NYC Best: Chastain Onstage, Afghan Whigs, Picasso’s Rape By Zinta Lundborg on October 05, 2012 (BLOOMBERG)

Sunday Matinee
Jessica Chastain takes on the role of Catherine Sloper, the introverted upper-class girl in “The Heiress.”

Dan Stevens, a “Downton Abbey” Crawley, plays the charming fortune hunter, while David Strathairn is her disapproving Dad.

The astute Moises Kaufman directed this revival of a play based on the Henry James novella.

In previews at the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., for a Nov. 1 opening. Information: +1-212-239-6200; http://www.walterkerrtheatre.com.

READ MORE: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-05/nyc-best-chastain-onstage-afghan-whigs-picasso-s-rape

Dan Stevens to quit Downton Abbey? (MERCURY)

Dan Stevens has hinted he may leave 'Downton Abbey'.

The 29-year-old actor is moving to New York after being offered a role in Broadway play 'The Heiress' and is unlikely to reprise his role as handsome heir Matthew Crawley in the ITV1 period drama when his six month stint in the US ends.

Dan told The Sun newspaper: "I am off to New York in about a month's time and it is going to be one big adventure.

"I will be taking the whole family out and we will be there for around six months.

"I don't know if I will be coming back to 'Downton' as I don't know if they are doing another series yet."
The actor - who will be performing alongside film star Jessica Chastain in the Tony-award winning play - says the risk of uprooting his wife and two young children was outweighed by the exciting opportunities America has to offer because they are "crazy" about 'Downton'.

Dan explained: "It was a big decision to go as taking your family over there is a big thing but it's exciting.
"It is all down to the success of 'Downton' in America. The show has been a huge hit over there on the back of the Emmys.

http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Whats-On-Leisure/TV-News/Dan-Stevens-to-quit-Downton-Abbey-2-1071542.xnf

Daniel Day-Lewis: Trailer for LINCOLN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiSAbAuLhqs&feature=player_embedded#

Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens, and Cast of Broadway's The Heiress Meet the Press By David Gordon (THEATER MANIA)

Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens, David Strathairn, Judith Ivey, and additional cast members of the Broadway revival of Ruth & Augustus Goetz's The Heiress met the press Thursday, September 13 at the Empire Hotel. The production, directed by Moises Kaufman, begins previews October 6 at the Walter Kerr Theatre in advance of a November 1 opening.

The cast also includes Molly Camp, Kieran Campion, Virginia Kull, Ben Livingston, Dee Nelson, and Caitlin O'Connell.

The play centers on Chastain's character, who is caught between her steely, controlling father (played by Strathairn) and a mysterious, handsome suitor (Stevens).

READ MORE: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/09-2012/jessica-chastain-dan-stevens-and-cast-of-broadways_61328.html#3

Dan Stevens: Downton Abbey Heir Arrives to Court "The Heiress" By Robert Kahn | Wednesday, Sep 12, 2012

4 NEW YORK

The reluctant heir to Downton Abbey has made it ashore in New York, where he’s about to both court and star in Broadway's “The Heiress."

In a column published this week in the U.K., Dan Stevens ruminated on his Labor Day arrival stateside, writing about the "discombobulation" that occurs when one finds oneself landing “in a foreign field” (i.e., Manhattan) during a change of seasons.

“Everyone desperately leaps for the summit of summer before the inevitable descent into winter. I can see why they call it ‘fall’ here,” wrote Stevens, best known for playing the scion of the aristocratic Crawley family on Masterpiece's juicy period drama.

READ MORE:  http://www.nbcnewyork.com/the-scene/events/dan-stevens-heiress-169486756.html

My week: Dan Stevens Escaping the 'Downton Abbey' madness for a stint on Broadway (TELEGRAPH)

By Dan Stevens
8:00AM BST 11 Sep 2012

I’ve been up in the air a lot recently. Discombobulation is an integral part of relocation.

All those elements of your life that felt so combobulated are thrust skywards, as are you, and you find yourself landing in a foreign field, with few of your possessions, in a heatwave. I was reminded of one of my favourite alternative movie posters this week as we drew into Manhattan for my stint on Broadway: a cartoon Ferris Bueller is speeding down the freeway in a “borrowed” Ferrari for a hedonistic “day off”, while in the other direction stretches a solid trudge of traffic. On Labor Day weekend it seems customary to reverse this image and flee the city en masse, leaving inroads relatively clear, as everyone desperately leaps for the summit of summer before the inevitable descent into winter. I can see why they call it “fall” here.

As I sat in one particular plane taxiing from the terminal the other day it violently juddered to a halt; thankfully still on the ground, at low speed, almost as if an airport cat had crossed the pilot’s path. Nevertheless, something interesting occurred in a cabin where people had previously ignored each other, each of us pretending there were 400 impostors on our “private jet”; we suddenly looked each other in the eye. Instinctively we seemed to say, “If we’re in trouble I suppose we should at least connect.” In the air, of course, this sentiment is only intensified. Airborne or otherwise, if we’re collectively in trouble we should indeed connect.

READ MORE:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9526038/My-week-Dan-Stevens.html

Dan Stevens: The Heiress Broadway showtime information

“The Heiress” — Oscar nominees Jessica Chastain ( “The Help”) and David Strathairn (“Good Night, and Good Luck”) are joined by Dan Stevens ( “Downton Abbey”) in a revival of the story about a New York girl, her domineering father and a handsome suitor. Directed by Moises Kaufman. Previews Oct. 7; opens Nov. 1. Limited engagement through Feb. 10, 2013. Kerr, 219 W. 48th. www.theheiressonbroadway.com.


READ MORE BROADWAY SHOWTIMES: http://www.lohud.com/article/20120909/ENTERTAINMENT0802/309090020/Show-by-show-Broadway-season-ahead?nclick_check=1

Dan Stevens: Judith Ivey joins Broadway cast of 'The Heiress' Share By MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer (SACRAMENTO BEE)

FILE - This Sept. 22, 2009 file photo shows actress Judith Ivey posing for a portrait in New York. Ivey will join the cast of "The Heiress," opening Nov. 1, 2012 through Feb. 10 at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York.

NEW YORK -- Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey is returning to two familiar places - she's back on Broadway and revisiting an old work.

Producers said Monday that former "Designing Women" star Ivey will join the cast of "The Heiress," a play based on the Henry James novel "Washington Square," which was made into a 1997 movie starring Ivey and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

The play also stars Jessica Chastain, who was nominated for an Oscar for "The Help"; David Strathairn, who was in the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" and earned an Emmy for "Temple Grandin"; and "Downton Abbey" star Dan Stevens. It will be directed by playwright and director Moises Kaufman.


READ MORE: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/09/4618986/judith-ivey-joins-broadway-cast.html

Dan Stevens: THE HEIRESS Launches Website, Twitter and Facebook Pages (BROADWAY WORLD)

THE HEIRESS by Ruth and Augustus Goetz and directed by Moisés Kaufman, is coming to Broadway in a strictly limited engagement, starring Jessica Chastain, David Strathairn and Dan Stevens, in October 2012. The show has just announced the launch of its official website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Visit www.TheHeiressOnBroadway.com, follow THE HEIRESS on Twitter @TheHeiressBway and find the show on Facebook.

Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain (Catherine Sloper), Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner David Strathairn (Dr. Austin Sloper) and Dan Stevens (Morris Townsend) will star in this new production of the unforgettable drama and Tony Award-winning play The Heiress. Dan Stevens is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.

Read more:http://broadwayworld.com/article/THE-HEIRESS-Launches-Website-Twitter-and-Facebook-Pages-20120612

Dan Stevens: ‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ HEARTTHROB DAN STEVENS TO MAKE BROADWAY STAGE DEBUT By Leah Rozen | Posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 (ANGLOPHENIA)

Book that trip now to New York City for next fall. That’s when Dan Stevens, the 29-year-old British actor who has become an international heartthrob playing Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey, heads across the Atlantic to appear on Broadway.

He will make his debut on the Great White Way next October opposite fast-rising movie star Jessica Chastain (The Help and The Tree of Life) in a hotly anticipated revival of The Heiress, a play based on the Henry James novel, Washington Square.

Stevens has been cast as Morris Townsend, an ambitious young man whose motives for courting Catherine Sloper (Chastain), a shy heiress who’s under the thumb of her domineering father (to be played by David Strathairn), are open to question.  It’s a role that has been played on Broadway in earlier revivals by David Selby (TV’s Dark Shadows) and Jon Tenney (TV’s The Closer) and by Montgomery Clift in the 1949 movie version.





READ MORE:  http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/05/downton-abbey-heartthrob-dan-stevens-to-make-broadway-stage-debut/

"Downton Abbey" Star Dan Stevens Will Pursue The Heiress on Broadway By Kenneth Jones 14 May 2012 (PLAYBILL)

Dan Stevens, known to millions of international TV viewers as romantic lead Matthew Crawley on the period drama series "Downton Abbey," will play suitor Morris Townsend in the new Broadway production of The Heiress, starring the previously announced Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn.

In the play based on the Henry James novel "Washington Square," Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain ("The Help") plays spinster Catherine Sloper, with Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner David Strathairn ("Good Night and Good Luck," "Temple Grandin") as her stern father, Dr. Austin Sloper.

http://playbill.com/news/article/165905-Downton-Abbey-Star-Dan-Stevens-Will-Pursue-The-Heiress-on-Broadway

Clive Owen: Preview HBO's hot Emmy contender 'Hemingway & Gellhorn' By Marcus Dixon Apr 23 2012 | 01:45 am (GOLD DERBY)

The Emmy derby is about to get a massive A-list shake-up when HBO's original film "Hemingway and Gellhorn" makes its long-awaited debut Monday, May 28. The film screens out of competition at the Cannes filmfest the week before.

Golden Globe winner Clive Owen ("Closer," 2004) and Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman ("The Hours," 2002) lead an all-star cast that includes Oscar champ Robert Duvall ("Tender Mercies," 1983), Emmy victor David Strathairn ("Temple Grandin," 2010), SAG Drama Ensemble nominee Molly Parker ("Deadwood," 2007) and three-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub ("Monk," 2003, 2005, 2006). The star appeal of its cast should give "Hemingway & Gellhorn" some major Emmy attention when nominations are announced July 19. However, when HBO recently confirmed with Gold Derby all of their acting submissions for the year, Duvall was a notable omission.






READ MORE:  http://www.goldderby.com/television/news/2772/preview-hbo's-hot-emmys-contender-'hemingway--gellhorn'.html#