Film News: Danny Boyle’s ‘Frankenstein’ to Screen at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

CHICAGO – Mary Shelley’s infamous monster is alive and well in Nick Dear’s acclaimed new stage adaptation set to be screened worldwide. It’s the latest installment of National Theatre Live, a series of high definition filmed performances released theatrically, courtesy of Britain’s National Theatre.

This hotly anticipated play marks the latest audacious collaboration between Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and BAFTA-winning production designer Mark Tildesley. Actors Benedict Cumberbatch (“Atonement,” “Four Lions”) and Jonny Lee Miller (“Trainspotting,” “Mansfield Park”) alternate in the roles of deranged Dr. Frankenstein and his misunderstood Creature. Chicago audiences will have four opportunities to experience the show when it screens at the Music Box Theatre in late April and early May. Cumberbatch will portray the Creature April 27 and April 30. Miller will switch places with him during performances on May 4 and May 7.

Frankenstein designer Mark Tildesley stands outside Britain’s National Theatre.
Photo credit: AP

The next National Theatre Live production to be screened at the Music Box is scheduled for June 30. Zoë Wanamaker (“Love Hurts,” “My Family”) stars in Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard.”

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com