Jason Alexander may be widely known as the actor portraying George Costanza of Seinfeld, but his early career was built on stage — Broadway as a matter of fact — when he was only 22. Now, the film, TV and stage actor just made a comeback with a leading role on “Judgement Day,” which premiered on April 23. The show will run through May 26 in The Yard at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
“Judgement Day” marks the Tony and Emmy Award winner actor’s Chicago stage debut. The ‘devious’ comedy centers around Sammy Campo (Alexander), a staggeringly corrupt, morally bankrupt lawyer who is threatened with eternal damnation by a terrifying angel after a near-death experience. He feels close to a Catholic priest who is dealing with a crisis of faith, and both end up asking themselves, “Are people any damn good?”
Tony Award nominee Daniel Breaker stars as Father Michael. Rounding up the casting are Candy Buckley as the Angel, along with Maggie Bofill, Olivia Denise Dawson, Joe Dempsey, Michael Kostroff, Ellis Myers, and Meg Thalken.
Tony Award-nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel helms the direction, whereas Golden Globe Award-winning TV writer Rob Ulin is the playwright of the show which leaves the audience to dwell on the questions of morality, faith and kindness in the end.
Alexander began his career in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” in 1981. His debut performance was followed by ensuing roles on Broadway such as “The Rink,” “Personals,” and “Broadway Bound.” In 1989, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jerome Robbins’ “Broadway.” Apart from the long-running TV hit “Seinfeld,” the actor appeared on many films and TV shows including “Pretty Woman,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
In an interview with FOX 32 Chicago, he discussed making his Chicago stage debut and the comparison between performing live on stage in front of an audience and performing “Seinfeld” in front of a live studio audience.
“When we got to the shooting, because of the live audience, we had four cameras,” Alexander said of his days shooting the “Seinfeld” show.
“They were very secondary on our set, it was about playing to a live audience. The trick was that the front row of that live audience was about thirty feet back, which was something I had never experienced before.”
He added: “I had to learn how to get a performance to them without making it too much for the cameras and if I played to the cameras, it didn’t get to them. You figure it out very quickly.”
Alexander made his Broadway directorial debut last year with the Sandy Ruskin comedy “The Cottage.”
Both Alexander and von Stuelpnagel expressed their excitement about working in Chicago.
“The Chicago audience is known nationally for being astute and smart, and so, to be able to have this dialogue with the audience, which is the final collaborator on any new play, is the most exciting thing,” said von Stuelpnagel.
Tickets to “Judgement Day” are available at the official website of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Fans can also score their tickets by visiting the secondary market places below to compare prices:
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