Denzel Washington to return to broadway with 'Iceman Cometh'

Two-time Academy-award winner Denzel Washington is all set to return next year to star in Eugene O'Neill's 'The Iceman Cometh'.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the revival will be produced by Scott Rudin with multiple Tony winner George C. Wolfe taking on directing duties.

The 'Iceman Cometh' is an epic 1939 drama, first produced in 1946, set in a down-market New York bar and following the circuitous conversations of its go-nowhere patrons.

The one bright light in this dim world is the occasional visits of Theodore Hickey, a colorful traveling salesman whose garrulous manner appears to bring some relief from the atmosphere of hopeless desolation and empty dreams.

That role will be played by Washington in the upcoming revival.

The drama is known as one of the playwright's most demanding works, requiring stamina from both its actors and audiences - with full stagings running nearly five hours.

'The Iceman Cometh' debuted on Broadway in 1946, running 136 performances. Since then it has been revived a further three times, with the most recent production in 1999 starring Kevin Spacey as Hickey.

The role was originated on Broadway by James Barton, and subsequently played by Jason Robards and James Earl Jones, as well as by Nathan Lane in an acclaimed recent off-Broadway revival.

The limited 14-week engagement is set for New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. Previews begin March 22 with opening night scheduled for April 26.

'The Iceman Cometh' moves into the vacancy created at the Jacobs Theater by the September 17 closing of the new musical Bandstand.