Forest Whitaker Talks Eugene O'Neill's ‘Hughie’ on Opening Night Before Early Closing

Earlier this week it was announced that the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's two person play, Hughie, was going to be ending its run early. The show marked the Broadway debut for Forest Whitaker. Now, we are looking back on Whitaker opening night comments about the ill-fated show.

Playbill caught up with Forest Whitaker after opening night, where he opened up about his character, saying:

“The key to my character is how O’Neill describes him. He says, ‘Erie Smith--a teller of tales.’ There’s something beautiful about that because he’s not only telling us his tales, he’s telling us his dreams and hopes. I tried to put that into the character a lot. Whenever it feels like something’s going to happen or he’s going to fall down, I try to say, ‘No, it can work out. He can keep going.’ Trying to pull something out of this character has been a really exciting challenge for me.”

Hughie producers recently released a press statement about the early closure, saying (via Deadline):

“Due to limited advance ticket sales following highly positive reviews and Critic’s Picks from The New York Times, Associated Press, The Washington Post, USA Today and Newsday, Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie will play three more weeks, with its final performance at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on Sunday, March 27, 2016. The production will have played 55 performances.”

Hughie was originally expected to close on June 12 will now close on March 27. The show will have ran 55 total performance if you include previews.