“Hold on to Me Darling,” an Off Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s play starring Adam Driver, has recouped its initial investment.
The show was capitalized at $1.8 million. During its 13-week engagement at downtown Manhattan’s Lucille Lortel Theatre, this production of “Hold on to Me Darling” has played to sold-out crowds every night since previews started on Sept. 24, according to producers Seaview, Sue Wagner and John Johnson. It will conclude its run on Dec. 22.
“Hold on to Me Darling” is a comedy that follows a country music icon named Strings McCrane (Driver), who finds himself in an existential tailspin on learning of his mother’s death. He decides the only way out is to abandon his superstardom in favor of the simple life, so he moves back to his hometown in Tennessee. The cast also includes Heather Burns as Nancy, Adelaide Clemens as Essie, Keith Nobbs as Jimmy, CJ Wilson as Duke and Frank Wood as Mitch.
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Driver has appeared on the New York stage in revivals of 2019’s “Burn This” with Keri Russell, 2011’s “Man and Boy,” and 2010’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession.” His performance in “Hold on to Me Darling” has been roundly praised, with Vulture’s theater critic Sara Holdren writing, “part of why Strings fits Driver like custom couture is Driver’s gift for performing a kind of alchemy with silliness and seriousness. He can take the piss and play to the hilt at the same time, and he knows that the secret of being funny is for a character to want to be anything but.”
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Neil Pepe, who directed the show’s initial run at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2016 led by Timothy Olyphant as Strings, returned for this production. It features the creative team of Walt Spangler (scenic design), Suttirat Larlarb (costume design), Tyler Micoleau (lighting design) and David Van Tiegham (sound design).
