Thursday, May 21, 2026

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson Make L.A. Stage Debut in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” This June

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Tom Hanks? The last time we saw him on stage was Broadway, and Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy.” He was just terrific, of course.

Now Tom and wife Rita Wilson will make their Los Angeles stage debuts in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV.” Tom will play Falstaff. The rest of the cast hasn’t been announced, but I’d put money on Peter Scolari doing something. Daniel Sullivan is being imported from Broadway to direct all this.

The venue is the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. The dates seem to be vaguely the last two weeks of June, although details have not been revealed. Maybe Rita will get to sing!

More good news: limited free tickets to veterans or active members of the US military.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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