Who Will Benefit From Jim Parsons’ Return To Broadway?

Fans of Jim Parsons who want to see him return to the stage will have their opportunity at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City this December. Each year, the Roundabout hosts a benefit reading with a marquee-worthy actor in the lead role. This year, Parsons has taken on the plum spot. The performance is a benefit for the Roundhouse Theatre Company itself, according to Broadway World.

The Big Bang Theory actor has reached a wide audience through the wildly popular sitcom but Parsons’ acting experience goes far beyond the small screen. He is an alumnus of the Roundhouse, having appeared in its production of Harvey in 2012. The December 1 performance at Studio 54 will be directed by Scott Ellis, who also worked with Parsons in Harvey.

The production is of Merton of the Movies, of which Playbill reproduces a colorful synopsis.

“It’s the golden era of silent motion pictures, and no one loves them more than Merton Gill, a naïve store clerk from a small town in Illinois. After taking an acting class—and determined to become a great dramatic actor—Merton uses his life’s savings to head to Hollywood. There’s only one problem: he can’t act. When a plucky young starlet and a manipulative movie executive see how inadvertently funny Merton’s earnest efforts are, they cast him in a comedy (that they tell him is a drama) and hilarity ensues!”

The Advocate revealed that although Parsons is known for his significant acting chops, his Broadway debut was not until 2011 when he was in The Normal Heart. He earned an Emmy nomination for the HBO adaptation of the film. In all, Parsons has won four Emmy awards and a Golden Globe, including for his work on The Big Bang Theory.

A 2012 New York Times profile of Parsons noted that he faced potentially disappointed audiences when he appeared in The Normal Heart and Harvey. The former brought in many Big Bang Theory fans, who were only to be presented with a drama about gay men dying of AIDS. The latter featured Parsons in an iconic role made famous by Jimmy Stewart. In the same profile, Parsons noted how the character of Sheldon Cooper appealed to him when he first read the script for The Big Bang Theory.

“There was something in his inability to understand sarcasm, his inability to read emotions off people in a general sense, that I understood.”

Since taking on the role, Parsons has spent much time discussing his Big Bang Theory character, including the fact that, as previously reported by The Inquisitr, Cooper is not written specifically as someone with Asperger’s.

Tickets for the performance of Merton of the Movies to benefit the Roundabout Theatre Company range from $100 to $2,500, with the higher levels gaining access to a post-show cast party.

[Jim Parsons Image via Google]