by :Joe Dziemianowicz
James Gandolfini is famous for playing a Tony.
A new role could win him one.
Producers of "God of Carnage" said the "Sopranos" heavy will star in the play by Yasmina Reza ("Art"), which begins previews on Feb. 28. It opens March 22 at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre.
The plot involves two married couples who meet to talk after their boys get into a playground brawl.
Don't expect polite conversation from Gandolfini or his three castmates - Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden, none of whom were in last year's London staging.
Press notes describe the play as "a comedy of manners without the manners."
No doubt all that bad behavior as crime boss Tony Soprano and in film roles, such as the sadistic enforcer in "True Romance," will come in handy.
"Carnage" marks Gandolfini's return to Broadway after 14 years. He made his debut there in a small part in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1992 and appeared three years later in "On the Waterfront."
That was four years before "The Sopranos" debuted and catapulted the burly Gandolfini into a superstar with an ardent fan following.
The three-time Emmy winner joins Broadway's ever-expanding list of TV and film stars whose celebrity is a draw for audiences that might not typically come to the theater.
Julia Roberts' stardom offset soggy notices for "Three Days of Rain" in 2006. Katie Holmes proved bankable in the just-ended "All My Sons."
And before he suddenly left "Speed-the-Plow," citing mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi, Jeremy Piven helped sell tickets to the Mamet revival.
The Piven incident could be a lesson to Gandolfini: Swim with the fishes. Just don't eat them.
source : Daily News
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