Jeff Goldblum to replace Alan Rickman in Broadway's 'Seminar'

Jeff Goldblum will be joining the cast of the Broadway comedy Seminar, stepping into the lead role of jaded teacher Leonard, currently played by Alan Rickman, who will depart the show on April 1.

Goldblum will take over the role for eight weeks, starting April 3. He unofficially revealed his involvement with the show on the February 13 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and a press release today confirmed the announcement. Goldblum returns to Broadway after having previously appeared in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman in 2006, as well as London productions of Speed-the-Plow and The Prisoner of Second Avenue, opposite Kevin Spacey.

In Seminar, written by Theresa Rebeck (the creator of NBC’s Smash), “four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this provocative new comedy.”

Seminar currently runs on Broadway at the Golden Theatre and stars Rickman, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Jerry O’Connell, and Hettienne Park. Additional casting with Goldblum will be announced soon.

Goldblum will appear on tonight’s Valentine’s Day episode of Glee as Hiram, one of the two fathers of Lea Michele’s character Rachel.