Robert Downey Jr. to Make Broadway Debut in New Play, ‘McNeal’
Robert Downey Jr. will make his Broadway debut this fall in the new play, “McNeal.”
Written by Ayad Akhtar and directed by Bartlett Sher (“To Kill a Mockingbird”), “McNeal” will star Downey as a talented writer who struggles with family issues as he works on his next novel. According to the official synopsis, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal (Downey) is a great writer, one of our greatest, a perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. But McNeal also has an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind and an unhealthy fascination with Artificial Intelligence.”
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“McNeal” will begin previews on Sept. 5 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater ahead of opening night on Sept. 30. The limited run will end on Nov. 24.
Additional casting will be announced at a later date. The play will have sets by Michael Yeargan & Jake Barton, costumes by Jennifer Moeller, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Justin Ellington & Beth Lake, and projections by Jake Barton. Jennifer Rae Moore will be the stage manager. Lincoln Center Theater is producing “McNeal” with Team Downey.
Downey recently won the first Oscar of his career for Christopher Nolan’s historical epic “Oppenheimer,” in which he played Lewis Strauss. The “Iron Man” star will appear next (in various villainous roles) in HBO’s adaptation of “The Sympathizer” and Paramount’s “Vertigo” remake.
Akhtar won a Pulitzer Prize winner for “Disgraced” and has also written the plays “Junk,” “The Who & the What” and “The Invisible Hand.”
Sher, who scored a Tony for Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has been a resident director at Lincoln Center since 2008, where his work includes “The Light in the Piazza,” “The King & I,” “Oslo,” “My Fair Lady” and most recently “Camelot.” His other directorial efforts on Broadway and the West End include “Pictures From Home,” “The Bridges of Madison County” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”
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