Robert Downey Jr. will be making his Broadway debut with Ayad Akhtar’s play McNeal. The Iron Man star will play the lead role of Jacob McNeal, along with other cast members who will be announced in the coming days. The drama will open at the Lincoln Center Theatre this fall and will be directed by Bartlett Sher.
Akhar is an acclaimed author and Pulitzer Prize winner known for his work in Junk and Disgraced. The previews of the show will begin from September 5, and the productions will start with public engagements on November 24.
What will McNeal be about?
The official synopsis of the play reveals, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal is a great writer, one of our greatest, and 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. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s new play is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity—and increasing inhumanity—of the stories we tell.”
Michael Yeargan and Jake Barton will create McNeal’s set. Jennifer Moeller will design the costumes, Donald Holder, Justin Ellington, and Beth Lake will work on the lighting and sound, and Jake Barton will handle the projections.
Robert Downey Jr. in Sympathizer
The Oscar-winning actor is preparing for the release of his upcoming role in the series Sympathizer. The Oppenheimer star will be portraying four different characters in the show. On Instagram, Downey Jr. shared a 35-second video showcasing the preview of the episodes.
Speaking of Downey’s role in the show, Susan Downey, the executive producer, and the actor’s wife, commented, “The four characters that Robert plays are projects of The Captain (Hoa Xuande). There is a reason behind it that they all share similar features and, therefore, are similar actors.” Susan also hinted a little surprise for the Downey fans at the end of the series.
The Sympathizer, set during the Vietnam War, is the story of a North Vietnamese spy who flies to the US but continues to keep an eye on the South Vietnamese refugees. The man disguises himself as a different person to keep his identity hidden. The Sherlock star plays the characters of Claude, the CIA agent, Ned Godwin, the Congressman; Hammer, the school professor, and Niko Damianos, a filmmaker.
