Robert Downey Jr. To Make Broadway Debut This Fall
Robert Downey Jr. will make his Broadway debut this fall in Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s new play, McNeal.
The Academy Award-winning actor will take the Lincoln Center Theater stage for McNeal this September. Previews will begin on September 5 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and opening night will move to the main theater on September 30. It will be a limited run and end on November 24.
The Iron Man actor posted on his Instagram Tuesday announcing the exciting news. He included a photo with the name of the play, McNeal, his name on top as the lead, with the names of the writer and director. He paired the photo with a thoughtful caption expressing how he knew he wanted the role before he was finished reading the screenplay.
Downey wrote, “‘McNeal’ is a timely and important story about the future of creatives, and I intend to do it justice.”
The story follows a great writer named Jacob McNeal (Downey) who is trying to finish writing his novel. He struggles to connect with his estranged son and family issues, and the temptation of artificial intelligence also plays a role in the back of his mind throughout the story.
Broadway describes the upcoming production “Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal (Downey) 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.”
So far, Downey is the only star to be revealed, and further casting is yet to be announced.
Robert Downey Jr will make his Broadway debut in ‘MCNEAL’ this Fall, written by Ayad Akhtar.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 7, 2024
The play, follows a writer who grapples with a new novel, a broken family life & an unhealthy fascination with A.I. pic.twitter.com/RYm9g3l9xD
Downey has led an extremely successful career over the past few decades, best known for being the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying Tony Stark in the Iron Man films and other Marvel films like The Avengers. Some of his other most prominent roles include Tropic Thunder (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), and Dolittle (2020), among a long list of others. He also won the Academy Award in his most recent film, Oppenheimer (2023), winning Best Supporting Actor. He also has four Golden Globe wins for other roles.
Downey has many projects currently in store in addition to his upcoming Broadway debut and recent sweeping of awards. He also has a recently published book, Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time. It became an instant New York Times best seller. The book tackles how we can erase our carbon footprints and eat foods that make the planet a healthier place and help the climate.
sweeping award season, a nyt best-selling book, 4 roles in a new series, an upcoming broadway debut, and a coffee company (not pictured)? DAMN! 2024 is truly robert downey jr's year! pic.twitter.com/wtt4NXGot5
— mary ⎊ (@skyfullofstarks) May 8, 2024
The Sherlock Holmes actor also recently launched a new coffee company called Happy Coffee, partnering with Craig Dubitsky, the founder of EOS. Moreover, he also joined the cast of The Sympathizer as Claude, which premiered this April on HBO.
Being one of the biggest in the industry and one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, seeing him in action on Broadway for the first time should be a special experience for fans.
Bartlett Sher is set to direct the play, and Ayad Akhtar wrote it. Sher has been nominated for nine Tony Awards throughout his directing career, winning one for the South Pacific musical. He has directed many Lincoln Center performances, including To Kill a Mockingbird (2017) and Camelot (2023). Akhtar has also received many recognitions throughout his career for his novels and plays, earning the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nominations for two Tony Awards.
Five of My Favorite Robert Downey Jr. Performances: pic.twitter.com/yD2YUUsL0D
— Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) May 2, 2024
Lincoln Center Theater will be in production with Downey’s production company he founded with his wife in 2010, Team Downey.
Tickets for McNeal will go on sale starting on Tuesday, May 21 at 12 p.m. ET at Lincoln Center’s official website.
Entertainment writer at Glitter Magazine
