McNEAL Adds Andrea Martin, Ruthie Ann Miles and More; Show Will Feature Digital Likeness of Robert Downey Jr.
(Photos: Vincent Sandoval/Getty Images; c/o Lincoln Center Theater; c/o Lincoln Center Theater)
Complete casting is set for McNEAL, the new Broadway play by Ayad Akhtar, starring Robert Downey Jr. The cast will feature Brittany Bellizeare (Flex), Rafi Gavron (Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born), Melora Hardin (The Office), Tony winner Andrea Martin (Pippin), Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles (Sweeney Todd, The King and I) and Saisha Talwar. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the production begins performances at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on September 5, officially opening on September 30 and running through November 24.
McNEAL will also feature a realistic digital likeness of its star. Reflecting the high-tech concerns of Akhtar's play, the Robert Downey Jr. "Metahuman" will be created by AGBO, an independent studio owned by the Russo brothers—known for their work as directors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and Downey. The production promises "a fusion of technology and theater" and that Downey will take on a "new, innovative form."
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. McNEAL is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity and increasing inhumanity of the stories we tell.
McNEAL will have sets by Michael Yeargan and Jake Barton, costumes by Jennifer Moeller, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Justin Ellington and Beth Lake and projections by Jake Barton. Jennifer Rae Moore will be the stage manager. McNeal is produced by Lincoln Center Theater in association with Downey’s production company Team Downey.
In not entirely unrelated news from Comic-Con over the weekend, it was announced that Downey will be returning to the MCU as Victor Von Doom in two new Avengers movies from the Russo brothers, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
