Broadway is about to get a taste of AI with "McNeal," a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar, featuring none other than Robert Downey Jr., famous for his role as "Iron Man."
Previews kick off September 5 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center. The production marks Downey's debut on Broadway, with the Bartlett Sher at the helm as director.
The grand opening night will be on September 30, as the show is set to hook audiences until November 24.
In his Broadway debut, Downey takes on the role of Jacob McNeal, an author grappling with the challenge of rebuilding a relationship with his distant son amid the pressures of finishing his latest literary masterpiece.
As unresolved conflicts resurface, the looming presence of Artificial Intelligence and its alluring promises begins to cast a dark shadow over their lives.
robert downey jr makes his broadway debut TONIGHT as performances of mcneal begin! break a leg, @RobertDowneyJr! wishing you the best! 💕 pic.twitter.com/0sU1UmsRkB
— mary ⎊ (@skyfullofstarks) September 5, 2024
According to its logline on the website, "Jacob McNeal (Academy Award® winner Robert Downey Jr.) 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."
The cast also features Ruthie Ann Miles who will take on the role of Sahra Grewal, while Andrea Martin portrays Stephie Banic. Saisha Talwar will play the character of Dipti, with Rafi Gavron as Harlan McNeal, Brittany Bellizeare as Natasha Brathwaite, and Melora Hardin as Francine Blake.
It is also worth noting that the cast also features a sophisticated "highly realistic metahuman digital likeness" of Downey, created by the film production company AGBO, a press release stated.
