OFFICIAL: Tom Hanks to Make Broadway Debut in Nora Ephron's LUCKY GUY; Opens 4/1 at Broadhurst Theatre

Two-time Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks will make his Broadway debut in the world premiere of three-time Academy Award-nominee Nora Ephron's play Lucky Guy, to be directed by two-time Tony Award-winner George C. Wolfe.

The production will play a limited engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street), with an opening night on April 1, 2013. Previews will begin March 1. Additional casting will be announced in coming weeks.

LUCKY GUY will be produced on Broadway by Colin Callender, Roy Furman, Arielle Tepper Madover, Roger Berlind, Stacey Mindich, Robert Cole and Frederick Zollo, David Mirvish, Daryl Roth, James D. Stern/Douglas L. Meyer, Scott and Brian Zeilinger, in association with Sonia Friedman Productions and The Shubert Organization.

Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy marks a return to her journalistic roots in a new play about the scandal- and graffiti-ridden New York of the 1980s, as told through the story of the charismatic and controversial tabloid columnist Mike McAlary.

From his sensational reporting of New York's major police corruption to the libel suit that nearly ended his career, the play dramatizes the story of McAlary's meteoric rise, fall and rise again, ending with his coverage of the Abner Louima case for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, shortly before his untimely death on Christmas Day, 1998.

Tom Hanks (Mike McAlary) made his professional stage debut portraying Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, OH. He performed in that company for three seasons. Moving to New York City in 1978, he performed with the Riverside Shakespeare Company. His numerous film credits include Splash, Forrest Gump (for which he won an Oscar), Philadelphia (for which he also won an Oscar), Sleepless in Seattle, That Thing You Do! (which he also wrote and directed), Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Charlie Wilson's War and the upcoming Cloud Atlas. For television, his credits include the multiple award winning series "From the Earth to the Moon," "Band of Brothers," "John Adams," "The Pacific" and "Game Change".

Nora Ephron (Playwright) (1941-2012) After becoming one of the industry's most respected screenwriters, Nora Ephron turned to directing in 1992 with her first feature, 20th Century Fox's This is My Life starring Julie Kavner. She followed it in 1993 with her second picture, TriStar's Sleepless in Seattle starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, which grossed over $200 million worldwide, followed by Mixed Nuts starring Steve Martin, and then Michael, starring John Travolta, William Hurt and Andie McDowell. Nora teamed Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan again for the 1998 released You've Got Mail. In 2000, Nora directed Lucky Numbers, starring John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. Nora's first Broadway play, Imaginary Friends, was produced on Broadway in December 2002 and starred Cherry Jones and Swoosie Kurtz. Nora then co-wrote and directed the film Bewitched, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, released in June of 2005. Her last film was the 2008 released Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Nora Ephron received three Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay: for Sleepless in Seattle (with David Ward and Jeff Arch), for Rob Reiner's hit comedy When Harry Met Sally... and for Mike Nichols' Silkwood (co-written with Alice Arlen). Nora began screen writing after years as one of the country's best known journalists. She started as a newspaper reporter for the New York Post and then became a magazine writer for Esquire, the New York Times Magazine and New York Magazine, among others. Two collections of her essays, "Crazy Salad" and "Scribble, Scribble" are bestsellers and her book, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, reached number one on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Nora's collection of essays, I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflection, was published in 2010 and was also a national bestseller.