Michael Mayer Set to Direct Broadway Revival of BURN THIS; Jake Gyllenhaal Attached?

Back in April, Page Six of the New York Post reported that Jake Gyllenhaal would return to Broadway to star in Lanford Wilson's 1987 play BURN THIS. The gossip column also reported that HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH director Michael Mayer was attached as well.

Today, a casting notice seems to confirm much of this with Mayer confirmed as director and the production set for a limited Broadway run in early 2017. The notice reports that rehearsals will begin in January, previews in February followed by a March opening and a June closing. This would follow the timetable of similar short-run star-driven play projects.

BURN THIS premiered Off-Broadway in 1987, at Theatre 890. Directed by Marshall W. Mason, the cast featured Jonathan Hogan, Joan Allen, John Malkovich, and Lou Liberatore. The play transferred to Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre later that same year. The cast reprised their roles for the Broadway production. Allen won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, and Liberatore was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Drama Desk Award nominations went to Liberatore and Malkovich.

The Signature Theatre Company revival, directed by James Houghton, opened in 2002 at the Union Square Theatre. The cast featured Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Ty Burrell, and Dallas Roberts. Norton won an Obie Award and both he and the production received Lucille Lortel Award nominations.

Jake Gyllenhaal made his Broadway debut in 2015's CONSTELLATIONS, the acclaimed new play by Nick Payne, directed by Michael Longhurst and co-starring Ruth Wilson. The limited engagement played at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Photo credit: Joan Marcus