McNeal - Broadway Tickets, News, Info & More
Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Broadway)
150 West 65th St. at Broadway New York, NY 10023Buy Tickets to McNeal
Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal (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. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s new play is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity – and increasing inhumanity – of the stories we tell.
McNeal - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR McNeal
McNeal and Robert Downey Jr. Dance With ChatGPT
3 / 10
McNeal’s woozy ruminations about art and technology might strike with more force if the actual drama around them had more tensile strength. The human dynamics Akhtar and Sher hang all of this on never get past cliché: McNeal confronts a cadre of women, including Martin’s assistant (Saisha Talwar), a horrifyingly underprepared magazine journalist (Brittany Bellizeare), and a former New York Times books editor who is pretty obviously based on Pamela Paul (Melora Hardin). In his exchanges with them, they get to do little except absorb his rants about everything from the work of Annie Ernaux to Harvey Weinstein. If McNeal wants to tell us that a great artist — specifically a great man, in this case — is some unique force in the universe, it requires a more finely crafted rendering of that man. But on the opposite end, if the play wants to suggest AI could offer an alternative to that figure that’s equal in stature? Well, there’s an issue of rendering there, too.
‘McNeal’ review: Robert Downey Jr.’s awful Broadway play about AI is a total wipeout
1 / 10
Should your sole aim be to watch the Marvel and “Oppenheimer” actor, who’s making his Broadway debut, give a capable performance in his signature Tony Stark staccato, mission accomplished. However, it is, well, a marvel how even the most blinding star power can dim when blacked out by a mind-numbing plot, mouthpiece supporting characters and a Universal Studios-scale set of giant screens that’s an expensive apology for the actual play.
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Photos: Robert Downey Jr. & More in MCNEAL on Broadway
by Nicole Rosky - September 25, 2024
by Nicole Rosky - September 25, 2024
Lincoln Center Theater’s McNEAL, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Bartlett Sher, is now in previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where it is getting ready for opening night on Monday, September 30. Check out first photos of the cast in action!
Meet the Cast of MCNEAL, Beginning Previews Tonight on Broadway
by Stephi Wild - September 5, 2024
by Stephi Wild - September 5, 2024
McNEAL begins previews on Broadway tonight, Thursday, September 5. The Lincoln Center Theater production play officially opens on Monday, September 30 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, marking the first play of LCT’s historic 40th Anniversary season. Meet the cast of McNEAL here!
Photos: Robert Downey Jr. & More From MCNEAL Meet the Press
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 3, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 3, 2024
On Friday, August 23 the cast and creatives of Lincoln Center Theater’s McNEAL met the press before starting tech rehearsal for the play. See photos and learn more about the show!
Video: The MCNEAL Company Gets Ready for Broadway
by Joey Mervis - September 3, 2024
by Joey Mervis - September 3, 2024
Broadway is no joke, but Robert Downey Jr., who makes his debut this season in Lincoln Center Theater's McNeal, is up for the challenge. Watch in this video as the entire company meets the press and explains more about what the play is all about.
Meet the Masterminds Behind MCNEAL
by Nicole Rosky - September 14, 2024
by Nicole Rosky - September 14, 2024
Almost 20 years after making his Lincoln Center Theater (and Broadway) debut with The Light in the Piazza, Bartlett Sher is back this season alongside another heavy-hitter of the theatre world, Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar. The play is McNeal and previews are already underway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
Video: McNEAL, Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Begins Rehearsals
by Blair Ingenthron - August 10, 2024
by Blair Ingenthron - August 10, 2024
On Thursday, August 1 the cast and creative team for McNEAL gathered for the first day of rehearsals. McNEAL is a new play by Ayad Aktar, directed by Bartlett Sher. See footage in the video here!
Photos: The Cast of MCNEAL Assembles for the First Day of Rehearsals
by A.A. Cristi - August 2, 2024
by A.A. Cristi - August 2, 2024
On Thursday, August 1 the cast and creative team for McNEAL gathered for the first day of rehearsals. McNEAL is a new play by Ayad Aktar, directed by Bartlett Sher. See photos from inside the rehearsal room.
Melora Hardin, Brittany Bellizeare Join Robert Downey Jr. in MCNEAL
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 29, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 29, 2024
Lincoln Center Theater has revealed the complete cast for its production of McNEAL, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Bartlett Sher, and starring Robert Downey Jr. Learn how to purchase tickets.
Robert Downey Jr. to Make Broadway Debut in Ayad Akhtar's MCNEAL
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 7, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 7, 2024
This fall, Lincoln Center Theater will produce MCNEAL, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Bartlett Sher, starring Robert Downey Jr. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
McNeal History
Other Productions of McNeal
| 2024 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Theater Broadway Premiere Producion Broadway |
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