McNEAL Tickets

By: Ayad Akhtar
Director: Bartlett Sher
Producer: Lincoln Center Theater in association with Team Downey
Cast list: Robert Downey Jr. (as Jacob McNeal), Brittany Bellizeare, Rafi Gavron, Melora Hardin, Andrea Martin, Ruthie Ann Miles, Saisha Talwar
Sets: Michael Yeargan and Jake Barton
Costumes: Jennifer Moeller
Lighting: Donald Holder
Sound: Justin Ellington and Beth Lake
Other info: Projections by Jake Barton

McNEAL marks Robert Downey Jr.’s Broadway debut and continues a lineage of roles in which he excels: charming but flawed men. In this new and topical drama, Downey Jr. stars as McNEAL, an internationally renowned author who is expected to one day win a Nobel Prize in Literature. Before he can get that prize, however, he has some axes to grind and a new book to finish, which he may or may not need the help of artificial intelligence to finally complete. Good authors borrow, but great ones steal.

The play promises a dynamo performance from Downey Jr., who has long been a staple of Hollywood and is now taking on his next artistic challenge on Broadway. With his quick-witted, thorny, and on-the-pulse plays, Ayad Akhtar’s writing will be a perfect match for an actor of Downey Jr.’s calibre. Paired with Bartlett Sher, the show is sure to be one to remember.

What to watch for

• The New York Times has described Barlett Sher as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera."
• This play isn’t Ayad Akhtar’s first buzzy one: he is a two-time Tony Award nominee, for his Puliter winner Disgraced and his more recent drama Junk.
• The Vivian Beaumont Theater has played host to some of the most celebrated contemporary productions, including South Pacific, Oslo, The King and I, and The Skin of Our Teeth.
• While this play marks Robert Downey Jr.’s Broadway debut, he got his start in theatre and performed off Broadway, including in the 1980s in a show produced by Norman Lear.

Additional information

Children under 5 are not permitted in the theatre.

No weapons permitted on the premises. No outside food or beverages, electric scooters, e-bikes, or battery-powered transportation devices, except when medically necessary.

All items are subject to inspection. Anything brought into the theatre must fit on your lap or completely under your seat without blocking any aisles.

The use of cameras, cell phones, and other recording devices during the show is strictly prohibited by law, except when used for accessibility services.