Theater News

James Franco and Chris O'Dowd to Star in Broadway Revival of Of Mice and Men

Anna D. Shapiro’s new production of John Steinbeck’s drama hits the Great White Way in March.

James Franco
James Franco
(© Joseph Marzullo)

Academy Award nominee James Franco (Freaks and Geeks) and Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) will star in Anna D. Shapiro's upcoming Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men. The drama will play the Longacre Theatre beginning March 19, with an opening set for April 16.

Adapted by John Steinbeck from his novella of the same title, Of Mice and Men tells the story of unlikely friends George (Franco) and Lennie (O'Dowd), who drift from job to job across California, never letting go of their dreams of owning an acre of land of their very own. The play premiered in 1937, the same year that the book was published.

Franco, best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in the film 127 Hours, has also appeared in the Spider-Man trilogy, Spring Breakers, and Milk. O'Dowd has been seen in The Sapphires, Family Tree, and stage productions of The Playboy of the Western World and Under the Blue Sky.

Additional casting and members of the creative team will be announced in the coming weeks.

Of Mice and Men is produced by David Binder, with Kate Lear, Darren Bagert, Adam Zotovich, Barbara Whitman, and Latitude Link. 101 Productions, Ltd. are the executive producers.