Theater News

Christopher McDonald, Peter Scolari to Join Tom Hanks in Broadway’s Lucky Guy

Nora Ephron’s play about journalist Mike McAlary will boast Oscar winner heading 13-member cast.

Peter Scolari
Peter Scolari
© Tristan Fuge

Aren’t they lucky!

Additional casting and creative team have been announced for the late Nora Ephron’s never-before-seen play Lucky Guy, starring two-time Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut. Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe will direct the production, which will begin previews on March 1 at the Broadhurst Theatre, before officially opening on April 1.

The work follows the rise, fall, and rise of journalist Mike McAlary (Hanks), who won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Abner Louima case shortly before his death in 1998.

Also starring in the 13-member cast will be Christopher McDonald (Chicago) as lawyer Eddie Hayes, Peter Gerety (The Lieutenant of Inishmore) as editor John Cotter, Peter Scolari (Sly Fox) as columnist Michael Daly, Michael Gaston (A Day in the Death of Joe Egg) as columnist Jim Dwyer, Dustyn Gulledge as Dino Tortoricci; Deirdre Lovejoy (The Gathering) as reporter Louise Imerman and editor Debbie Krenek, Danny Mastrogiorgio (Golden Boy) as reporter Bob Drury, Richard Masur (Democracy) as editor Jerry Nachman and editor Stanley Joyce, and Stephen Tyrone Williams (Harper Regan) as Abner Louima. More casting will be announced soon.

The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, sound design by Scott Lehrer, lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, and projection design by batwin + robin productions.

Ephron, who died earlier this year, was the author of the stage plays Imaginary Friends and Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which she co-wrote with her sister, Delia. She and Hanks collaborated on the popular films Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Before becoming a successful essayist, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and journalist.

Hanks made his stage debut with Cleveland’s Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, and performed in New York with the Riverside Shakespeare Company. He has won Academy Awards for his performances in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia, and his many other screen performances include Big, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away.

Wolfe won Tony Awards for his direction of Angels in America: Millenium Approaches and Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk. His many other Broadway credits include Jelly’s Last Jam, Angels in America: Perestroika, The Wild Party, Caroline, or Change, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, and The Normal Heart.

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Lucky Guy

Closed: July 3, 2013