Tom Hanks continues to prepare for a Broadway run on stage with Lucky Guy, the final play written by the late Nora Ephron, and today he’s learning that two additional screen actors will be joining him in the production’s ensemble.
Maura Tierney and Courtney B. Vance plan to take parts in Ephron’s bio-play, which casts Hanks as Pulitzer Prize-winning New York City journalist Mike McAlary, who made his bones as a controversial tabloid columnist in the 1980s. THR says that the show is about to begin previews at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 1, with an eye toward opening on April 1.
Vance is a stage icon, a two-time Tony Award nominee for his performance opposite James Earl Jones in August Wilson’s Fences as well as his turn in Six Degrees of Separation. Tierney, meanwhile, will be making her Broadway debut in the show, which was written by Ephron and will be directed by George C. Wolfe.
Hanks has a deep history with the late Ephron, having worked with her on Sleepless in Seattle and, later, You’ve Got Mail. His involvement with another Ephron project – as well as the opportunity to see the two-time Oscar winner on stage – will be a huge draw, but it’s comforting to hear that Wolfe is surrounding Hanks with strong talent like Tierney and Vance. The cast, according to THR, will round out with Christopher McDonald, Peter Gerety, Peter Scolari, Michael Gaston, Dustyn Gulledge, Deirdre Lovejoy, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Richard Masur and Stephen Tyrone Williams. If the show does really well, I wonder if Hanks could shepherd it to the silver screen in time? Stay tuned for more details as the stage show works itself out.
