James Franco arrives at the LACMA 2013 Art + Film Gala on Nov. 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.
James Franco and Chris O’Dowd will be taking the stage next year in a new Broadway adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The show will mark each actors first foray into Broadway, with Franco playing the role of George, a prickly, but loyal ranch hand, and O’Dowd taking on the role of Lennie, a sweet man with limited intelligence who doesn’t realize his own strength.
The adaptation will be directed by Anna D. Shapiro, who won a Tony Award for her production of August: Osage County. The play will also mark the first time in 40 years that the celebrated American story of two friends has been performed on Broadway (In 1974, Kevin Conway played George and James Earl Jones played Lennie). Previews of the play will begin on Mar. 19 at the Longacre Theatre, while the official opening is slated for Apr. 16.