Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Rep
Mark Clements and Peter Bradbury
Mark Clements and Peter Bradbury
Igor Stravinsky once said that a great artist doesn’t borrow, he steals. If true, then Jacob McNeal, the twisty (ed?) protagonist of McNeal, has achieved greatness.
Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Rep
Ayad Akhtar
Ayad Akhtar
In the latest play by Ayad Akhtar (Junk, Disgraced), Jacob learns that he’ll be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, an honor he thinks is well deserved. Originality, what’s that? Jacob has always borrowed words and ideas from other writers and even his late wife. And now, with AI at his side, he plans to shape something “new” with Shakespeare, Ibsen and Kafka as his material. Jacob is swaggering, smug, yet somehow conflicted, an ideal role for Robert Downey Jr., who played the part on Broadway.
The Milwaukee Rep will produce the Milwaukee premiere of McNeal this month. Akhtar, the son of Pakistani immigrants, grew up in Brookfield and maintains ties to his hometown.
High-Tech Show
Image courtesy of Milwaukee Rep
McNeal - Milwaukee Rep (2026) Promo Image
The Broadway production was high-tech with lots of video projections including a giant Smartphone. Technology is integral to McNeal, “but how that’s interpreted is up to each production and director, which is great because it allows for creative flexibility for every theater’s individual space, budget and artistic vision,” says Mark Clements, the Rep’s artistic director and director of McNeal. The production is the first in the Rep’s new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, named for two of the company’s longtime supporters, David Herro and Jay Franke. “Support like theirs is crucial for doing work that’s more ambitious: whether that means larger cast sizes, a longer tech week, more advanced technology or more stylistically out-of-the-box stories,” Clements continues.
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Projection designer Tim Kelly “is using cutting edge technology to design the projections and deep fakes for the show,” Clements adds. “Our hope is that the technology audiences are going to see is like nothing they’ve experienced before–and certainly like nothing they’ve seen in our studio theater.”
What was Clements looking for in casting McNeal’s complicated title character? Jacob is charming, brutally honest, talented and cutthroat. “We were looking for an actor who could create a character the audience would be invested in, even if they didn’t agree with all of his actions,” he explains. “Ultimately, this is a very character-driven, human-centric narrative, and Jacob McNeal is the beating heart, so we needed an actor who had the gravitas to both drive the story and stand up against the imposing figure of technology that frames the play. Our McNeal, Peter Bradbury, is a wonderfully talented actor, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him on this challenging role.
Speed of Life
The 90-minute production races by at the speed of contemporary life—with no intermission. “Intermission can affect pace, and we wanted audiences to stay on the ride and feel locked in,” says Clements. “There will be lots of time for conversing and unpacking the show’s themes and meaning afterwards!”
When it debuted on Broadway, some New York critics complained that McNeal’s message about the anxiety aroused by AI or the nature of human creativity is elusive. Plot summaries seldom do justice to Akhtar’s work, which punches multiple buttons.
“We usually try to avoid telling audiences what to take away or think about a show, though certainly all plays have their own themes and stories to tell,” Clements says. “McNeal is a complex narrative—there will be many layers for audiences to unpack afterwards and hopefully they feel compelled to come see it a second time or bring more friends to see the show and talk about it with.
“The technology is a huge part of the storytelling of McNeal and certainly an impactful, ever-evolving part of our lives—and this show does ask audiences to consider that—but even more so it’s a story about a flawed, complicated human, so equally it’s asking us to think more deeply about very human topics: the messiness of relationships, the importance of legacy and the morality of art-making.”
The Milwaukee Rep is probably the only theater in the world that has produced each of Akhtar’s plays, which have addressed challenging topics such as the addiction of greed and unfettered capitalism as well as immigration and identity. More productions are on the horizon. “We have several commissions with him in the works, including an adaptation I’m working on with Ayad of his first novel, American Dervish … Ayad will be coming out for previews, and we’re excited to hear his thoughts as we prepare to open the show for our audiences,” says Clements.
The Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents McNeal, February 10-March 22 at the Herro-Franke Studio Theater, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, visit www.milwaukeerep.com/shows-and-tickets/202526-season
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or call (414) 221-1761.
