They felt a similar openness with Sher, who allowed a degree of uncertainty to unfold in the process of creating the play. “He gave us one of the greatest takeaways ever, which is the phrase ‘we don’t know yet,’” says Downey. The zenlike approach resonated with both Downeys as the show came together, with all of the uncertainties and anxieties of putting up an original play.
“The best people are the most open, because there is a confidence in what they’re trying to do,” Susan says. “As seasoned as we are, Bart gave us perspective,” Downey adds.
The last time Downey appeared on stage was some 41 years ago in an ill-fated musical called American Passion, which opened and closed on the same day at the Joyce Theatre downtown in July of 1983. “It was trying to be a cross between Fame and Chorus Line, with me and Todd Graff and Jane Krakowski,” he recalls wryly. The show, with music by Willie Fong Young and a book by Fred Burch, centered on a group of teenagers vying in a radio call-in contest to win a backstage pass to meet a rock star. “I was like…[this] thing’s a slam dunk,” he jokes. With songs like “There Ain’t No Virgins in Queens,” it was, in fact, panned by Frank Rich, the New York Times theater critic at the time. Rich, incidentally, recently came to a performance of McNeal. “He had no recollection of it,” Downey recalls of their earlier encounter.
What compelled Downey to take the leap after four decades? “New play, timely subject matter, great integers, great humans involved, Bart, the cast,” he lists. “Ayad always puts conflicting ideas within a single thought line. He counteracts and degrades everything he just said with the new statement.” Case in point: After an hour and 45 minutes of debating the consequences of using AI in writing, Akhtar used the technology to craft the final lines of play, with some help from Downey.
Susan Downey, Ayad Akhtar (standing), and Robert Downey Jr.Photo: Kevin Ford
