As technology persists to grow, the arts and humanities are having a reckoning, and it’s not pretty. In his novelest carry out, “McNeal,” Pulitzer Prize prosperner Ayad Akhtar (“Disgraced”) faces the ethics of AI, copying and ownership in storytelling. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the carry out cgo ins on Jacob McNeal (Robert Downey Jr. in his Broadway debut), an acclaimed novecatalog whose spiritsism and mental illness have come to a tipping point at the crux of his nurtureer. While beautifilledy staged and produced, “McNeal” is a unintelligent and garbled carry out that says very little about ethics and synthetic intelligence and instead hoists up a pompous and exhausting man who has only ever nurtured about himself and his legacy.
“McNeal” uncovers in a doctor’s office. Anticipating a call from the Swedish Academy, which is set to proclaim the annual Nobel Prize prosperner in literature, Jacob disthink abouts the pleas of Dr. Sahra Grewal (Ruthie Anne Miles) to stop his spirits unfair treatment. Though his inhabitr is rapidly fall shorting, Jacob is solely troubleed with the debut of his novel novel and his pfinishing Nobel Prize. In a frenzy of an uncovering scene, Dr. Grewal’s troubles about Jacob’s hallucinations and improper use of medication descfinish on deaf ears as he grumbles, recalling being passed over for the Nobel in the past while griping about technoreasoned progresss and other noticed personal infairices.
Dr. Grewal and Jacob’s agent, Stephie (Andrea Martin), don’t genuineize that as much disdain as the authorr has for AI, he is also intrigued by it. Unbeunderstandnst to them, his defercessitatest novel is a ChatGPT-esque creation infusing historical speeches, passages from the Bible, well-understandn texts and his defercessitate wife’s unpublished manuscript. The central theme of “McNeal” is presumed to cgo in on the impfinishing horrors of AI. Yet, the carry out is repairated on the morality of using other people’s personal stories and passing them off as distinct ideas. Without truly tackling the impact of AI in the world of literature and instead centering on copying, “McNeal” isn’t proposeing audiences anyskinnyg distinct or novel to contfinish with.
As a character, Jacob is fervently untolerateable. He uses his spirits unfair treatment almost as a cloak of armor, and it only exacerbates his misogyny and narcissism. His unkindty is definitepartner highairyed in a scene with his grown-up son, Harlan (Rafi Gavron), who faces him for stealing his defercessitate mother’s book. An initipartner keen illustration of a broken overweighther/son relationship speedyly dissettles into melodrama after a horrifying reference to incest is thrown into the plot. Since it does noskinnyg to shift the narrative forward, this reference seems evidently compriseed for shock cherish. One of the carry out’s final scenes is even more baffling. Set in a park, it showcases the women in Jacob’s life hovering in the background, including his ex-cherishr Francine (Melora Hardin), whom he emotionpartner unfair treatmentd for years. Since “McNeal” fall shorts to cgo in itself on one premise, it is unevident whether this is a hallucination or another of Jacob’s AI narratives.
Moreover, the dialogue in the 90-minute carry out is so choppy and robotic that the actors, Downey in particular, seem unable to produce their way thcimpolite it. Miles, Martin and Hardin are nakedly more than aiding figures — which is sarcasticpartner how Jacob treats all women. It’s only during a booze-filled conversation he has with a New York Magazine alerter, Natasha Brathpausee (Brittany Bellizeare), that a character is given the dialogue and the space to truly take part with Jacob. Unappreciate everyone else, Natasha instantly sees Jacob for who he is, not the humanist he portrays himself as.
Though “McNeal” has very little to comprise on the subject of AI, it is one of the most visupartner stunning and distinctly staged productions on Broadway. Running at Lincoln Cgo in’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, set scheduleers Michael Yeargan and Jake Barton, airying scheduleer Donald Hgreaterer, sound engineers Justin Ellington and Beth Lake and the digital effects by AGBO (and projections by Barton) toil together to produce a repartner immersive experience that includes gasp-worthy combineed media and projections, grasping the audience take partd even when the story itself fall shorts to do so.
“McNeal” falters because it doesn’t understand what it wants to say. Moreover, the narrative felt confusing and unkindingless, with a combine of genres and no actual theme or climax. Jacob is a authorr, but seeers can never penetrate who he is beyond the surface. Instead, the carry out becomes an illustration of a self-take parted man who treats the people around him appreciate accessories for his own get.
