On Monday, I mentioned that Jake Gyllenhaal was reportedly looking for a theater gig in New York. This morning, the NY Post reports that the play he's considering is a Primary Colors-esque political drama “loosely based” on Howard Dean's 2004 White House campaign:
“Gyllenhaal, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” took part in a hush-hush reading last week of Beau Willimon's ‘Farragut North.' The actor played a young, idealistic communications director who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate. During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicos who thrive on poisonous partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing. James Lapine, who directed ‘Spelling Bee' and ‘Sunday in the Park With George,' staged the reading, which also featured Mark Blum, Denis O'Hare (a Tony winner for ‘Take Me Out'), Jessica Hecht and Alison Pill (‘Blackbird'). ‘Farragut North' is named after the Washington, D.C., Metro station near K Street, where many lobbyists have their offices. Willimon worked for Dean during the 2004 presidential race. He also worked on Chuck Schumer's 1998 U.S. Senate race, Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race and Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential bid. The play, says a source, ‘is a real insider's look at political campaigns.'”
Hopefully, the idealistic communications director will advise Dean not to do the scream this time.
You may have missed…
Jake Gyllenhaal Joins Rufus Wainwright in Surprise NYC Appearance [tr]
Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo Near Kiss at Cannes [tr]
One Night Only: Jake Gyllenhaal Does SNL [tr]