Tony Winner Des McAnuff to Direct Fetch Clay at the McCarter

Tony-winning director Des McAnuff will helm Will Power’s Fetch Clay, Make Man at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. The show, about the relationship between boxing icon Muhammad Ali and actor Stephin Fetchit, begins performances on January 8. The production opens on January 15 and is set to run through February 14.

In the days before one of the most controversial fights in boxing history, 23-year-old heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali formed an improbable bond with disgraced former Hollywood star Stephin Fetchit. Set in the heady times of the mid-1960s, after years of struggle and a series of Civil Rights victories, Fetch Clay, Make Man explores the true story of two wildly different men, each struggling to create and shape his image and legacy.

McAnuff’s Broadway directing credits include Big River, The Who's Tommy, Jersey Boys, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,The Farnsworth Invention and 700 Sundays.

Also on the schedule for McCarter is a revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, directed by Tony-nominated performer Amy Morton (March 9-28); the David Shire and Richard Maltby Jr. musical Take Flight, directed by Tony Award nominee Sam Buntrock of Broadway’s recent Sunday in the Park with George revival (April 3-June 6); Having Our Say (September 11-October 18), written and directed by McCarter artistic dirctor Emily Mann; and Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, directed by Nicholas Martin (October 13-November 1).