Will & Grace Star Eric McCormack Joins James Earl Jones & More in The Best Man

Emmy-winning Will & Grace alum Eric McCormack will join the forthcoming Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man as presidential contender Joseph Cantwell. He joins previously announced stars James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette and Michael McKean. The play will begin previews on March 6 and open on April 1 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced, directed by Michael Wilson.

Vidal’s 1960 political drama centers on power, ambition, political secrets and ruthless behavior surrounding a race for the presidency. Jones will lead the cast as Arthur Hockstader, a former U.S. President in an election year, who is torn between endorsing two potential presidential candidates. The play was most recently seen on Broadway in a 2000 revival that featured Charles Durning, Chris Noth (as Cantwell), Christine Ebersole, Spalding Gray, Elizabeth Ashley and Michael Learned.

McCormack is best known for his eight seasons as Will Truman on NBC’s Will & Grace, for which he earned a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award. He has been seen on Broadway as Harold Hill in The Music Man and off-Broadway in the American premiere of Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s). His other stage credits include Glengarry Glen Ross, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Three Sisters and Henry V, and his film work includes Alien Trespass, Free Enterprise and My One and Only.

The creative team for The Best Man includes scenic designer Derek McLane, lighting designer Kenneth Posner and costume designer Ann Roth.