James Earl Jones to return to Broadway in 'You Can't Take It With You'

It appears that Broadway’s current obsession with Moss Hart (now embodied in the just-reviewed Lincoln Center production of his beloved memoir Act One) is going to continue just a bit longer. James Earl Jones, a.k.a. The Voice (well before it was a hit NBC reality competition program), will lend those Darth Vader tones to the 1936 American classic You Can’t Take It With You, written by ace scribes Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman and even better known for the Best Picture Oscar-winning 1938 film by Frank Capra.

In the first revival in over 30 years, Jones is assumed to take the role of Grandpa Vanderhof, the head of the eccentric Sycamore family, who lock horns with another family, the Kirbys, over a real-estate dispute that interrupts the romantic progress of two younger members of each clan. The production, a Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, will be directed by Broadway vet Scott Ellis (Curtains).

You Can’t Take It With You is slated to begin previews this August, with an opening night set for September 28. Additional cast and creative team will be announced at a later date.