In one of the more intriguing collaborations of the current New York theater season, Julie Taymor will direct actress Anne Hathaway in a play about drone warfare that will open this spring at the Public Theater.

“Grounded,” by George Brant, is set to run at the Public from April 7 to May 17, with an official opening on April 23. The drama, which is a late addition to the company’s season, tells the story of a female fighter pilot who becomes pregnant and is then reassigned to long shifts overseeing a remote-controlled drone for the Air Force.

The military-themed play, which features only one character, opened last year in London at the Gate Theatre and in New York at a small theater in Tribeca. It has also been seen at a number of regional theaters throughout the U.S. and U.K.

The production will mark Hathaway’s return to the Public following her appearance in the company’s 2009 staging of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in New York’s Central Park.


Taymor recently directed a well-received staging of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last year at the Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn. It was her first stage directorial effort following the troubled “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” on Broadway.

Her production of “The Lion King” for Disney continues to be a box-office hit on Broadway after more than 17 years.

“Grounded” will feature music and soundscapes by Elliot Goldenthal, the Oscar-winning composer who is Taymor’s longtime partner and creative collaborator.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT