The play, which was previously titled Stories About McAlary, will be directed by Tony winner George C. Wolfe. Wolfe helped playwright Ephron shape the final draft of Lucky Guy.

Lucky Guy, featuring Hanks as the late newspaper columnist, will open in January at one of the Shubert theatres for a limited engagement, according to the Post.

The play, according to a previous report, "is a loosely structured series of scenes about McAlary's life and the stories he covered, including the Abner Louima case, for which he won a Pulitzer . . . [and] the columnist's biggest screw-up: In 1995, he wrongly accused a lesbian of making up a rape charge to publicize feminist causes."

An official announcement about the play has yet to be made.

Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman took part in an earlier reading of Stories About McAlary that was directed by Mike Nichols and also featured the talents of Richard Kind (as former Daily news editor Jim Willse) and Sarah Paulson. Producers of that reading included Fred Zollo and Bob Cole, who produced A Steady Rain, as well as Colin Callender.

Tom Hanks won Academy Awards for his performances in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump." He was also Oscar-nominated for his roles in "Cast Away," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Big."