The New York Post reports that Mike Nichols directed the reading, which also featured the talents of Richard Kind (as former Daily news editor Jim Willse) and Sarah Paulson. Producers included Fred Zollo and Bob Cole, who produced Jackman's most recent Broadway outing, A Steady Rain, as well as Colin Callender.

The play, according to the New York daily, "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."

No announcement about a Broadway production has been made.

Jackman earned a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz and was also seen on Broadway in A Steady Rain. He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.