Wednesday, 13 June 2007

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Jake Gyllenhaal eyeing broadway debut

Brokeback Mountain star considering stage role

Jake Gyllenhaal is deciding whether he'll attempt to climb a peak even more treacherous than Brokeback Mountain – Broadway.

The Oscar nominee, 26, is mulling over the starring role in the political stage drama Farragut North, to open this fall, the show's producer, Jeffrey Richards, confirms to PEOPLE. Gyllenhaal's decision is expected by the end of this week.

News of Gyllenhaal's prospective Broadway debut was first reported in the New York Post, which said a private reading of the work was held last week.

Gyllenhaal would play an idealistic communications director for an unorthodox presidential candidate said to be based on 2004 Democratic candidate Howard Dean. The play's title refers to the Washington, D.C., metro stop located near the offices of several lobbyists, the Post reports.

According to The New York Times, the show's creator, Brooklyn-based Beau Willimon, 29, is "a playwright [who] worked on Howard Dean's presidential campaign."

Gyllenhaal is himself no stranger to politics. In 2004 he participated in the Rock the Vote campaign, to help young people register to vote, and he campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.