An Idea So Old, It's Completely New

As far as glamour goes, you can't get much lower than a radio play. So why have MERYL STREEP, Peter Dinklage and Hope Davis signed up for one? Because Charlie Kaufman asked them to. The Oscar-winning screenwriter made his directing debut with Hope Leaves the Theater, a play with many characters but just three actors. "The nonvisual aspect of it appealed to me," says Kaufman, who has Streep voicing a parody of herself and a black teen, among others. The play had short runs in New York City and London, and will go on to Los Angeles and Sirius radio. Could this be Streep's big break?