Imagine you’re scrolling through emails and there is a note from everyone’s imaginary How I Met Your Mother best-bud Josh Radnor or Boardwalk Empire beauty Gretchen Mol, or better yet Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar. Well, today’s your lucky day because when BroadwayBox caught up with the cast and creators of the explosive new Broadway drama Disgraced, we asked them: if you were sending an email to your friends and family telling them about your Disgraced gig and why they should come see it live, what would you say? Read their responses below, and reply all over at the Lyceum Theatre where the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is bowling over New York audiences.
Karen Pittman (Jory)
“Hi, it’s me again. I’m doing a play that I think is really important. It’s also really funny, and I get a chance to ham it up on stage with Hari Dhillon, Josh Radnor and Gretchen Mol. We bring up something that's very important, not just to the Broadway community but to me personally—it’s what I want to say right now as a human being and as an actor. It goes into previews on September 27 and opens on October 23, and you’ve got to come see us tell this story, it's going to change your lives.”
Josh Radnor (Isaac)
“The centerpiece of this play is a dinner party where everything that one shouldn’t say about race, culture, religion and politics is said. I was just telling someone, [Disgraced] probably is not going to do great things for dinner parties—people might be afraid to throw them after this one. If you like plays that are conversation starters and leave you feeling like you've got to talk about it afterwards, this is that kind of play. And that's why I wanted to be in the theatre, to be in the center of a cultural conversation that was happening.”
Gretchen Mol (Emily)
“You must come see this play. I’m in it, first of all. It will make you think and maybe change the way you think about things. What I love about this piece is how provocative it is; for me personally, I don't want to do what I’m doing as an actor unless it will make people, including myself, a little bit nervous.”
Hari Dhillon (Amir Kapoor)
“Disgraced is a play that shows why you should always listen to what your parents tell you not to talk about at a dinner party: race, religion, politics, culture and sex. At this dinner party, everyone talks about it all night long, and there are hilarious moments, informative moments and ultimately devastating moments as a result.”
Ayad Akhtar (Playwright)
“Dear friends, you wont believe it; I actually have a show on Broadway. You’ll have to pinch me now. You better come see it: you’ll laugh, you will cry (I hope) and drinks are on me afterwards.”
Danny Ashok (Abe)
“This is a play people have to watch because it deals with various themes that resonate with anyone, no matter where they are from. Though the play is about identity, it also covers family and friendship and work, and the combustible elements that could lead to the disintegration of all of those things. And obviously, it focuses on this one guy but also the effect his actions have on everyone else. And well, you saw it in London, now come to New York.”
Kimberly Senior (Director)
“Now with Disgraced, we have the opportunity to change the way our wider culture perceives storytelling. We’re in this dynamic, charged story where we can see all of ourselves in this play. The play is raising these amazing questions that we will leave the theatre talking about, and I’m really excited to be part of it.”
Disgraced continues at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre.
