Casting, Dates Set for Upcoming Productions at Playwrights Horizons

Casting and production dates have been announced for three forthcoming shows at Playwrights Horizons, including Tony nominee Peter Friedman in the new musical The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. The off-Broadway company, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary season, is currently home to Adam Bock’s acclaimed drama A Small Fire.

Next up at Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theater is the world premiere of Bathsheba Doran’s Kin, which will begin previews on February 25 and open on March 21, playing through April 1. The complete cast of Sam Gold’s production will include Tony Award nominee Suzanne Bertish (The Moliére Comedies, Nicholas Nickleby), Bill Buell (HBO’s John Adams), Kristen Elizabeth Bush (A Touch of the Poet, King Lear), Patch Darragh (The Glass Menagerie, Crimes of the Heart), Laura Heisler (Doris to Darlene, Coram Boy), Matthew Rauch (The Merchant of Venice), Cotter Smith (Next Fall), Concetta Tomei (The Elephant Man, The Clean House) and Molly Ward (The Seagull at ART).

In Kin, Anna (Bush), an Ivy League poetry scholar, and Sean (Darragh), an Irish personal trainer, hardly seem destined for one another. But as their web of disparate family and friends crosses great distances, an unlikely new family is forged. The play was originally announced to feature Lily Rabe, who had to withdraw when The Merchant of Venice transferred to Broadway.

Tony nominee Peter Friedman (Ragtime, Circle Mirror Transformation, The Heidi Chronicles) and Kevin Cahoon (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Foreigner, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) will appear in the previously announced new musical The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, a co-production of Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop and South Ark Stage. The show will begin previews at Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theater on May 12 for a limited engagement through July 3, directed by John Langs.

The Shaggs features a book by Joy Gregory, music by Gunnar Madsen, lyrics by Gregory and Madsen and story by Gregory, Madsen and Langs. Set in Fremont, New Hampshire, in the early ’70s, the musical is based on the true story of a working class dad (Friedman) who has a vision of rock ‘n’ roll destiny for his three talentless daughters. The girls have ideas of their own, and as their father’s ambition turns to obsession, the price of familial obligation becomes all too clear.

Finally, dates have been set for the previously announced world premiere of Go Back to Where You Are, written by and featuring David Greenspan. Leigh Silverman’s production of the play, centering on a forgotten chorus boy from Ancient Greece who comes back to earth on a mission from God, begins performances at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on March 24 and opens on April 12, running through May 1.