The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi and More to Star in Lincoln Center Theater's Disgraced

Lincoln Center Theater has announced casting for the upcoming LCT3 production of Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced. Directed by Kimberly Senior, the New York premiere will star The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi and play at Lincoln Center Theater’s new Claire Tow Theatre October 7 through November 18, with an opening night scheduled for October 22.

Joining Mandvi are Heidi Armbruster (Time Stands Still), Adam Dannheisser (Rock of Ages, The Coast of Utopia), Omar Maskati (Easy Money) and Karen Pittman (Good People, Passing Strange). Mandvi has appeared on Broadway in Oklahoma and off-Broadway in Einstein's Gift, Trudy Blue and Death Defying Acts.

Disgraced is the story of Amir Kapoor (Mandvi), a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots. When Amir and his wife Emily (Armbruster), a white artist influenced by Islamic paintings, host a dinner party, what starts out as a friendly conversation escalates into something far more damaging.

The play was developed as part of the AracaWorks bi-annual reading series and received its world premiere at Chicago’s American Theatre Company. LCT3 is a programming initiative devoted to producing the work of new artists as well as developing new audiences. This will mark the second production to play Lincoln Center’s new Claire Tow Theater.