Despite earning fantastic reviews and plenty of awards Stephen Karam’s off-Broadway drama Sons of the Prophet never made a Main Stem move last season as many had predicted. Theatergoers still hoping to catch the acclaimed drama about a Lebanese family might not be completely out of luck however. Original show star Santino Fontana (who currently stars as Prince Topher in Broadway’s Cinderella) said the playwright may be at work on a companion piece to the Pulitzer Prize finalist.
"I think that would be great,” Fontino told Broadway.com of his thoughts on the show moving to Broadway. “I know that Stephen [Karam] has ideas for using those same characters in creating another play, like a trilogy. I hope he does. The idea was tossed out that if he wrote the second one, they could be done in rep. I would love that.”
Double the Sons of the Prophet? Sounds good to us! Mr. Karam and Mr. Fontana, we have our fingers crossed for this exciting project.
Sons of the Prophet follows a Lebanese family in Pennsylvania who never loses their sense of humor as they struggle with crazy bosses, medical mysteries and other issues. The Roundabout Theatre Company production starred Fontana, Joanna Gleason, Chris Perfetti, Yusef Bulos, Jonathan Louis Dent, Lizbeth Mackay, Dee Nelson and Charles Socarides. The show played off-Broadway’s Laura Pels Theatre from September 28, 2011 to January 1, 2012.
Update: Roundabout noted The Sons of the Prophet companion piece was officially commissioned in October 2011 as part of the company’s New Play Initiative, a collection of programs, designed to foster and produce new work by emerging and established artists. Roundabout also commissioned Karam to write Sons of the Prophet after the success of their first collaboration, off-Broadway's Speech & Debate.
Hear from the original off-Broadway cast in the video below, and check back on Broadway.com on February 18 for a full Q&A with Santino Fontana.