Steven Pasquale to Make Broadway Return in Ayad Akhtar's Junk

Steven Pasquale is coming back to the boards—in a play! Fresh off of the news that he will be playing John Wilkes Booth in the highly anticipated City Center production Assassins, Pasquale has his next Great White Way gig lined up. He will take on the lead role of Robert Merkin in Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Ahktar's financial thriller Junk. The drama, directed by Doug Hughes, will begin performances at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (the home of Tony-winning play Oslo) on October 5. Opening night is slated for November 2.

Pasquale last appeared on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County opposite Tony winner Kelli O'Hara. He made his debut in Reasons to Be Pretty in 2009. His other New York stage credits include The Robber Bridegroom, Far From Heaven, A Soldier's Play, Fat Pig, Beautiful Child, A Man of No Importance, The Spitfire Grill, Spinning Into Butter and The Wild Party. On screen, he has appeared in Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story, Bloodline, Billions, The Good Wife and more.

Junk premiered a La Jolla Playhouse in the summer of 2016. The financial thriller is set in the 1985 and follows successful junk bond trader Robert Merkin (Pasquale) whose reputation as king of finance is at stake. Scribe Akhtar likens the play to a Shakespearean history, explaining that it’s his dramatic interpretation of events that led to a turning point in the American economy.