Betsy Aidem and the Prayer for the French Republic Cast on Tackling Big Questions on Broadway

On December 19, Prayer for the French Republic begins its Broadway run at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Telling the interconnected stories of a Jewish couple in 1940s Paris and their great-grandchildren 70 years later, the show stars Betsy Aidem, Francis Benhamou, Ari Brand, Anthony Edwards, Molly Ranson, Nancy Robinette and Aria Shahghasemi.

“We all have these ways that we react in turmoil, when we feel like we’re under threat,” Aidem told The Broadway Show. Playwright Joshua Harmon is interested in the question of “whether you bring your best self or worst self” to those moments, Aidem said.

“It is a question that humanity has been faced with forever: Are we safe here?” noted Ranson, while promising a play that provides no easy answers. “It poses more questions. It’s a good conversation piece.”

The play also testifies to the power of levity in our darkest times, Aidem added. “We can laugh in the middle of a nightmare."