Laura Benanti Joins Complete Cast for Public's Why Torture Is Wrong
Tony Award winner Laura Benanti and Broadway alums Audrie Neenan and Richard Poe have joined the cast of Christopher Durang’s forthcoming Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them, which begins previews on March 24 at The Public Theater. The world premiere comedy, directed by Nicholas Martin, opens April 6 and runs through April 26.
Benanti, Neenan and Poe join previously announced cast members Amir Arison, David Aaron Baker, Kristine Nielsen and John Pankow.
Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them tells the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father’s hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Why does her mother enjoy going to the theater so much? Does she seek mental escape, or is she insane? Honing in on our private terrors both at home and abroad, Durang oddly relieves our fears in this black comedy for an era of yellow, orange, and red alerts.
Benanti was most recently seen on Broadway in a Tony Award-winning turn in the revival of Gypsy. Additional Broadway credits include The Wedding Singer, Nine, Into the Woods, Swing! and The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway, she has appeared in the City Center Encores! production of Wonderful Town, as well as in Time and Again.
Neenan’s Broadway credits include Oklahoma!, Curse of an Aching Heart, The Odd Couple and Picnic. A member of the legendary Second City comedy troupe, the actress most recently appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Broadway’s hit play Doubt.
Richard Poe has appeared on Broadway in Cry-Baby, Journey’s End, M. Butterfly, 1776, Our Country’s Good, The Dinner Party, Execution of Justic, Tom Sawyer, Moon Over Buffalo, Fiddler on the Roof and The Pajama Game. Film and television appearances include roles on Star Trek, Frasier and Ed, as well as Transamerica and Burn After Reading.
The production will feature scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Gabriel Berry, lighting design by Ben Stanton, original music by Mark Bennett and sound design by Drew Levy.
