Casting announced for Hir and Marjorie Prime

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

Playwrights Horizons has announced casting for the second and third productions of its 2015/2016 Season:

In the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, the New York premiere of the dark comedy Hir, written by Obie Award winner Taylor Mac and directed by Niegel Smith, will feature Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen, Daniel Oreskes, Tom Phelan and Cameron Scoggins.

Previews begin on 16 October 2015, before an official opening on 8 November, and a limited run through to 29 November 2015.

Synopsis: "Somewhere in the suburbs, Isaac has returned from the wars to help take care of his ailing father, only to discover a household in revolt. The insurgent: his mom. Liberated from an oppressive marriage, with Isaac's newly out transgender brother as her ally, she's on a crusade to dismantle the patriarchy. But in Taylor Mac's sly, subversive comedy, annihilating the past doesn't always free you from it."

Hir had its world premiere at Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA) in February 2014.

In the Mainstage Theater, the New York Premiere of the comic-drama Marjorie Prime written by Jordan Harrison and directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman, will feature Noah Bean, two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Emery, Stephen Root, and two-time Tony nominee Lois Smith.

Previews begin on 20 November 2015, before an official opening on 14 December, and a limited run through to 3 January 2016.

Synopsis: "It's the age of artificial intelligence, and 86-year-old Marjorie - a jumble of disparate, fading memories - has a handsome new companion who's programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? In this new play, Jordan Harrison explores the mysteries of human identity and the limits - if any - of what technology can replace."

Marjorie Prime's world premiere was produced by Center Theatre Group at The Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA) in September 2014.

Other productions in the Playwrights Horizons' 2015-2016 season include the NY premiere of The Christians written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Les Waters, the NY premiere of Familiar, written by Danai Gurira and directed by Rebecca Taichman, along with two world premieres: Antlia Pneumatica written by Anne Washburn and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, and Indian Summer written by Gregory S. Moss and directed by Carolyn Cantor.

- by Tom Millward

Originally published on

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