Acclaimed play ‘Downstate’ to transfer to Broadway

The drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Norris premiered in Chicago in 2018 and played off Broadway in 2022.

Summary

• The Bruce Norris drama Downstate will premiere on Broadway at the Booth Theatre starting October 17
• The play is set at a group home for convicted child sex offenders
• The show previously played to acclaim in Chicago and off Broadway
• The cast includes returning cast members K. Todd Freeman and Francis Guinan alongside Liza Colón-Zayas; Ivy Wolk; Thomas Sadoski; and more

The acclaimed drama Downstate will officially transfer to Broadway this fall, starting performances October 17 ahead of a November 15 opening at the Booth Theatre. News of the production first surfaced when a Downstate marquee went up at the Booth on August 17.

Downstate is set at a group home shared by four convicted child sex offenders, one of whose victims arrives to confront his abuser. The play, by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park), had its world premiere in Chicago in 2018 and transferred off Broadway to Playwrights Horizons in 2022.

“Dark but streaked with spiky humor, Downstate is filled with confrontations. In a way, the play itself is a confrontation,” New York Theatre Guide’s four-star review reads. “Norris is too smart a writer to be chasing after tidy answers and neat conclusions. Through it all the fine-tuned actors [...] skillfully navigate the charged material.”

Returning from the Off-Broadway production are two-time Tony Award nominee K. Todd Freeman and Evening Standard Award nominee Francis Guinan. New to the cast are Al'Jaleel McGhee, Adrian Martinez, The Bear Emmy winner Liza Colón-Zayas, Tony nominee Thomas Sadoski, Cassie Beck, and Ivy Wolk.

2026 Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Death of a Salesman) directs Downstate on Broadway; the previous productions were staged by Pam Mackinnon. The Broadway creative team for Downstate also includes scenic designer Scott Pask, costume designer Ann Roth, lighting designer Heather Gilbert, and sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman.

Starting September 10, TodayTix will offer $20 off Downstate purchases of $99 or more, for performances before opening night. Additionally, the first 100 Downstate purchasers on TodayTix will receive a voucher for $150 off Mantello's spring production of Small Mouth Sounds, also announced today and starring Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd, Sarah Paulson, Martin Freeman, Greta Lee, and Isaac Powell.

Check back for information on Downstate tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Downstate off Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)