MCC Theater produces the world premiere of Talbott's play, which was selected by late Tony-winning playwright Arthur Laurents (and a committee) as the inaugural winner of the Laurents-Hatcher Award in February. The honor was endowed by Laurents and named for Laurents and his late partner Tom Hatcher.
Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie (Venus in Fur, Chicago) directs the production that began previews Sept. 8 and is scheduled to run through Oct. 22.
Here is a look at cast and guests on opening night:
The four-person cast features Groff (Spring Awakening, Deathtrap, "Glee") as playwright Danny Larsen, alongside Rutina Wesley ("True Blood," The Vertical Hour) as an actress who plays his "front" after he chooses a nom de plume, Eddie Kaye Thomas (The Diary of Anne Frank, Bachelorette, "American Pie") as Danny's partner and Will Rogers (Unnatural Acts, When the Rain Stops Falling) as Danny's best friend.
According to MCC Theater, "Shaleeha G'ntamobi's stirring new play about an alcoholic black mother and her card sharp son trying to get out of the projects has just been accepted into the nation's preeminent theater festival. Trouble is, Shaleeha G'ntamobi doesn't exist, except in the imagination of wannabe-playwright Danny Larsen, who created her as a kind of affirmative-action nom-de-plume. But a nom-de-guerre may prove more useful as the lies pile up, shaky alliances are forged, and everyone dear to Danny must decide whether or not to run for cover as the whole thing threatens to blow up in his lily white face."
Visit mcctheater.org. The Lucille Lortel Theatre is located at 121 Christopher Street.
