Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced Will Have Its World Premiere at Chicago's American Theater Company | Playbill

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News Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced Will Have Its World Premiere at Chicago's American Theater Company American Theater Company will present the world premiere of Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced, an examination of a modern Muslim-American struggling to define his identity, beginning Jan. 27, 2012, prior to an official opening Jan. 30, 2012.

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Ayad Akhtar

Directed by Kimberly Senior, the limited Chicago engagement will continue through Feb. 26, 2012. The cast includes Usman Ally as Amir, Alana Arenas as Jory and Behzad Dabu as Abe. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Here's how ATC bills Disgraced: "New York. Today. A Muslim-American lawyer is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while he distances himself from his cultural roots. At the moment of achieving his life-long ambitions, he falls victim to professional and personal betrayals that manifest in one of the most explosive and controversial scenes ever written for the theatre. "

"[Disgraced] unearths the unspoken cultural tensions fostered by our country's unfounded fear of the unknown," said ATC artistic director PJ Paparelli in a statement. "And perhaps most importantly, it's the first time that post-9/11 Muslim Americans have taken center stage in the theatre."

Disgraced is produced by special arrangement with The Araca Group, producers of Broadway's Urinetown and A View From the Bridge.

Other members of the creative team include fight choreographer David Woolley, set designer Jack Magaw, lighting designer Christine Binder, costume designer Janice Pytel, prop designer Nick Heggestad, sound designer Kevin O’Donnell and production stage manager Katie Klemme. Playwright Akhtar's first novel, "American Dervish," will be released in January 2012 by Little, Brown and Company. ATC will host a launch party for "American Dervish" at the theatre Feb. 7, 2012.

American Theater Company was founded in July 1985 as American Blues Theatre. ATC is an ensemble of artists committed to producing new and classic American stories.

American Theater Company is located at 1909 W. Byron in Chicago, IL. For more information and tickets, call (773) 409-4125 or visit www.atcweb.org.

 
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