Actor's Express Presents PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC By Joshua Harmon

Actor's Express continues its 35th anniversary season with Prayer for the French Republic by multi-award winning playwright Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews/Skintight).

On the eve of the 2016 French presidential elections, a Parisian doctor fears for the safety of her family amid the rise of antisemitism in France. As she considers relocating to Israel, we flashback to her great-grandparents anxiously awaiting the return of their loved ones who have recently been liberated from the concentration camps. Making its regional debut, this emotionally rich family saga introduces us to five generations of a Jewish family yearning for the safety of home in this award-winning landmark play about Jewish identity and navigating antisemitism in today's world.

According to Artistic Director Freddie Ashley, "This is Joshua Harmon's most ambitious play to date. The rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere fueled Harmon's exploration of the need for the safety of home. Exquisite in every detail, Prayer for the French Republic is an uplifting play that confronts the inhumanity of the world with the powerful forces of family and hope."

Prayer for the French Republic is a powerful play that explores the human spirit's resilience and the strength of family bonds in the face of oppression. Through the eyes of five generations of a Jewish family, the play delves into themes of survival, identity, and the impact of tough decisions on one's life.

Prayer for the French Republic was a hit in its January 2022 World Premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club, winning the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Best Play and the 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play. The New York Stage Review raved, "FIVE STARS! A brave, articulate, and necessary new play." The New York Theatre Guide called Prayer for the French Republic, "A breathtaking work that skillfully balances the humanity of its characters with sprawling history."

This ensemble cast features both Atlanta favorites and newcomers, including AE vet Carolyn Cook (Angels in America, Blackberry Winter), Founding and Producing Artistic Director of Théâtre du Rêve, a professional Atlanta theatre that brings French language and Francophone culture to life and Ross Benjamin (Intimate Apparel), Jared Simon (Glengarry Glen Ross) and former AE Apprentice Aliya Rose Kraar (Oh, to be Pure Again). Longtime Atlanta stage favorites who make their AE debuts include Susan Shalhoub Larkin, Barry Stoltze and Clayton Landey. Also making their AE debuts are Shaun Maclean, Faina Khibkin, Israeli-American actor Adir Lev Mann and Jacob Sherman.

Joe Alterman (Neranenah Jewish Music Festival) will compose original music for the production. Other creative Team members include Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay (Scenic Design), Jen J. Madison (Costume Design), Joseph P. Monaghan III (Lighting Design), Kate Hoang, (Sound Design), Nick Battaglia (Props Design and Set Decoration) and Amy Levin (Dramaturg).

Joshua Harmon's plays include Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight, and Prayer for the French Republic. He and Sarah Silverman co-wrote the libretto for The Bedwetter based on her memoir. His plays have been produced on Broadway and the West End; off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theater Club and Atlantic Theater Company; across the country at Geffen Playhouse, Speakeasy, Studio Theatre, Theater Wit, About Face, Actor's Express, and The Magic, among others; and internationally in a dozen countries. He is a two-time MacDowell fellow and an Associate Artist at Roundabout. Graduate of Juilliard.

Harmon has positioned himself as one of the preeminent playwrights today writing about the Jewish identity.

Harmon says, "Freddie Ashley invited me to join Actor's Express in 2010, as Playwright in Residence. Before anyone had produced one of my plays, he told me to consider Actor's Express an artistic home. In the decade-plus since, he has produced three of my plays; this production will be the fourth. It is rare to find an artistic collaborator who believes in you from the very beginning, and who remains as steadfast as Freddie. I am grateful beyond measure, and honored that, at a moment when theatre is still recovering from the ravages of the last few years, Freddie is bringing this epic play to Atlanta. I hope it speaks to audiences from all backgrounds who have felt concerned these last few years about their safety, and yet who remain hopeful that we can live in peace in the place we call home."

Freddie Ashley is Artistic Director of Actor's Express. He has directed around 45 AE productions, including Fun Home, The Crucible, Stupid f-ing Bird and Murder Ballad. Locally, his work has been seen at Dad's Garage, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Jewish Theatre of the South, Theatre Gael and Aurora Theatre. He has been a frequent guest director at universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Hendrix College, University of Georgia, Austin Peay State University and Oglethorpe University.

He has developed new plays around the country with the Playwrights Center, Kennedy Center, New Group, Page 73 and the Alliance Theatre, where he served as Literary Manager. Ashley has worked on new play projects with some of the most compelling and important writers working in the American theatre today, including John Patrick Shanley, Joshua Harmon, Lindsey Ferrentino, Jen Silverman, Kenneth Lin, Janine Nabers, Marco Ramirez and Michael Lew.

He is a four-time Suzi Bass Award winner and has been named Best Director in Atlanta three times by Creative Loafing. He has received the Elliott Hayes Award for Dramaturgy from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Medallion of Excellence.

Ashley is Part-Time Assistant Professor of Theatre at Kennesaw State University, where he has served on the faculty since 2002 and serves on the National New Play Network Board of Directors. He holds an MFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Prayer for the French Republic

By Joshua Harmon

Directed by Freddie Ashley

April 20- May 14, 2023

On the eve of the 2016 French presidential elections, a Parisian doctor fears for the safety of her family amid the rise of antisemitism in France. As she considers relocating to Israel, we flashback to her great-grandparents anxiously awaiting the return of their loved ones who have recently been liberated from the concentration camps. This emotionally rich family saga introduces us to five generations yearning for the safety of home.

Prayer for the French Republic begins previews April 20 and opens April 22. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM as well as 7:30 PM on April 23. There will not be Friday performances on April 28th and May 5th. Tickets start at $20 and may be purchased online at actors-express.com or by calling 404-607-7469.

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