BE HERE NOW Comes to PYGmalion Theatre Company
Performances run May 2 to May 17.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 28, 2025
PYGmalion Theatre Company will conclude its 2024/2025 season with "Be Here Now" by Deborah Zoe Laufer, directed by Jason Bowcutt, from May 2 to May 17 at the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts located at 138 West Broadway in downtown Salt Lake City.
Bari’s always been a bit of an angry, depressed misanthrope. And losing her job teaching nihilism in New York to work at the local fulfillment center in her rural hometown has sent her into despair. But lately her recurring headaches manifest bizarre, ecstatic, almost religious experiences, and they’re changing her entire view of life. She’s in love. She’s almost… happy. When she finds out they’re also killing her, she must decide whether it’s better to live a short, joyful life, or risk a lifetime of misery. And she must also ask herself… what’s it all for anyway?
Laufer’s plays have been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Portland Stage, and other theaters around the country and internationally.
The show features April Fossen as Bari, Matthew Sincell as Mike Cooper, Brenda Hattingh as Patty Cooper and Niki Rahimi as Luanne Cooper.
Director Bowcutt talked about why he wanted to direct "Be Here Now."
"A dear friend shared the script with me several years ago knowing that I would be drawn to it, and I was immediately captivated," he explained. "The play is so well written with a ton of humor, but I also find it clever and thought provoking. The core questions that the playwright poses around 'happiness': how much is within our control; what's influenced by our environment or innate; whether we can manipulate it; and what we might sacrifice for it —truly resonate with me. I appreciate that the play ponders these questions through beautifully crafted characters, all while being highly entertaining. I have been interested in directing this play ever since and am thrilled that PYGmalion was as enthusiastic about the work as I am."
He also talked about why he thinks this is an important story to tell now.
"I believe that audiences will enjoy the world we are creating as much as I do," he said. "The characters are identifiable and it is easy to recognize oneself in their journeys. Watching them do their best to navigate their way through life, difficulties and all, fills me with hope and I suspect that is something people are hungry for. The play reminds us to 'Be Here Now' and that even in the chaos of our current world, it is still possible to find peace and beauty in the simplest of things."
Fossen spoke about why this show appeals to her as an actor.
"I love a challenge, and this is certainly that... playing a character who basically has two different personalities over the course of the play," she explained. "I also really connect with the idea of being present in the moment, and 'Be Here Now' has been a personal mantra for over a decade.
Rahimi explained why the show appeals to her as an actor.
"'Be Here Now' resonated with me as an actor because of how the script masterfully balances humor, truth, and the bittersweet realities of life today," she said. "The characters are unique and unforgettable, and the writing is sharp, hilarious, and deeply relatable. I was especially drawn to Luanne—her honesty is refreshingly genuine, never laced with sarcasm or judgment. She just has a sincerity that makes her stand out, and that I knew I would love to portray."
Hattingh spoke about why she thinks this play is relevant now, in 2025.
"I think there are a lot of people feeling disenfranchised and hopeless in today’s political climate," she said. "Like the world is completely off-balance and it seems like there’s not much we can do about it. The main character, Bari, is in that exact place at the start of the play. And if you feel like everything is great and as it should be, you’ll relate to Patty. It deals with mental health, cancer, relationship dynamics and with a person’s right to make health-related decisions for themselves and how the people around them process that.
"But there’s also so much comedy in the characters and the writing. It’s relevant because all those topics are relevant, but it’s also a play that entertains and uplifts. It will make you think about how you look at the world and the people around you and maybe you’ll understand a little bit more about how other people see and process things."
Sincell also spoke about why he feels the play is relevant now, in 2025.
"I think one could argue that any play or art is relevant now," he said. "We need to keep carrying the light of what it is to be human. It's complicated. It's messy. It's essential that we continue to gather groups of strangers in theatres to collectively witness, think, and be moved. This isn't a play that has an earth-shattering revelatory message. But it does remind us that we need human connection. It reminds us that there is another side to devastation and grief. We are transformed by it, to be certain, but we do not disappear."
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