Christine Lahti, John Lavelle & More Join Vineyard Theatre's RUSSIAN TROLL FARM: A Workplace Comedy

The cast and design team has been revealed for Vineyard Theatre's upcoming production of Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy by Obie Award inner Sarah Gancher, directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder). The show will play a limited run from January 25, 2024 - February 25, 2024 at Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15th Street). Opening night is set for February 8, 2024.
 
The cast features Academy Award nominee Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope,” “Evil”) as Ljuba, Renata Friedman (Zürich) as Masha, Haskell King(Kingfishers Catch Fire) as Egor, John Lavelle (Selma, The Graduate) as Steve and Hadi Tabbal (The Vagrant Trilogy) as Nikolai.
 
The design team includes scenic design by two-time Tony Award nominee Alexander Dodge (Harry Clarke, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), costume design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Sandra, POTUS), lighting design by Drama Desk nominee Marcus Doshi (Pass Over), sound design by Tony Award winner Darron L West (Lackawanna Blues), and video & projection design by Jared Mezzocchi (On the Beauty of Loss).
 
Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy will be produced in association with Dori Berinstein/Dramatic Forces and in association with Geva Theatre Center. Liz Armstrong is a Troll Team Partner. The play was originally produced by Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York: Elizabeth Williamson, Artistic Director and Christopher Mannelli, Executive Director. The World Premiere of Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedywas produced virtually by TheaterWorks Hartford and TheatreSquaredin October 2020 (New York Times Critic’s Pick).
 
Single tickets to Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy begin at $35 and are on sale at www.vineyardtheatre.org or by calling the box office at 212-353-0303.
 

BIOGRAPHIES:
 

Sarah Gancher (Playwright) is an Obie Award-winning playwright whose work has been seen on stages worldwide including London’s National Theatre, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, The Public Theatre, New York Theater Workshop, Steppenwolf, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Hartford Stage, RoundHouse (DC), Seattle Rep, and Ars Nova. (Upcoming: Playwrights Horizons Soundstage.) Recent work includes Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy (Geva Theater, dir. Darko Tresnjak; the online production for Theaterworks Hartford/Theatre Squared/The Civilians, directed by Jared Mezzocchi & Elizabeth Williamson, was selected for the NY Times “Top 10 Theater of 2020.”) Past collaborations have included Hundred Days and The Lucky Ones with The Bengsons, Anne Kauffman, and Sonya Tayeh; and Mission Drift with Heather Christian, Rachel Chavkin, and The TEAM. Honors include the Richard Rodgers Award, the New York Stage and Film Founders’ Award, the James Stevenson Prize for Comedy, The Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Award, a Toulmin Foundation commission, several Lortel, Drama Desk, and Drama League nominations, and the AR Gurney Prize. An alumna of Ars Nova Play Group, WP Lab, P73, The Orchard Project and The Playwrights’ Realm, she is a current resident at New Dramatists. She also plays jazz and bluegrass violin. MFA: NYU.
 
Darko Tresnjak (Director) won the Tony, the Drama Desk, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for his direction of A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder. He won an Obie Award for his direction of The Killer, starring Michael Shannon. From 2004 to 2009, Darko was the Artistic Director of The Old Globe Shakespeare Festival. From 2011 to 2019, he was the Artistic Director of Hartford Stage Company. As a director of plays, musicals and operas, Darko has worked at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, Theater for a New Audience, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Royal Shakespeare Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Vineyard Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Alley Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Westport Country Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Santa Fe Opera. Favorite productions include Der Zwerg with Rodrick Dixon, Rear Window with Kevin Bacon, The Merchant Of Venice with F. Murray Abraham and Kate Forbes, The Winter’s Tale with Kandis Chappell, and The Ghosts Of Versailles with Patti LuPone. After a two-year run on Broadway, Darko’s production of Anastasia has been seen in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. He is writing a musical comedy, Ask For The Moon, with composer Oran Eldor. 

Christine Lahti (Ljuba) has been working in the film industry for nearly four decades after her initial breakthrough role in …And Justice For All. Just five years later, she would receive her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the film Swing Shift. She would also garner an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for her movie, Lieberman in Love, in which she starred and directed. She has also won a Golden Globe for her work on “Chicago Hope” and has been seen in the hit NBC show, “The Blacklist.” While maintaining an incredibly successful film and television career, she also has developed a noteworthy Broadway career, starting with her 1980 Broadway debut in Loose Ends. She played ‘Gloria Steinem’ in the hit off-Broadway play, Gloria: A Life, and was recently in the Robbie Bait play I’ll Be Seeing Ya. Christine is currently starring in the CBS show, “Evil” created by Michelle and Robert King–which recently earned her a Critics’ Choice Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Renata Friedman (Masha). Off-Broadway: Zürich (Colt Coeur), Medea(Brooklyn Academy of Music u/s), Sleeping Rough (Page 73), No One is Forgotten (Rattlestick), The Underlying Chris (Second Stage u/s), If I Forget(Roundabout u/s), Then They Forgot About the Rest (INTAR), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (New Victory Theater). Regional: Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Rep, Barrington Stage Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival, Portland Center Stage, Roundhouse, ACT, Geva, among many others. TV: “The Patient,” “The Terminal List,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “New Amsterdam,” “Alternatino.” Training: NYU Tisch. Renata has narrated over 200 audiobooks. www.renatafriedman.com.

Haskell King (Egor). Off-Broadway includes: Kingfishers Catch Fire (Irish Rep), Please Continue, Isaac’s Eye, Photograph 51, Turnabout (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Mother (Wild Project); Elvis and Juliet (Abingdon Theatre). Regional Theater: Russian Troll Farm (Geva Theatre). Television: “Dear Edward,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Film: The Heart That Stays, The Fly Room, Shadows & Lies.

John Lavelle (Steve). Broadway: The Graduate. Off-Broadway: The Royale (LCT, Drama Desk Award), Catch 22 (The Lucille Lortel), Spatter Pattern(Playwrights Horizons), Rope (Drama Dept), The Jew of Malta (TFANA). Regional: The Merchant of Venice (RSC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream(Hartford Stage), Much Ado About Nothing (La Jolla,) As You Like It(Shakespeare Center LA), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (The Old Globe), On the Razzle (WTF), Cult of Love (IAMA), Bell, Book, and Candle (The Old Globe). Film: Selma, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, The Taking of Pelham 123, Heirloom. TV: “Black Monday,” “She-Ra,” “Instinct,” “Kipo,” “When They See Us,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Grace and Frankie,” “Forever,” “The Black Donnellys,” “Law & Order: Trial by Jury,” “Numb3rs,” “NCIS,” “All My Children" and “Guiding Light.” John is a graduate of NYU Tisch.
 
Hadi Tabbal (Nikolai). Off-Broadway: The Public Theater: The Vagrant Trilogy; Roundabout Theatre Company/Atlantic Theater Company co-production: English (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel nomination); Astoria Performing Arts Center: Buggy Baby. Regional: The Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale; Berkeley Repertory Theatre: English; Mosaic Theatre: The Vagrant Trilogy; Humana Festival: The Hour of Feeling. Film: Rosa (HBO); Circumstance (Sundance Audience Winner). Television (select): “The Brave” (NBC), “Law & Order SVU” (NBC), “Bull” (CBS), “FBI” (CBS). M.F.A in Acting from The New School for Drama. Fulbright Grant recipient.
 
Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design). Vineyard: Harry Clarke. Broadway: I Need That, Anastasia, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony nomination), Present Laughter (Tony nomination), Old Acquaintance, Butley, Hedda Gabler. Off Broadway: The Whisper House: 59E59 Theatres; Ripcord: Manhattan Theatre Club; Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Trust; The Water’s Edge: Second Stage; Rapture Blister Burn: Playwrights Horizons; The Understudy: Roundabout; Measure for Pleasure, Paris Commune: Public Theater; Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme (Lortel winner), Chaucer in Rome: Lincoln Center. Alexander is a professor of set design at the State University of New York, Purchase College. Training: MFA, Yale School of Drama.
 
Linda Cho (Costume Design). Vineyard: Sandra, Eli’s Comin’, More Lies About Jerzy. Broadway: Doubt; Harmony; Summer 1976; POTUS; Take Me Out; Grand Horizons; The Great Society; Lifespan of a Fact; Anastasia (Tony Nom);  A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Award); The Velocity of Autumn. Off-Broadway: Half God of Rainfall  & Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord (New York Theater Workshop); Cambodian Rock Band (Signature Theatre). Regional: Babbitt (La Jolla Playhouse), Pianist (George Street Playhouse); The Great Gatsby (Paper Mill Playhouse). Opera: Samson et Dalila(Met Opera), Turandot (Washington National Opera) Other: Advisory Committee American Theater Wing. Education: MFA, Yale School of Drama.
 
Marcus Doshi (Lighting Design) is an international theatre maker and designer. He is delighted to return to the Vineyard, having previously lit A Boy and His Soul. Broadway credits include Pass Over (2021, also Amazon Film) and Linda Vista (2019). Work Off-Broadway includes The Public Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for a New Audience, and many others. Regionally, his work has been seen at most major theatre and opera companies. Internationally his work has been seen in 18 countries across five continents. He is the author of Towards Good Lighting for the Stage: Aesthetic Theory for Theatrical Lighting Design published by Routledge. He is a graduate of Wabash College and the Yale School of Drama and is a Professor of Theatre at Northwestern University where he teaches in the MFA Design and Directing programs. www.marcusdoshi.com
 
Darron L West (Sound Design) is a Tony and Obie award-winning sound designer specializing in new work. Of his 690 career productions spanning theater, dance and art installations, 220 have been world premiers. His soundscapes have been heard throughout the US and internationally in 15 countries. Additional honors include the Drama Desk, Lortel, Audelco, and Princess Grace Foundation Statue Award, among many others. Thirty-year company member designing the productions of Anne Bogart and the Siti Company.

Jared Mezzocchi (Video & Projection Design) Vineyard: On the Beauty of Loss (Creator, Mini-Commission), Brutal Imagination (Digital Editor). Off-Broadway: Poor Yella Rednecks (Manhattan Theatre Club), Vietgone(Manhattan Theatre Club). Regional: Woolly Mammoth (Nether, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Company Member), Arena (Intelligence, Smart People), Portland Center Stage (Wild & Reckless), Milwaukee Rep (Junk, History of Invulnerability). Digital Theater: Someone Else’s House(Writer/Performer, Geffen), Russian Troll Farm (Co-Director & Designer: Civilians, TheaterWorks Hartford, TheatreSquared), Section 230 (HERE, Creator). Directing: Kennedy Center (How To Catch a Star), Roundhouse (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, We Declare You a Terrorist). Awards: 2x Obie (2017, 2023), Lucille Lortel, Henry Hewes, Princess Grace, Helen Hayes, 2x Macdowell.
 

About Vineyard Theatre

Under the artistic leadership of Sarah Stern and Douglas Aibel, Vineyard Theatre develops and produces new plays and musicals that push the boundaries of what theatre can be and do. For over 40 years, The Vineyard has nurtured a community of fearless theatre makers whose work has expanded the form, the field, and the larger culture. Vineyard Theatre has transferred eleven shows to Broadway, seven directly after their acclaimed Vineyard premieres: Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. and Tina Satter’s Is This A Room (both New York Times Best Theatre of 2021); Paula Vogel’s Indecent; Nicky Silver’s The Lyons; Kander, Ebb and Thompson’s The Scottsboro Boys; Bell and Bowen’s [title of show]; and Avenue Q by Marx, Lopez and Whitty (Tony Award, Best Musical). In recent years, four additional shows launched at The Vineyard have been revived in their first Broadway productions: Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive; Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar And Grill; Becky Mode’s Fully Committed; and Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Three Tall Women.
 
From our home in NYC’s Union Square, The Vineyard develops and premieres new plays and musicals which go on to be seen around the country and the world. Recently, Jeremy O. Harris’ play “Daddy” (2019) received its London premiere at the Almeida; Ngozi Anyanwu’s Good Grief (2018) and David Cale’s Harry Clarke (2017) were recorded by Audible; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Gloria (2014), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, transferred to Chicago’s Goodman Theatre; Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning Indecent (2016) aired on PBS’s “Great Performances” and was one of the most-produced plays nationwide in 2019; and Colman Domingo’s Dot (2016) is being adapted into an AMC series. The Vineyard’s first major digital work, Lessons in Survival, was named one of the top theatrical experiences of 2020 by the New York Timesand has been viewed by audiences in more than 40 countries.
 
The Vineyard’s Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, Susan Stroman Directing Award, and Colman Domingo Award provide residencies to early-career artists and our education programs serve over 700 New York City public high school students annually, culminating in Developing Artists’ REBEL VERSES Youth Arts Festival. The Roth-Vogel New Play Commission is awarded annually to a mid- to late-career playwright to create and develop a new play with The Vineyard. Our work and artists have been honored with numerous awards including Pulitzer Prizes and Tony Awards, and the company is proud to be the recipient of special Drama Desk, Obie, and Lucille Lortel Awards for artistic excellence and support of artists.
 
Vineyard Theatre’s leadership includes Artistic Directors Sarah Stern and Douglas Aibel (on sabbatical 23-24) and Managing Director Suzanne Appel.

To post a comment, you must register and login.