Tony Shalhoub, BD Wong & More to Star in WHAT BECAME OF US World Premiere

Atlantic Theater Company has revealed the initial casting for the world premiere of What Became of Us, written by Shayan Lotfi (Off-Broadway debut) and directed by Jennifer Chang (The Far Country at Berkeley Rep).
 
In alignment with the playwright’s vision, this unique production will have two separate casts: one featuring Rosalind Chao and BD Wong, and another featuring Shohreh Aghdashloo and Tony Shalhoub.
 
The play is about Two siblings. One born there. One born here. How do they maintain their connections to The Old Country, and to This Country, and to each other?

Playwright, Shayan Lofti expressed, “My intention for this piece has always been that the roles would alternate between separate pairings of actors from different diasporic backgrounds. I am thrilled that Atlantic has supported this by bringing together this remarkable cast.”
 
What Became of Us begins performances on Friday, May 17th, and will open Tuesday, June 4th, for a limited engagement through Saturday, June 29th.
 
Rosalind Chao & BD Wong perform May 17 – June 15, 2024.

Shohreh Aghdashloo & Tony Shalhoub perform June 10 – June 29, 2024.

Both casts perform in succession June 11–13, 2024: For four performances only, both casts will perform back-to-back as an exclusive double-feature event!

What Became of Us will feature sets by Tanya Orellana, costumes by Rodrigo Muñoz, lighting by Reza Behjat, sound & compositions by Fan Zhang, casting by Caparelliotis Casting: David Caparelliotis, CSA; Joe Geary, CSA. Alyssa K. Howard will serve as the Production Stage Manager.
 
Shayan Lotfi is a 2023–2024 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence. The Tow Foundation promotes expanded access to opportunities that improve people’s lives and strengthen society. Grounded in its decades of work in Connecticut and New York, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and visionary leaders to find and enact innovative solutions to persistent inequality. It works to ensure people can become full participants in their communities, achieve transformative and lasting progress, and develop approaches that allow everyone to reach their full potential.
 

BIOGRAPHIES

 
Shohreh Aghdashloo

(Q) is an Emmy Award–winning, Oscar-nominated actress whose prolific work on-stage and screen has been lauded for decades in both her native Iran and all over the world. American audiences know her best from her Oscar-nominated performance in House of Sand and Fog and her Emmy-winning role in HBO’s acclaimed “House of Saddam”. In television, Shohreh recently joined the cast of the HBO Max original series “The Penguin” starring alongside Colin Farrell. Shohreh can also be seen guest starring as ‘Brenda’ in Season 2 of the Emmy nominated series “The Flight Attendant". On the futuristic TV series “The Expanse,” Shohreh plays 'Chrisjen Avasarala,' a smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high through the ranks of Earth’s governing body. Shohreh stars as ‘Chrisjen Avasarala' in all 6 seasons of "The Expanse” which are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In film, Shohreh can currently be seen on the big screen playing ‘Bella-Francesca Lobo’ alongside Nicolas Cage (as Dracula) in Universal Pictures’ highly anticipated comedy/horror/action film Renfield. Shohreh also stepped into the role of ‘Bano Ayoub’ in the Canadian feature The Cuban and was recently seen in Amazon’s horror-thriller Run Sweetheart Run. Shohreh has voiced characters for high profile video games such as “Mass Effect,” “Destiny," and animated TV series like “Arcane”. She also has narrated audiobooks like “The Bible of Clay” by Julia Navarro, “And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini, and “Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran” by Shirin Ebadi. In 2012, Shohreh dazzled critics on-stage while portraying the title character in the legendary Federico Garcia Lorca’s final theatrical play, House of Bernarda Alba, in London at the famed Almeida Theater. Shohreh's prestigious TV credits include: “24,” “The Punisher,” “Grimm,” “Grey's Anatomy,” “House MD,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Portlandia,” “Will & Grace,” among many others. Shohreh's work in film includes blockbusters such as: Star Trek Beyond, X-Men - The Last Stand, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
 

Rosalind Chao

(Q) most recently showcased her stage presence in the UK starring in London National Theatre’s premiere of The Great Wave directed by Indhu Rubisham. She is currently starring in the newly released Netflix series “3 Body Problem” from the creators of “Game of Thrones.” Rosalind is known for her roles in Joy Luck Club, Freaky Friday, Steven Soderbergh’s Laundromat, the live action Mulan, What Dreams May Come, amongst many other films. Amongst her many tv credits, Rosalind most recently appeared in the last two seasons of the FX series “Better Things” and can soon be seen as the new villain in Netflix’s Emmy Winning “Sweet Tooth.”
 

Tony Shalhoub

(Z) is perhaps best known for his work as the obsessive-compulsive detective ‘Adrian Monk’ in the hit television series “Monk,” for which he won a Golden Globe Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work. He recently reprised the role in Mr. Monk’s Last Case; A Monk Movie, for which his performance was nominated for a Critics Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Tony is often known for his role as ‘Abe Weissman’ in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” For his performance, he has won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. Other notable TV credits include ‘Antonio Scarpacci’ in “Wings,” “Stark Raving Mad,” and “Nurse Jackie.” Tony can be seen as ‘Roger Enrico’ in Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot. Some of Shalhoub’s other film credits include The Assignment, Pain & Gain, the Men in Back franchise, Galaxy Quest, The Siege, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Big Night, Barton Fink, as well as voicing the character of ‘Luigi’ in the Cars franchise, and ‘Master Splinter’ in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Tony spent most of his early acting career in the theater, after graduating from Yale Drama School in 1980. From 1980-1984 Tony was part of the company with the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, before moving to New York. He met his wife Brooke Adams in 1990 while working together in The Heidi Chronicles. In 2018, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for The Band’s Visit; in years prior to this, Tony has been nominated on five other occasions.
 

BD WONG

(Z) won the Tony Award for his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly. Other Broadway credits include the revivals of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Pacific Overtures. Films include Heart of Stone, Bird Box, three Jurassic World films, Focus, Mulan 1 and 2, Seven Years in Tibet, Father of the Bride 1 and 2, and Jurassic Park. Television includes “The Girls on the Bus,” “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens,” “Mr. Robot” (Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award nominations), “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” “Gotham,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “Oz”, and “All-American Girl.” He sits on the Board of Trustees of The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors’ Fund), American Conservatory Theatre, and Rosie’s Theater Kids. @wongbd
 

Shayan Lotfi

(Playwright) is the current Tow Playwright-in-Residence at Atlantic Theater Company and his play What Became of Us was awarded a Citation of Excellence from the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation. He is a member playwright at New Dramatists, and is an alum of The Working Farm Writers’ Group at SPACE on Ryder Farm and Page 73’s I-73 Writers Group. He is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and is currently under commission from Atlantic Theater Company and South Coast Repertory. In addition to writing, he also works as an urban planning consultant. He holds degrees from New York University, London School of Economics, and University of British Columbia.
Jennifer Chang (Director) is a director, writer, and actor based in Los Angeles. Select directing credits: The Far Country by Lloyd Suh at Berkeley Rep, King of the Yees by Lauren Yee at Signature Theatre DC (Helen Hayes nom Best Production, Best Ensemble), The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh at Milwaukee Rep (World Premiere), On Gold Mountain LA Opera at The Huntington, Vietgone by Qui Nguyen (LADCC Award for Direction). New Play/Musical Development: Center Theatre Group, The Geffen Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Ashland New Plays Festival, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, New Harmony Project, Sông Collective, Black and Latino Playwrights’ Conference, Theatre Mu, Chance Theater, Boston Court, PlayOn!, East West Players, Artists at Play. Writing: The Devil is a Lie premiered with Quantum Theatre (OnStage Best of 2023), Beatrice Terry Residency for Drama League, Geffen Writers’ Room 23-24, Dear Margaret Sanger with Inara George and Larry Goldings (semi-finalist O'Neill). Member: SDC, AGMA, SAG-AFTRA, AEA. SDCF Fichandler Award Finalist, APAFT Award for Direction. Director’s Lab West, Drama League New York Fellowship, Classical Directing Fellow at The Old Globe. Associate Professor UCLA School of TFT. More info: www.changinator.com