Moliere In The Park's One-Act Plays Featuring Samira Wiley & More to Premiere Tonight

Molière in the Park's free staged readings of Gaël Octavia's FAMILY, translated by Katharine Woff and Lucie Tiberghien, and Richard Wilbur's translation of Molière's THE IMAGINARY CUCKOLD, both directed by Lucie Tiberghien, premiere tonight, Thursday, December 9 at 7pm, with an additional performance on Friday, December 10 at 7pm. The event is presented in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance and LeFrak Center at Lakeside.

What happens when you pair a drama by a contemporary French-Caribbean woman known as Gaël Octavia with a farce by a 17th century man known as Molière?

A night at the theater in 17th century France often meant seeing two very different plays, back-to-back. Molière in the Park is leaning into this tradition with their pairing, even if both plays, in their own unexpected ways, wrestle with identity, truth, secrets, gender, sexuality and control.

In Gaël Octavia's fever dreamlike FAMILY, a trapped wife, a closeted queer husband, and their young children unravel under the weight of "maintaining the facade." What is the disease that spreads through us and our families when social conventions of any kind force us into hiding?

In Molière's farce, THE IMAGINARY CUCKOLD, a tiny innocuous event gives birth to a virus called paranoia that contaminates all the characters in the story like a formidable wildfire. Within no time, all have lost their mind and become "imaginary cuckolds."

The cast for both plays features Emmy and SAG Award winner Samira Wiley (Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," Daphne's Dive at Signature Theater), Kaliswa Brewster (Showtime's "Billions," ABC's "Time After Time"), Lizzy Brooks (Storming Heaven at Playwrights Horizons, Diablo Love at SummerStage), Alanna Darby (Actors Theater of Louisville, American Conservatory Theater), Lisa Gorlitsky (CBS's "FBI," NBC's "Law & Order") and Nate Miller (Junk at LCT, India Pale Ale at MTC).

Produced by MIP Co-Founding Executive Producer Garth Belcon. Production Stage Manager is Madison Lane.

The free staged readings take place at the historical Picnic House in Prospect Park, behind Litchfield Villa (95 Prospect Park West between 4 and 5 St.). Running time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, which includes a post-show discussion with the artists. Reserve at https://www.moliereinthepark.org.

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