Taylor Schilling, Ryan O'Connor & More to Star in THE COWARDS Industry Reading

Two-time Tony Award winning producers Martian Entertainment and Graham Wetterhahn are developing the new play, The Cowards: A Marvelously Queer New Comedy, written by playwright/actor Ryan O’Connor.  An invitation-only industry reading, directed by Michael Wilson (Broadway: The Trip to Bountiful, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Dividing the Estate), will take place at Pearl Studios in New York City on December 6.
 
The Cowards, O’Connor’s first full-length play, is a modern take on Nöel Coward’s classic hit comedy Hay Fever. In this unapologetically queer version, the four members of a dysfunctional chosen family unit, The Cowards, have each invited a surprise guest to their Provincetown, Massachusetts home for the weekend. What ensues is a biting, wicked comedy in which a batch of wildly unpleasant people make for uproarious entertainment.
 
The cast for the reading will include Ryan O’Connor (Lawrence Coward), Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Taylor Schilling (Maxine Coward), Peabody Award winner Eva Reign (Ruby Coward), Isaiah Standard (Spencer Coward), Tony Award nominee Veanne Cox (Kay Ritter), Tony Award winner Brandon Uranowitz (Smith Myron), Charlie Barnett (Baldwin Greatham), Ari Notartomaso (Jackie Lester), and Makai Hernandez (Payn Tyler).
 
Music director for the reading is Or Matias. Stage Manager is Bob Bennett. Casting is by Telsey Office - Craig Burns, CSA and Charlie Hano, CSA.
 
The Cowards was originally presented in 2023 by After Hours Theatre Company (Graham Wetterhahn, Founder and Producing Artistic Director), and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.