Cast Announced for Zayd Dohrn's THE PROFANE World Premiere Off-Broadway

Playwrights Horizons has announced complete casting for THE PROFANE, the world premiere of a new play by Zayd Dohrn (Outside People, Reborning). Directed by Kip Fagan (Grand Concourse at , Exit Strategy, The Revisionist, Asuncion), THE PROFANE will be the fifth production of the theater company's 2016/2017 Season.

The cast of THE PROFANE will feature Tala Ashe (Troilus and Cressida, The Who & the What, Urge for Going), Francis Benhamou (I Call My Brothers, Invasion!, "Inside Amy Schumer"), Ramsey Faragallah (The School for Scandal, Betrayed, "Homeland"), Ali Reza Farahnakian (Homebody/Kabul, "Delocated," "30 Rock"), Lanna Joffrey (Richard III: Born with Teeth, Sad and Merry Sadness, Mark Rylance's Sonnet Walks), Heather Raffo (Nine Parts of Desire, Palace of the End, Food and Fadwa) and Babak Tafti (Small Mouth Sounds, North Pool, "Orange Is the New Black").

The production will begin previews Friday, March 17 with an Opening Night set for Sunday, April 9 at 7PM at the company's Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The limited engagement is currently scheduled to play through Sunday, April 30.

Safe in the liberal fortress of Manhattan, Raif Almedin (Mr. Farahnakian) is a first-generation immigrant who prides himself on his modern, enlightened views. But when his daughter (Ms. Ashe) falls for the son (Mr. Tafti) of a conservative Muslim family in White Plains, he discovers the threshold of his tolerance. In Zayd Dohrn's sharp and timely tale, two families are forced to confront each other's religious beliefs and cultural traditions, and to face their own deep-seated prejudice.

The production will feature scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Matt Frey and sound design by Brandon Wolcott. Production Stage Manager is Shane Schnetzler.

The performance schedule for THE PROFANE will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 & 7PM. Beginning Tuesday, February 14, single tickets, $49-89, may be purchased online via www.phnyc.org and www.Facebook.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) and in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

Next up at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater is THE LIGHT YEARS, the world premiere of a new play written by Drama Desk Award winner Hannah Bos and Obie Award winner Paul Thureen, directed and developed by Obie Award winner Oliver Butler, made by The Debate Society (previews begin February 17). Following THE LIGHT YEARS and THE PROFANE, the season will conclude with BELLA: AN AMERICAN TALL TALE, the co-world premiere of a new musical with book, music and lyrics by Obie Award winner Kirsten Childs, directed by two-time Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara and commissioned by Playwrights Horizons through the Musicals in Partnership Initiative with funds provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (previews begin May 19).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Zayd Dohrn (Playwright). Playwrights Horizons debut. His plays include Outside People (The Vineyard/Naked Angels), Want (Steppenwolf First Look), Sick (Berkshire Theatre Festival/National New Play Network) and Reborning (The Public/SPF). Zayd received a Horton Foote Prize, Lincoln Center's Lecomte du Nouy Prize, the Kennedy Center's Jean Kennedy Smith Award, the Sky Cooper American Playwriting Prize and Theatre Master's Visionary Playwrights Award, and was an Artist in Residence at New York Stage & Film, the Orchard Project, the Chautauqua Institute, Stella Adler Studios and Theatre for One. He received his MFA from NYU, was a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow at Juilliard, and currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at Northwestern University. www.zayddohrn.com.

Kip Fagan (Director) most recently directed Ike Holter's Exit Strategy at Primary Stages, Erin Courtney's I Will Be Gone at the Humana Festival in Louisville and Heidi Schreck's Grand Concourse at Playwrights Horizons. At Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre: Jesse Eisenberg's The Revisionist (starring Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave), Halley Feiffer's How to Make Friends and Then Kill Them, Eisenberg's Asuncion, Heidi Schreck's There Are No More Big Secrets and Sheila Callaghan's That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play. Other NYC credits include Carlos Murillo's A Thick Description of Harry Smith and Samuel D. Hunter's Jack's Precious Moment (Page 73); Reggie Watts and Tommy Smith's Radio Play (P.S. 122); Ariel Stess' I'm Pretty Fucked Up, Sheila Callaghan's Roadkill Confidential and Rachel Hoeffel's Quail (Clubbed Thumb); Zayd Dohrn's Reborning and Cory Hinkle's Cipher (SPF); Sheila Callaghan's Recess and Christopher Durang's Not a Creature Was Stirring (The Flea); Greg Keller's The Young Left (Cherry Lane); Sam Marks' Nelson (Partial Comfort). Recent Regional credits include Susan Soon He Stanton's Today Is My Birthday at Sundance Theatre Lab and Sheila Callaghan's Women Laughing Alone with Salad at Woolly Mammoth. Other Regional credits include ALLIANCE THEATRE, Long Wharf Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Humana Festival, George Street Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Marin Theatre Company and City Theatre, among others. Taught and/or directed at Juilliard, NYU, SUNY Purchase, Strasberg Institute. Co-founder of Printer's Devil in Seattle; affiliated artist at Clubbed Thumb.

Tala Ashe (Emina). Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: Troilus and Cressida, The Who & the What, Urge for Going. Regional: Head Over Heels, Troilus and Cressida, Merry Wives of Windsor, Welcome to Arroyo's, Love's Labour's Lost. Film: Circumstance, Waiting in Beijing. TV: "American Odyssey," "Smash," "Law & Order: CI," "30 Rock," "Covert Affairs."

Francis Benhamou (Aisa/Dania). Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: I Call My Brothers, Invasion!, Three Women. Other New York Theater: Raja, I Would Have That Night, 4AM: Redmond and Meda (also on film), Motel Cherry, Bouncing Back. Film: Arranged, Women Who Kill, Listen Up Phillip, Big Words, I'm Not Me, My Last Day Without You, Breaking Upwards, Neal Cassady. TV: "Inside Amy Schumer," "The Bronx Is Burning."

Ramsey Faragallah (Peter). Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing, Urge for Going, Betrayed, After-Play. Other New York Theater: New York Animals, Guantanamo, O.P.C. London: Aftermath. Film: Michael Clayton, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Small Time Crooks, Celebrity. TV: "Falling Water," "Unforgettable," "Madame Secretary," "The Black List," "Homeland," "State of Affairs," "The Good Wife."

Ali Reza Farahnakian (Raif). Playwrights Horizons debut. New York: Homebody/Kabul (also Steppenwolf), The 24 Hour Plays. Regional: Revelation Will Not Be Televised, All My Sons, Word of Mouth, Asssscat. Film: The Bourne Legacy, American Gangster, Arthur. TV: "Delocated," "Louie," "30 Rock," "Nurse Jackie," Dr. Rohit Mehta on "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: SVU," "The Jury," "Third Watch," "Conan O'Brien." Writing: "Saturday Night Live," VH1.

Lanna Joffrey (Carmen). Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure, Sad and Merry Madness, Richard III: Born with Teeth. Other New York Theater: Valiant (NY International Fringe Festival Award), Cellophane, Like I Say, Talk Like Rain. London/UK: Timon of Athens, Mark Rylance's Sonnet Walks, Muse of Fire. Regional: 1001 (Ovation Award), Nine Parts of Desire (IRNE Award), Inspector General (Ovation nom.), Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Heather Raffo (Naja). Playwrights Horizons debut. Author/Performer: Nine Parts of Desire (Lortel Award; Blackburn Prize Commendation; Seldes-Kanin Fellowship; Drama League, OCC and Helen Hayes noms.; also London, national and international tours). Other Off-Broadway: Food and Fadwa, Palace of the End (Drama League nom.), In Darfur, Over the River an Through the Woods. London: Seven (also NYC). Regional: French Lieutenant's Woman. Film: Vino Veritas.

Babak Tafti (Sam). Playwrights Horizons debut. Off-Broadway: Small Mouth Sounds, North Pool, Urge for Going. Regional: Guards at the Taj, The Winter's Tale, The Arabian Nights, O.P.C., Blood and Gifts, Scorched, Happy Now, Romeo and Juliet, Servant of Two Masters. Film: Terminator Salvation, In the Valley of Elah, $5 a Day. TV: "Orange is the New Black," "Nurse Jackie," "Blue Bloods," "Crash."

Playwrights Horizons is dedicated to cultivating the most important American Playwrights, composers and lyricists, as well as developing and producing their bold new plays and musicals. Under Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, Playwrights builds upon its diverse and renowned body of work, counting 400 writers among its artistic roster. In addition to its onstage work each season, Playwrights' singular commitment to nurturing American theater artists guides all of the institution's multifaceted initiatives: our acclaimed New Works Lab, a robust commissioning program, an innovative curriculum at its Theater School and more. Playwrights has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including six Pulitzer Prizes, 13 Tony Awards and 39 Obie Awards. Prior artistic directors include André Bishop and Don Scardino. Robert Moss founded Playwrights Horizons in 1971 and oversaw its first decade, cementing the mission that continues to guide the institution today.

Notable productions include six Pulitzer Prize winners - Annie Baker's The Flick (2013 Obie Award, 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award, Best Play), Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George - as well as Ms. Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation (three 2010 Obie Awards including Best New American Play); Lisa D'Amour's Detroit (2013 Obie Award, Best New American Play); Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale (2013 Lortel Award, Best Play); Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar (2012 Obie Award); Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime (2015 Pulitzer finalist); Lucas Hnath's The Christians (2016 Obie Award, 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award, 2015 Kesselring Prize); Robert O'Hara's Bootycandy (two 2015 Obie Awards); Adam Bock's A Lifeand A Small Fire; Taylor Mac's Hir; Danai Gurira's Familiar; Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss and Dead Man's Cell Phone; Gina Gionfriddo's Rapture, Blister, Burn; Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal; Amy Herzog's The Great God Pan and After the Revolution; Bathsheba Doran's Kin; Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I; Melissa James Gibson's This (2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist); Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Grey Gardens (three 2007 Tony Awards); Craig Lucas's Prayer For My Enemy and Small Tragedy (2004 Obie Award, Best American Play); Adam Rapp's Kindness; Lynn Nottage's Fabulation (2005 Obie Award for Playwriting); Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero; David Greenspan's She Stoops to Comedy (2003 Obie Award); Kirsten Childs's The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000 Obie Award); Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey's James Joyce's The Dead (2000 Tony Award, Best Book); Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins; William Finn's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland; Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You; Richard Nelson's Goodnight Children Everywhere; Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Once on This Island; Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire; Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room; A.R. Gurney's Later Life; Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins; and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Violet.

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