World Premiere of Craig Lucas' I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU Begins in May at Huntington Theatre Company

The Huntington Theatre Company presents the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You written and directed by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss at the Huntington and An American in Paris on Broadway) and performed both in English and American Sign Language. Performances begin Friday, May 27 and continue through June 26, 2016 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.

"Craig Lucas' latest work is a gorgeous play about what it means to believe in other people and to choose life even in the darkest of moments," says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. "His complex characters, searching for meaning and connection, will move and inspire our audiences. Craig is one of the American theatre's master playwrights, and this newest play bursts with emotion and intelligence."

At Thanksgiving dinner, Knox shares that he is grateful for three things he thought were a curse: being Deaf, being gay, and being an alcoholic. After a terrible accident and what feels like the trials of Job, he and his family's resilience is put to the test. The story of Job is shared by the Torah, Bible, and Koran, and Lucas' play similarly explores the story through multiple spiritual lenses. Performed both in English and American Sign Language, this funny, ambitious, and beautiful new play pulses with the exhilaration and ache of human connection.

I Was Most Alive with You is a new play written by a hearing artist and featuring both Deaf/deaf and hearing actors. Four shadow interpreters will be on stage, moving in close proximity to the actor they are interpreting. Integrating ASL interpreters onstage allows all audience members to focus on the action of the play together. For audience members not fluent in American Sign Language, text will be projected when only American Sign Language is being used to communicate on stage. ASL fluent members of the Deaf/deaf/hard-of-hearing communities are invited to purchase tickets to any performance.

"I'm so excited to be working on this play at the Huntington," says playwright and director Craig Lucas. "Peter DuBois and I have a long friendship and now I am over the moon about working with his incredible colleagues. I couldn't be more thrilled about the process, the actors, and the project. And if the process so far is any indication, then this is far and away the most meaningful artistic journey of my life."

Russell Harvard (Spring Awakening on Broadway, There Will Be Blood, and "Fargo") plays Knox, a 30-something recovering alcoholic and drug addict, who is Deaf and gay. Craig Lucas wrote the role of Knox specifically for Russell after seeing his performance in Tribes Off Broadway in 2012. Steven Goldstein (Big Fish at SpeakEasy Stage Company) plays Ash, Knox's father and also a recovering alcoholic. His wife Pleasant is played by Dee Nelson (Sons of the Prophet and All My Sons at the Huntington) and his mother Carla is played by Nancy E. Carroll (Rapture, Blister, Burn and The Seagull at the Huntington). Astrid, Knox's best friend and writing partner, is played by Marianna Bassham (Luck of the Irish and Becoming Cuba at the Huntington). Knox's 20-something love interest Farhad is played by Tad Cooley (Tribes at Denver Center for the Performing Arts), and Carla's nurse Mariama is played by Gameela Wright (A Streetcar Named Desire at Northern Stage). The shadow interpreters are Joey Caverly, Amelia Hensley, Monique Holt, and Christopher Robinson.

I Was Most Alive with You is supported by Huntington Season Sponsors Carol G. Deane and J. David Wimberly and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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