DISGRACED by Ayad Akhtar Opens 4th Wall Theatre Season

By: Jul. 25, 2017
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

4th Wall Theatre opens its seventh season with the Houston premiere of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama - DISGRACED, by acclaimed award winning playwright, Ayad Akhtar.

DISGRACED's Broadway run was universally praised by critics, including The New York Times, who called it "a continuously engaging, vitally engaged play about the thorny questions of identity and religion in the contemporary world...dialogue that bristles with wit and intelligence...a terrific, turbulent drama." The Los Angeles Times added that Akhtar's drama was "...sensationally gripping..."

Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the most produced play in America in 2015, DISGRACED tells the tale of Amir Kapoor, a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots.

Emily, his wife, is white; she's an artist, and her work is influenced by Islamic imagery. When the couple hosts a dinner party, what starts out to be a friendly conversation escalates into the stuff of great drama. In addition to winning the Pulitzer, DISGRACED was a finalist for the 2015 Tony Award for Best New Play, won the 2013 OBIE award for playwriting, and the winner of the 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work - Play or Musical.

The ensemble cast features New York Guest Artist Gopal Divan, Houston Press Best Actress Christy Watkins, Michelle Elaine from The Alley's All The Way, and Ash Slaughter -all making their 4th Wall Theatre debuts. The cast will be rounded out by 4th Wall Co-Founder and Houston favorite, Philip Lehl. Directed by 4th Wall Co-Founder, Kim Tobin-Lehl, DISGRACED runs September 7th - September 30th, 2017, at STUDIO 101.

About the author

Ayad Akhtar (Playwright) was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of "American Dervish," published in 25 languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto's Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His play DISGRACED played at New York's Lincoln Center Theater in 2012 and premiered at the Bush Theater in London in May 2013. Disgraced won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His play The Invisible Hand was nominated for the ATCA/Steinberg Award, and won Best New Work 2013 from the St. Louis Theater Critics Circle. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for "The War Within." He has received commissions from Lincoln Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia University with degrees in Theater and Film Directing.

DISGRACED is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

4th Wall Theatre Company productions are funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.



Videos