Cast, Creative Team Announced for La Jolla Playhouse's GUARDS AT THE TAJ

La Jolla Playhouse announces the cast and creative team for Guards at the Taj, the final production of the 2015/2016 season. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), the show marks Associate Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda's directorial debut at the Playhouse. The production will run February 2 - 28, 2016 (press opening: Wednesday, February 10) in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. Tickets go on sale Sunday, December 6 at LaJollaPlayhouse.org or by calling (858) 550-1010.

The cast features Manu Narayan (Playhouse's Glengarry Glen Ross) as "Humayun" and Babak Tafti (Playhouse's Blood and Gifts) as "Babur."

The creative team includes Takeshi Kata (Playhouse's POP Tour production West of the 5), scenic designer; Playhouse Costume Shop Manager Sue Makkoo, costume designer; Thomas Ontiveros, lighting designer; Cricket Myers (Playhouse's Sideways, The Nightingale), sound designer; and Gabriel Greene, dramaturg.

"Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj is a wickedly dark and comic play that tackles complex questions of power, beauty and injustice," said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. "Jaime's first show at the Playhouse is not only a perfect cap to our 2015/2016 season, it's also our opportunity to introduce Playhouse audiences to an extraordinary director working with a playwright at the top of his game."

At morning's first light, a new edifice representing the soaring power of the empire will be unveiled, the glorious Taj Mahal. But for the two hapless guards assigned to protect the palace, morning will set the wheels in motion for a ghoulishly funny existential crisis that will shake their faith in God, the empire and each other. Guards at the Taj is a black comedy about two average men swept up by the beauty, carnage and injustice surrounding of one of the most famous wonders of the world.

Rajiv Joseph's (Playwright) plays include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a 2010 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The North Pool, The Lake Effect and Mr. Wolf. He is the librettist and co-lyricist for the musical, Fly. Joseph also wrote for the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie" for its third and fourth seasons and was the co-screenwriter of the film Draft Day, which was released last year, starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. Joseph received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa.

Jaime Castañeda joined the Playhouse last November as Associate Artistic Director. He previously served for five years as Artistic Associate at Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theatre Company. Prior to that, he was the founding Artistic Director of FireStarter Productions in Texas, as well as an ensemble member with American Theater Company in Chicago since 2009. His directing credits include The Royal Society of Antarctica at Portland Center Stage/JAW, Tiger Style! at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Dallas Theater Center, Chimichangas and Zoloft at Atlantic Theater Company, How We Got On at Cleveland Play House, Welcome to Arroyo's at The Old Globe and American Theater Company, Red Light Winter at Perseverance Theatre, The Motherf**ker with the Hat at Kitchen Dog Theater, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant at Circle Theatre and Blue/Orange and Sonnets for an Old Century at FireStarter Productions. A Drama League fellow and recipient of the Princess Grace Award and the TCG New Generations Grant, Castañeda holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin.

Manu Narayan (Humayun) played "Richard Roma" in La Jolla Playhouse's recent production of Glengarry Glen Ross. He has starred on stage and screen, and his music can be heard on recordings as well as in concerts around the world. On Broadway, Manu received 2004 Drama League nomination for creating the role of Aakash in the original Broadway company of Bombay Dreams. Appearing in over 40 stage productions in New York City and around the country, he has played such leading roles as Shakespeare's Romeo, Rostand's Cyrano and Mamet's Ricky Roma at La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego Critics' Circle Award nomination), Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and St. Louis Rep. In critically-acclaimed revivals, he appeared in McNally's The Lisbon Traviata at The Kennedy Center, Bogosian's subUrbia at Second Stage and Stoppard's Indian Ink at The Wilma Theatre. On film, Manu co-starred in Mike Myers' The Love Guru, Cinderella Story: 3, The Last Airbender and currently in 99 Homes, originally appearing at the 2014 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. He also starred in the Indian film Good Night | Good Morning. On television he has guest starred on Grey's Anatomy, The Following, Deception, Unforgettable, Rubicon, Nurse Jackie, The Sopranos, Law & Order: SVU, Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle. He holds a dual degree in classical vocal and saxophone performance from Carnegie Mellon University, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.

Babak Tafti (Babur) played "Saeed" in La Jolla Playhouse's recent production of Blood and Gifts. Other credits include Scorched at American Conservatory Theater with David Strathairn. His film and television credits include Blue Bloods, Crash (TV series), In the Valley of Elah and Terminator Salvation. He received his M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.

The Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is internationally-renowned for creating some of the most exciting and adventurous work in American theatre, through its new play development initiatives, its innovative Without Walls series, artist residencies and commissions, including BD Wong, Daniel Beaty and Kirsten Greenidge. Currently led by Artistic Director Christopher Ashley and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg, the Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, and reborn in 1983 under the artistic leadership of Des McAnuff, La Jolla Playhouse has had 25 productions transfer to Broadway, garnering 35 Tony Awards, among them Jersey Boys, Memphis, The Who's Tommy, Big River, as well as Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays and the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, both fostered as part of the Playhouse's Page To Stage Program. Visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org.