MTC Unveils Cast for 2025/26 Season, Including PUNCH and THE MONSTERS
MTC’s Broadway production of Punch will start previews on Tuesday, September 9 and open Monday, September 29 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 23, 2025
Manhattan Theatre Club has unveiled the initial cast members for their Broadway production of Punch and Off-Broadway production of The Monsters. Two-time Olivier Award winner James Graham (Labour of Love, Dear England; TV: “Sherwood”) returns to MTC, where his Olivier-nominated play Ink received six Tony Award nominations in 2019, including Best Play. Punch, based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, earned ecstatic five-star reviews when it premiered last year at the Nottingham Playhouse in the UK, in a production directed by Adam Penford.
In Punch, Jacob (Will Harrison – Film: A Complete Unknown; TV: “Daisy Jones & The Six,” “Manhunt”– making his Broadway debut) is a young man who makes a fatal mistake that lands him in prison. But as he struggles to accept the consequences of his actions and build a new life, he finds an unusual source of salvation: the parents of the boy he killed. The cast will also feature Camila Canó-Flaviá (Broadway: Network, Patriots), Sam Robards (Film: A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, American Beauty; Broadway: The 39 Steps, MTC’s Absurd Person Singular), and Lucy TAYLOR (Broadway: Betrayal), with more to be announced.
In a rare occurrence, Punch will play simultaneously on Broadway and in London’s West End this fall. MTC’s Broadway production will start previews on Tuesday, September 9 and open Monday, September 29 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, just as the London production begins performances at the Apollo Theatre in the West End. Both productions are directed by Adam Penford, who returns to Broadway, having previously been the Associate Director on the Tony Award-winning One Man, Two Guvnors. Punch is presented in association with Nottingham Playhouse, where Penford serves as Artistic Director.
MTC will present the Off-Broadway premiere of The Monsters, written and directed by Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Last of the Love Letters, The Homecoming Queen), in a world premiere co-production with Two River Theater. The Monsters will begin previews January 23, 2026 and open February 11, 2026 at NY City Center Stage (ii) (131 West 55th Street).
The Monsters is about two siblings, LIL and BIG, who reunite after a long time apart and must wrestle with their pasts.
The production will feature Aigner Mizzelle (Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits; Off-Broadway: 7 Minutes) as LIL and Okieriete Onaodowan (Broadway: Hamilton, A Doll’s House; TV: “Station 19,” “Jack Ryan”) as BIG .
Single tickets for The Monsters at Two River Theater will be on sale September 2, with subscriptions available now at tworivertheater.org/season-subscriptions. Single tickets for The Monsters at MTC will be on sale this fall.
Additional casting and creative teams, and additional productions for MTC’s 2025-26 season will be announced at a later date.
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