Neil Patrick Harris Makes Theatre Directing Debut in L.A.

Actor Neil Patrick Harris will make his theatrical directing debut helming the private premiere staged reading of an original comedic script, I Am Grock, written by Amanda Rogers, on July 17 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.

"I Am Grock looks at a monumental moment in the life of Phoebe Broman, a family therapist, mother and author," state press notes.  "Her successful new book promoting raw, uncensored honesty within families has netted her an interview on a national news broadcast.  However, things go awry when her entire extended family shows up at her front door an hour before the interview. Phoebe is left with no choice but to heal her own family before the newswoman and cameras arrive. Outrageous secrets are revealed, lies are exposed and family dynamics explode. Her journey involves healing the people closest to her and her discovery that the state of her family's mental health is the key to her own."

Harris will adapt his Broadway expertise (Harris previously starred in three consecutive Broadway productions; including roles of The Balladeer and Lee Harvey in the Tony Award-winning musical Assassins, the role of Anne Heche's unexpected suitor in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Proof, as well as the emcee in Cabaret) in his directorial debut to showcase Roger's unique script.

Rogers wrote, directed and produced the PBS documentary, "Behind the Scenes with Groucho," currently airing nationally. Her screenplay "Finn" was performed as a staged reading, starring Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank and subsequently optioned.

In the theater, she wrote and directed By George, a play about the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, George S. Kaufman, which premiered at Philadelphia's historic Walnut Street Theatre. She wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Naked on Broadway, which also debuted at the Walnut.  Amanda has received critical acclaim as a writer/director for the long-running European cirque/cabaret Teatro Zinzanni, based in San Francisco and Seattle.

I Am Grock is being produced by film industry Producer / Director Peter Segal ("Get Smart," "Anger Management").

Photo of Neil Patrick Harris by Linda Lenzi