Roundabout's THE HUMANS, Starring Reed Birney & Jayne Houdyshell, Begins Previews Tonight

Roundabout Theatre Company presents the Off-Broadway premiere production of Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam's The Humans, directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, as part of the 50th Anniversary Season.

The cast will feature Cassie Beck (Aimee), Reed Birney (Erik), Jayne Houdyshell (Deirdre) Lauren Klein (Fiona "Momo" Blake), Arian Moayed (Richard) and Sarah Steele (Brigid).

THE HUMANS begins preview performances Off-Broadway tonight, September 30, 2015, and opens officially on Sunday, October 25, 2015 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This is a limited engagement through Sunday, December 27, 2015.

Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake (Birney) has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex, eerie things start to go bump in the night. Soon, family tensions reach a boiling point... and the hilarity, heart and horrors of the Blake clan are exposed. A fresh look at the mysteries of the modern American family, this strikingly witty new play reminds us that we all have our fears, but we don't have to face them alone.

Karam's play The Humans is part of Roundabout's New Play Initiative, a collection of programs, designed to foster and produce new work by emerging and established artists. The Humans is Karam's second play commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company, following his hugely acclaimed Speech & Debate (2007) and Sons of the Prophet (his first Roundabout commission; 2011).

In addition to welcoming back Stephen Karam and Roundabout Associate Artist Joe Mantello (Assassins, The Ritz) for the 50th Anniversary Season, Roundabout Theatre Company is thrilled to welcome back a group of actors who have graced their stages multiple times. Reed Birney and Cassie Beck were seen in Picnic (2013) and Birney spent the 2010-2011 season headlining Roundabout Underground's The Dream of the Burning Boy and Tigers Be Still; Jayne Houdyshell starred in The Importance of Being Earnest (2011), The Language Archive (2010) and Bye Bye Birdie (2009); Joyce Van Patton was seen in The People in the Picture (2011) and Sarah Steele was the breakout star in Stephen Karam's first play Speech & Debate at Roundabout Underground in 2007.

The creative team includes: David Zinn (Sets), Sarah Laux (Costumes), Justin Townsend (Lighting) and Fitz Patton (Sound).