Video: Tony Shalhoub Previews The Public's ANTIGONE (THIS PLAY I READ IN HIGH SCHOOL) on SETH MEYERS

Tony Award-winning performer Tony Shalhoub is back treading the boards in Antigone (This Play I Read in High School), a new play by Anna Ziegler, which begins performances this week at The Public. During a visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers, the actor shed light on the production, noting that this version lightly reimagines the classic for a contemporary audience.

"Even though it's a modern sort of take on the story, [it] kind of catches people up on the original and makes it super relatable because it's about governance and it's about the squelching of civil rights," Shalhoub explained. "It's about individual rights, especially for women, and about the complexity of governance, and it could not be more timely."

Shalhoub also plugged the new MGM+ series American Classic, noting he is "very proud" of the project, which stars Kevin Kline as a self-centered Broadway actor, with Shalhoub as his agent. The show hits the streamer Sunday, March 1. Check out the full interview now, where he also discusses his forthcoming cookbook/memoir, and looks back on the 20th anniversary of Pixar's Cars. 

Directed by Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel nominee Tyne Rafaeli, Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) begins performances in The Public’s Barbaralee Theater (formerly the Anspacher Theater) on Thursday, February 26 with a Joseph Papp Free Performance. The production will now run through Sunday, March 29, with an official opening on Wednesday, March 11. See photos of the cast in rehearsal HERE!

A take on Sophocles’ classic, Antigone (This Play I Read in High School), reimagines the story of Oedipus’ daughter Antigone through a bold new lens. Written by award-winning playwright Anna Ziegler, this lyrical epic follows a fiercely independent young woman determined to control her own body in a kingdom ruled by archaic laws that regulate women’s autonomy. Incisively witty and breathtakingly intelligent, Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) paints a world that is both modern and ancient; a world of lost leaders, hapless cops, and one very righteous daughter on an all-night bender. Drama Desk Award nominee Tyne Rafaeli directs this daring new work about the timeless quest to find your voice.

The complete cast of Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) includes Raquel Chavez (Understudy), Ethan Dubin (Cop 3/Achilles), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Chorus), Katie Kreisler (Cop 1/Proprietor), James Joseph O’Neil (Understudy), Susannah Perkins (Antigone), Dave Quay (Cop 2/Palace Guard), Kamal Sehrawy (Understudy), Tony Shalhoub (Creon), Calvin Leon Smith (Haemon), Ariel Woodiwiss (Understudy), and Haley Wong (Ismene).

Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) features scenic design by David Zinn; costume design by Enver Chakartash; lighting design by Jen Schriever; sound design and composition by Daniel Kluger; hair, wigs, and makeup design by Robert Pickens and Katie Gell; and prop management by Claire M. Kavanah. Lillis Meeh serves as the special effects designer for the production, Kelsey Rainwater provides intimacy direction, Julie Congress and Andrew Wade are the voice and speech coaches, and Patrick Mulryan is the dialect coach. Katie Young is the production stage manager and Caroline Englander is the stage manager.