Photos: Inside Rehearsal for I & YOU: THE MUSICAL World Premiere at McCarter Theatre Center

Rehearsals are underway for the McCarter Theatre Center world premiere of I & You: The Musical, running September 13–October 12 with opening night set for September 19. Check out photos from inside the rehearsal room.

Based on Lauren M. Gunderson’s acclaimed play I and You, the new musical reunites Gunderson with McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, who directed the original 2013 premiere. In recent seasons, Gunderson has been America’s most-produced living playwright, second only to Shakespeare, with her works translated into 15 languages.

Featuring an original score by composer and lyricist Ari Afsar, I & You: The Musical is an intimate two-person show co-produced with Olney Theatre Center. The story follows 17-year-old Caroline—stuck at home with an illness—and Anthony—an earnest overachiever armed with Walt Whitman and waffle fries—as they come together for an unexpected all-nighter. What begins as a reluctant school assignment turns into a soul-searching exploration of fate, friendship, and the fragile wonder of being alive.

The production stars Jasmine Forsberg (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends with Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga; Six on Broadway and first national tour; Here Lies Love) alongside Benji Santiago (The Notebook on Broadway, In the Heights at The Muny). The creative team includes Beowulf Boritt (scenic design), Kara Harmon (costume design), Japhy Weideman (lighting design), Elisabeth Weidner (sound design), and Stefania Bulbarella (projection design). Music direction is by Sujin Kim-Ramsey, movement direction by Steph Paul, intimacy coordination by Alicia Rodis, and dramaturgy by Julie Felise Dubiner. Orchestrations are by Yair Evnine and Ari Afsar. Becky Reed serves as production stage manager, with Tiger Brown as the BOLD Directing Fellow and assistant director. Casting is by The Telsey Office / Karyn Casl, CSA.

Tickets and subscription packages are on sale now at mccarter.org or by calling Patron Services at 609-258-2787. Groups of 10 or more save 20% by emailing groups@mccarter.org. Commissioned in 2023 with support from the BOLD Foundation under Rasmussen’s leadership, I & You: The Musical continues McCarter’s decades-long tradition of cultivating new work through the Emily Mann LAB, its creative incubator named for the company’s former artistic director and resident playwright.

Rehearsals are underway for the world premiere of I & You: The Musical at McCarter Theatre Center, running September 13–October 12. Check out photos from inside the rehearsal room.

Photo Credit: Thomas Robert Clarke