OBIT to Open at Theater for the New City
Richard Topol and Carolyn Holding star in the dystopian drama, directed by Will Steinberger.
Theater for the New City will present Obit, a new play by Rebecca Chace, September 17 through October 4. Directed by Will Steinberger, the production will star Richard Topol and Carolyn Holding.
Previews begin September 17, with opening night set for September 18.
Obit is a female revenge thriller inspired in part by Chace's own work writing advance obituaries for The New York Times. The specialized form of journalism involves preparing detailed obituaries of prominent people while they are still alive.
Set in a dystopian future where much of the global infrastructure has collapsed and the internet is largely nonexistent, the play follows Maya Hawthorne, an advance-obituary writer who arrives at the home of aging college president Philip Stern to interview him about his life and legacy.
To many, Stern represents the best of liberal arts values. But Maya holds him responsible for financial misconduct that was blamed on her mother, who kept the books at his college. Her mother's dismissal also cost Maya her financial aid and altered the course of her life.
Maya arrives carrying a gun, turning the professional encounter into an interrogation as she demands answers from the man she believes ruined her family. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game examining revenge, professional power and who gets to control the story of a person's legacy.
“Rebecca Chace explains the inspiration for this play came very much from her own work as advance obit writer for the Times, reflecting on her interviewees and musing about who deserves an obit and who doesn't,” according to press notes.
Richard Topol will play Philip Stern. His Broadway credits include Indecent, Fish in the Dark, The Normal Heart, The Merchant of Venice, The Country Girl, Julius Caesar, Awake & Sing and Cymbeline. His Off-Broadway credits include Our Class, Prayer for the French Republic and productions at Classic Stage Company, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Theater Company, Primary Stages, Vineyard Theatre, The New Group and Signature Theatre.
Carolyn Holding will play Maya Hawthorne as well as Maya's late mother, Angela. Her stage credits include Billie Jean at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Cake at Manhattan Theatre Club and Zurich at New York Theatre Workshop. Her television credits include The Gilded Age, High Maintenance, Heels, FBI, Bull and The Blacklist.
Obit was developed through the NYU/Tisch Graduate Acting Alumni Association Writers Group and received a staged reading at the Studio Tisch Festival in 2023. It was a runner-up in the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival Playwriting Contest in 2025.
Chace's previous plays include Colette, which was presented by Theater for the New City in the 1990s, The Awakening and Beka 14. She is also the author of five books, including Leaving Rock Harbor, Capture the Flag, Chautauqua Summer, June Sparrow and The Million Dollar Penny and Talking to the Wolf.
“I am so grateful for Crystal Field's longtime support of my work,” Chace said. “My first play, Colette, was produced by Theater for the New City back in the 1990s. Having the opportunity to premiere Obit at TNC feels like coming home.”
The creative team includes consulting producer Amy Fritz, production stage manager Abby Fry, lighting designer Dante Olivia Smith and set and Costume Designer Anna Grigo.
Obit will play Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for seniors and students.
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