Junk
Junk - 2017 Broadway History , Info & More
Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Broadway)
150 West 65th St. at Broadway New York, NY 10023
Ayad Akhtar returns to Lincoln Center Theater with his new play, JUNK. Set in the high-flying, risk-seeking, teetering financial world of the 1980s and inspired by the real junk bond kings of the day, this riveting story shows us from the inside how money became the only thing that mattered.
Financier Robert Merkin will stop at nothing to take over an iconic American manufacturing company, changing the rules as he goes. With his brilliance matched only by his swagger, Merkin sets in motion nothing less than a financial civil war, pitting magnates against workers, lawyers against journalists, and every one against themselves.
Steven Pasquale (The Bridges of Madison County and TV's "Rescue Me") leads an impeccable cast, directed by Tony winner Doug Hughes (Doubt), in this no-holds-barred portrait of the dark side of the American Dream.
Junk - 2017 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW Junk - 2017 - Broadway
Photos
Videos
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Junk
Theater Review: High Finance and Low Crimes, in Ayad Akhtar’s Junk
8 / 10
Junk's driving tempo, cinematic smash-cuts, and clarity of underlying action undoubtedly hold our attention. Akhtar has said that he wants audiences 'to have an emotional experience of this process of capital' - to get caught up in the thrust of each scene ('somebody's instructing somebody, somebody's stealing from somebody, somebody's betraying somebody else's confidence') even if phrases like 'undisclosed equity stakes' sound a bit like Chinese. Director Doug Hughes understands that one of the things Akhtar is doing in Junk is riffing on the Shakespearean history play. He keeps the action rolling relentlessly forward on an effectively streamlined, compartmentalized set by John Lee Beatty that - not unlike an Elizabethan theater - allows for quick, imaginative shifts in time and space.
Junk review – Ayad Akhtar's fast-paced financial thriller falls short
6 / 10
Akhtar favors classical structures and this mention of kings prepares us for classical tragedy with a Brooks Brothers wardrobe. Here's Merkin, a mostly good 'king' who oversteps and suffers the consequences. But with its clipped scenes and brisk, brash dialogue, Junk feels poised, and not always easily, between moral tragedy and popcorn thriller. And it can't quite make up its mind about the man at its center, a stance that seems intellectually honest and dramatically wimpy.
by Nicole Rosky - December 9, 2017
In Broadway by Design, BroadwayWorld is shining a spotlight on the stellar designs of this Broadway season, show by show. Today, we continue the series with a design dream team- John Lee Beatty (scenic), Catherine Zuber (costumes), Ben Stanton (lighting), Mark Bennett (sound), and 59 Productions (projections), who put together Lincoln Center's provocative new play, Junk.
by TV - Opening Night Special - November 3, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater presents Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes, which just opened last night, November 2, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). BroadwayWorld was on hand for the special night and we're taking you straight to all of the action below!
by Michael Dale - November 3, 2017
To the average working stiffs among us, money is a tangible thing. We can count it by the number of dead presidents in our wallets and the reasonably manageable digits in our modest portfolios. But to the financially elite, figures ranging in billions on top of billions become so impossible to represent as legal tender that they're said to take on an abstract, nearly fictional quality.
by Linda Lenzi - November 3, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater presents Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes, which just opened last night, November 2, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). BroadwayWorld was on hand for the special night and you can check out photos below!
by A.A. Cristi - November 2, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater presents Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes, opening tonight, November 2, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). Scroll down to learn more about the company, plus watch highlights from the show!
by A.A. Cristi - November 4, 2017
Steven Pasquale is returning to the Broadway stage this season, portraying financial genius, Robert Merkin, in Ayad Akhtar's JUNK.
by Meet the Cast - November 2, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater presents Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes, opening tonight, November 2, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). Scroll down to learn more about the company, plus watch highlights from the show!
by BroadwayWorld TV - November 1, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater's production of Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar and directed by Doug Hughes, opens tomorrow, Thursday, November 2, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Check out highlights from the show in the video below!
by A.A. Cristi - November 2, 2017
Ayad Akhtar's new play, JUNK, explodes onto Broadway this season, bringing with it an important conversation about the history of our current corporate economic dilemma and how we got here.
by BWW News Desk - October 24, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, continues tonight, October 24, at 6pm with Ayad Akhtar and Doug Hughes, the playwright and director, respectively, of LCT's production of the new play Junk, currently in previews for an opening on Thursday, November 2 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
by BWW News Desk - October 19, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater presents Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes, currently in previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). Opening night for Junk is Thursday, November 2. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
by BWW News Desk - October 3, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater's Platform Series, a forum for public discussion between Lincoln Center Theater artists and interested theatergoers, continues on Tuesday, October 24 at 6pm with Ayad Akhtar and Doug Hughes, the playwright and director, respectively, of LCT's production of the new play Junk, beginning previews this Thursday, October 5 and opening on Thursday, November 2 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
by BWW News Desk - September 23, 2017
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar and Tony Award-winning director Doug Hughes discuss Akhtar's newest play before its New York premiere at Lincoln Center Theater. The event will be held as part of Works & Process at the Guggenheim tonight, September 23, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
by BWW News Desk - September 19, 2017
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar and Tony Award-winning director Doug Hughes discuss Akhtar's newest play before its New York premiere at Lincoln Center Theater. The event will be held as part of Works & Process at the Guggenheim on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
by BWW News Desk - July 13, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Ito Aghayere, Phillip James Brannon, Tony Carlin, Caroline Hewitt, Rick Holmes, Ted Koch, Teresa Avia Lim, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Nate Miller, Ethan Phillips, Matthew Rauch, Matthew Saldivar, Michael Siberry, Miriam Silverman, Joey Slotnick, and Henry Stram will join Steven Pasquale to comprise the cast of its upcoming production of Junk, a new play by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Doug Hughes.
by BWW News Desk - June 15, 2017
Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Steven Pasquale will head the cast of its upcoming production of Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar's new play JUNK, directed by Doug Hughes, beginning previews Thursday, October 5 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
by BWW News Desk - February 6, 2017
This fall Lincoln Center Theater, in association with The Araca Group, will produce Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar's new play JUNK, directed by Doug Hughes. The production will begin previews Thursday, September 14 and open on Thursday, October 12 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street).
Junk History
Other Productions of Junk
| 2017 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Junk - 2017 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Junk |
| 2018 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Ben Stanton |
| 2018 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Ayad Akhtar |
Videos