Ayad Akhtar, whose “Disgraced†won this year's Pulitzer Prize for drama, will be back at Lincoln Center Theater next year with a new offering, “The Who and the What.†Scheduled for the spring, the play is part of LCT3, a programming initiative aimed at introducing newer artists, and which presented “Disgraced†as well.
Like the earlier play, which examined the competing demands of traditional Islam and modern mainstream America, “The Who and the What†looks at the tension between a writer, Zarina, and her more traditional family. Kimberly Senior, the director of “Disgraced,†is overseeing this production, which will have it premiere at LaJolla Playhouse before its New York run.
LCT3, which stages shows in the new 112-seat Claire Tow Theater, also announced the rest of its new season on Wednesday. It will open in October with “Luce,†the professional debut of the playwright JC Lee, about a high school star who was adopted years ago from a war-torn African country and has a secret. May Adrales is the director.
The theater takes a turn toward the experimental with “Stop Hitting Yourself,†from the Texas-based ensemble Rude Mechs, which develops works collaboratively. Described as “part ‘Pygmalion,' part Busby Berkley, part self-help lexicon,†the show opens in January.
Before the season's official opening, LCT3 is hosting an engagement of Young Jean Lee's “We're Gonna Die,†an autobiographical rock concert featuring the playwright and the band Future Wife, from Aug. 5 to 17.
