André is 80 and a man of his own mind. He’s quick with a joke, especially one with an edge, and used to dominating conversations and relationships. But things are getting strange: His trusted watch goes missing, reappears, and is lost again. His daughter’s stories don’t quite add up. His furniture is disappearing and there are strangers at his table. The incomparable Ted van Griethuysen stars in Florian Zeller’s internationally acclaimed and theatrically thrilling exploration of who we are to ourselves when our signposts disappear.
Runtime: This performance will run approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
Environmental Warnings: There will be strobe light effects used in this production.
The Father is generously underwritten
by Teresa and Daniel Schwartz.
Florian Zeller is a French novelist and playwright whose work has been translated into several languages. He won the prestigious Prix Interallié for his novel La Fascination du pire and two Molière awards for France’s Best Play for Le Père and La Mère. His plays include L’Autre, Le Manège , Si tu mourais (nominated for a Globe de Cristal), Elle t’attend, La Mère (Molière Award in 2011), La Vérité, Une heure de Tranquillité, Le Mensonge which were successfully produced in France and internationally. Le Père (The Father) was the 2014 winner of three Molière Awards including Best Play, and won the Prix du Brigadier in 2015. His play Une Heure de Tranquillité, had a successful run and has since been adapted for film. His latest play, L’Envers du décor, ran in the winter of 2016 at the Théâtre de Paris.
(As of April 2017)
Christopher Hampton was born in the Azores in 1946. He wrote his first play, When Did You Last See My Mother? at the age of eighteen. Since then, his plays include The Philanthropist, Savages, Tales from Hollywood, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, White Chameleon, The Talking Cure, and Appomattox. He has translated plays by Ibsen, Moliere, von Horvath, Chekhov, and Yasmina Reza (including Art, Life x 3, and God of Carnage). His television work includes adaptations of The History Man and Hôtel du Lac. His screenplays include The Honorary Consul, The Good Father, Dangerous Liaisons, Mary Reilly, Total Eclipse, The Quiet American, Atonement, A Dangerous Method, Carrington, The Secret Agent, and Imagining Argentina.
(As of April 2017)
David Muse is in his ninth season as Artistic Director of Studio Theatre, where he has directed The Remains, The Effect, The Father, Constellations, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Belleville, Cock, Tribes, The Real Thing, An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird, Frozen, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he has directed nine productions, including Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, and King Charles III (a co-production of ACT and Seattle Rep). Other directing projects include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune at Arena Stage, The Bluest Eye at Theater Alliance, and Swansong for New York Summer Play Festival. He has helped to develop new work at numerous theatres, including New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. David has taught acting and directing at Georgetown, Yale, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy of Classical Acting. A nine-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recipient of the DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and the National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. David is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.
(As of April 2019)
Ted van Griethuysen returns to Studio for The Father after appearing in Sorry, Regular Singing, That Hopey Changey Thing and Sweet and Sad (Helen Hayes Award), The Habit of Art, The Walworth Farce, Moonlight, Rock ‘n’ Roll, The Invention of Love, A Number, The Steward of Christendom, and The Life of Galileo, a role he also played in London, both productions directed by David Salter. He was recently seen on the West End in three one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. A member of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s permanent acting company since 1987, he has appeared in more than 50 productions, including as Philip II in Don Carlos, John of Gaunt in Richard II, the title role in King Lear, Prospero in The Tempest, Andrew Undershaft in Major Barbara, and Malvolio in Twelfth Night, also at the McCarter Theatre. He spent twenty-five years in New York, appearing on Broadway in Gore Vidal’s Romulus, The Moon Besieged, and Inadmissible Evidence (Drama Desk Award). In 1968, he and his wife Rebecca Thompson founded the Opposites Company, an acting company based on the Aesthetic Realism of Eli Siegel. He has taught acting privately in New York and at Columbia University, the University of South Carolina, and Manchester Metropolitan University. He is the recipient of seven Helen Hayes Awards, the Will Award, and the Richard Bauer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Washington Theatre.
(As of April 2017)
Kate Eastwood Norris returns to Studio for The Father after her performance in Animal. Select regional theatre credits include productions at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company where she is a company member, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Round House Theatre, The Humana Festival at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Florida Stage, Two River Theatre, Delaware Theatre, Arden Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, and The Wilma Theatre. Ms. Norris has received two Helen Hayes Awards and Philadelphia's Barrymore Award for her acting. She has an MA in Humanities and the Creative Life from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
(As of April 2017)
Manny Buckley makes his Studio Theatre debut in The Father. Select regional credits include Love's Labor's Lost at Chicago Shakespeare; In the Heat of the Night at Shattered Globe; Of Mice and Men, George Orwell's 1984, and Hit the Wall at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Victory Gardens; and Looking Over the President's Shoulder and Dutchman/TRANSit at American Blues Theater. Television credits include Chicago Fire and Sirens. Film credits include Pilgrim, Sugar and Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. Mr. Buckley has been nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award and has received a Black Theater Alliance Award and a Black Excellence Award.
(As of April 2017)
Erika Rose makes her Studio debut with The Father. Her credits include An Octoroon, Mr. Burns, The Mineola Twins and Lenny & Lou at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company; Falling Out of Time and In Darfur (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Lead Actress) at Theater J; Oliverio: A Brazilian Twist, Knuffle Bunny, and The Brand New Kid at The Kennedy Center; The Book Club Play and Pippin at Round House Theatre; Cinderella, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, and Roberto Clemente at Imagination Stage; Unexplored Interior at Mosaic Theater Company; Users Guide to Hell: Featuring Bernard Madoff at Project Y (NY); and Ruined at Philadelphia Theater Company.
(As of April 2017)
Daniel Harray makes his Studio debut in The Father. Off Broadway, he performed in The 39 Steps at Union Square Theater. Select regional credits include The Beaux' Stratagem and Don Juan at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Cyrano at Sierra Repertory Theatre, 33 Variations at Festival Stage of Winston-Salem, Wit at Seattle Repertory Theatre, and The Scarlet Letter at Lookingglass Theatre Company. He is featured in the upcoming season of Orange Is the New Black and in the independent film Hold Me. Mr. Harray holds an MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting.
(As of April 2017)
Caroline Dubberly returns to Studio Theatre after appearing in The Father. Select regional credits include Baby Screams Miracle at Woolly Mammoth; Top Girls, An Irish Carol, and Next to Normal (Helen Hayes Award: Outstanding Production) at Keegan Theatre; The Talented Mr. Ripley at Monumental Theatre Company; Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare in the Pub; Blood Wedding at Cara Mia Theatre Company; and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play at Stage West. Ms. Dubberly holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of North Texas.
Debra Booth is Director of Design at Studio Theatre, where she has designed If I Forget, Translations, The Wolves, The Father, The Hard Problem, Moment, Constellations, The Apple Family Cycle, Jumpers for Goalposts, Belleville, Cock, Edgar & Annabel, Bachelorette, Moonlight, Blackbird, My Children! My Africa!, The Pillowman, and many others. Her international work includes premiere opera Marco Polo (Tan Dun/Martha Clarke) in Munich, Hong Kong, and New York. Regionally, Debra’s credits include Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre; Richard III, The Collection, and The Lover at the Shakespeare Theatre Company; Marisol at Hartford Stage and The Public Theatre; Trying, The Illusion, and Happy Days at Portland Stage Company; the New York premiere of Angels in America at The Juilliard School; Broken Glass at Philadelphia Theatre Company (Barrymore Award nomination); and Moon for the Misbegotten at Yale Repertory Theatre. Debra is the recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Design Grant, and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.
(As of October 2019)
Keith Parham returns to Studio Theatre, where he previously designed Hand to God and The Father. He designed Therese Raquin on Broadway for Roundabout Theatre Company. His Off Broadway credits include Man From Nebraska at Second Stage; The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois and Between Riverside and Crazy at Atlantic Theater Company; The Model Apartment at Primary Stages; Tribes, Mistakes Were Made, and Red Light Winter at Barrow Street Theatre; Stop the Virgens with Karen O at St. Ann's Warehouse and Sydney Opera House; Ivanov and Three Sisters at CSC; A Minister's Wife at Lincoln Center Theatre; and Adding Machine: A Musical at Minetta Lane. Recent regional credits include Father Comes Home from the Wars, The Wolves, and Uncle Vanya at the Goodman Theatre; Wild Goose Dreams at La Jolla Playhouse; Carousel at Arena Stage; and The Edge of Our Bodies, Gentle, Music Hall, and The Anyway Cabaret at TUTA Theatre. International work includes Homebody/Kabul at National Theatre of Belgrade in Serbia. He is the recipient of an Obie Award and a Lucille Lortel Award.
(As of March 2018)
Wade Laboissonniere last designed Translations at Studio Theatre. His Broadway credits include The Story of My Life. His Off Broadway credits include An Octoroon; The Outgoing Tide; Side Effects; Zanna, Don’t!; and Shakespeare’s R&J. His regional credits include productions at Ford’s Theatre (where he is an Associate Artist), Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Baltimore Center Stage, Portland Center Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Fifth Avenue Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Delaware Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Alliance Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse, and Pasadena Playhouse. His tours include Disney’s High School Musical (US, Australia, Spain, West End) and White Christmas. Additionally, Wade has published two volumes of Blueprints of Fashion. He holds a degree from the Yale School of Drama.
(As of August 2019)
Ryan Rumery is a musician, composer, and producer. His music is in the films Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock (Tribeca Film Festival 2017), How to Let Go of the World (And Love All the Things Climate Can't Change) (Sundance 2016, HBO), and City of Gold (Sundance, SXSW 2015). Recent theatrical scores include Fool For Love on Broadway, The End of Longing at MCC Theater, Emperor Jones at The Irish Repertory Theatre, and Between Riverside and Crazy at the Atlantic Theater Company and Second Stage Theater. Mr. Rumery, Christian Frederickson, and the late Jason Noble recently released their album The Painted Bird – Amidst. Mr. Rumery recently produced three albums for Jeremy Bass. Upcoming albums include Arlo Hannigan and The Walker Project. Mr. Rumery recently received the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design and Composition, and was a selected composer for the Sundance Institute of Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound.
(As of September 2017)
Lauren Halvorsen is in her ninth season as Studio’s Associate Literary Director. Her dramaturgy credits here include Doubt, P.Y.G. or the Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle, Admissions, Kings, If I Forget, Vietgone, The Wolves, Skeleton Crew, The Father, Three Sisters, The Hard Problem, Hand to God, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, The Wolfe Twins, Belleville, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, The Real Thing, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The Aliens, Bachelorette, The Big Meal, and Time Stands Still. Previously, Lauren spent three seasons as Literary Manager of The Alley Theatre. She was the Artistic Associate of the WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory for six years and has worked in various artistic capacities for The Kennedy Center, City Theatre Company, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, First Person Arts Festival, and The Wilma Theater. Lauren is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College.
(As of December 2019)
Sarah Elizabeth Ford returns to Studio after Constellations with The Father. Ms. Ford works primarily out of New York City, but spent 2013-2014 in Southeast Asia working with the Singapore Repertory Theatre. Recent New York credits include Ugly Lies the Bone at Roundabout Underground; As You Like It and The Tempest with The Bridge Project; Lightning At Our Feet, Persephone, and Shelter at Ridge Theatre; Paul Simon’s American Tunes & Songs from the Capeman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; and various productions with the 24 Hour Play Company. Touring and regional credits include the Foundry Theatre’s How Much is Enough? at St. Ann’s Warehouse and ArtsEmerson in Boston, Much Ado About Nothing with Shakespeare on the Sound, Fires Are Confusing and Loving v. Virginia with New York Stage and Film, Traveling Lady at the french institute : alliance française NYC & Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Fela! The Concert at the Adelaide & Auckland Arts Festivals, Venus in Fur with Singapore Repertory Theatre, and Voices of Strength with MAPP International Productions. Ms. Ford studied with the Compagnie Théâtrale F’Âme in Dakar, Senegal.
(As of April 2017)
Victoria Gruenberg has previously appeared at Studio assisting Michael Kahn on Cloud 9, Shana Cooper on Straight White Men, Matt Torney on The Hard Problem, and Jackson Gay on Three Sisters. Princeton main stage directing credits include Anouilh’s Antigone, Annika Bennett’s Spackle, and Johnna Adams’ Gidion’s Knot. Main stage acting credits include Cloud 9; Uncle Vanya; Kiss Me, Kate; and Sunday in the Park with George. She has worked under John Rando, John Doyle, and Tim Vasen, as well as several South African directors during her time with ASSITEJ South Africa and Cape Town Edge. Ms. Gruenberg is a recipient of the Frances LeMoyne Page Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative Arts, and a recent graduate of Princton University's English and Theatre programs.
(As of April 2017)
