Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting for the world premiere production of Elyria, written by Deepa Purohit (Off-Broadway playwriting debut), and directed by Awoye Timpo (The Homecoming Queen).
Elyria will feature Sanskar Agarwal (Off-Broadway debut), Nilanjana Bose (Tamburlaine the Great), Sanjit De Silva (War Horse), Mohit Gautam (Off-Broadway debut), Gulshan Mia (Acquittal), Bhavesh Patel (The Nap), Mahima Saigal (Off-Broadway debut), Khyati Sehgal (Off-Broadway debut), and Omar Shafiuzzaman (Off-Broadway Debut).
Elyria will begin performances on Thursday, February 9th, and will open Monday, February 27th, for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 19th, 2023 Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).
1982. Elyria, Ohio: Two women collide 20 years, 3 continents, and 2 oceans after making a deal of a lifetime, forcing them to face the knots of the past and the uncertainty of their inextricably linked future.
Elyria will feature choreography by Parijat Desai, scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West, costume design by Sarita Fellows, lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, sound design by Amatus Karim Ali, projections by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, and casting by The Telsey Office; Will Cantler, CSA; Karyn Casl, CSA, Destiny Lily, CSA. Kat Meister will serve as the production stage manager.
Biographies:
SANSKAR AGARWAL (Young Man) is thrilled to be making his Off-Broadway debut with Atlantic Theater Company – he was only recently going to class at the Atlantic Acting School! Theater: A Thousand Suns (La MaMa ETC), Exit Strategy (Atlantic Stage 2), Echoes Group Readings (Primary Stages/59E59), Chai Chai (Fresh Lime Soda Productions). Sanskar would like to thank his parents for not listening to any disapproving Indian aunties, his agents at DDO Chicago (Bailey, KaCee, Jillian) and manager Leorah Haberfield at Bohemia Group for believing in him, and all the people he has ever played dandiya with. NYU Tisch School of the Arts, BFA. www.sanskaragarwal.com @sanskar.22
NILANJANA BOSE (Vasanta) is an actor/writer based in NYC. Her New York acting credits include Tamburlaine the Great at TFANA, The Memorandum at TACT, Cock at Duke 42nd, Queen at TFNC. Regional: Macbeth at Shakespeare Theater DC, We Are Among Us at City Theater, Lake Effect at Theaterworks, Noises Off & Way of The World at Dorset Theater Festival. Television: “Crossbones”/NBC. As a screenwriter she has written for TV show “Dr. Death”, Universal/Peacock, feature films for Endeavor Content, Wayfarer Studios, and Into The Stars. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab & IFP alumni. She is a trained Indian classical dancer and studied drama at Juilliard.
SANJIT DE SILVA (Shiv). Broadway: War Horse (Tony Award, Best Play). Off-Broadway: Richard III (NYSF/Public Theater), Merchant of Venice (TFANA), An Ordinary Muslim (NYTW), Troilus and Cressida (NYSF/Public Theater), Dry Powder (Public Theater, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critic’s Circle Nomination Best Featured Actor), Macbeth (NYSF/Public Theater), Awake and Sing! (NAATCO), The Little Foxes (NYTW), Measure for Measure (NYSF/Public Theater). Regionally: The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Indian Ink. Film/TV: After Party, The Girl is in Trouble, The Company Men, Arranged, “Inventing Anna”, “New Amsterdam,” “Evil,” “Tell Me A Story”, “Blindspot”, “Blacklist”, “Elementary,” “High Maintenance.” M.F.A. NYU Graduate Acting IG: @sanjitdesilva
MOHIT GAUTAM (Rohan) is thrilled to be making his Off-Broadway debut in Elyria. Recent credits include “Magnum P.I.”, “The Good Fight”, “Elementary”, and the short film, Imran. He previously made his New York debut at The Ensemble Studio Theatre in Against The Hillside. Regionally, he performed in Disgraced at The Huntington Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre where he won a CT Critics Circle award for “Outstanding Debut.” He has an MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College and is based in LA and NY.
GULSHAN MIA (Dhatta) is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist – an actor, writer and director – from the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Having grown up in a segregated community during apartheid, her art and activism center around decolonization, social justice, and the representation of historically excluded voices. As a polyglot, Gulshan has performed internationally in English, Zulu, Chinese, Portuguese, and Urdu. Some of her NYC projects include: Acquittal – Off-Broadway Debut (Performer, Pan Asian Rep), Unveiled (Solo Performer, Voyage Theater), Heartland (Associate Director, 59E59 Theater), Letters of Suresh (Assistant Director, 2nd Stage Theater), and multiple staged readings of new works in development by Black and Brown playwrights. She is ever thankful to her husband Lee for the unconditional love and support (and help with her lines!), and beyond grateful to Deepa and Awoye to be a part of this magical team of storytellers and share stories of the diaspora with you.
BHAVESH PATEL (Charu) will be seen in the upcoming feature films Read the Book starring Tony award winner Gregory Jbarra and Late Bloomers starring Karen Gillan. Patel was last seen on Broadway as Mo in The Nap at MTC and Roland Maule in Present Laughter opposite Kevin Klein. Additional Broadway credits include the original Tony Award winning US company of War Horse at Lincoln Center. In New York, Bhavesh has been seen on stages at The Public, Second Stage, Roundabout, CSC, New York Shakespeare Society, Red Bull, and NYTW. Regionally he has worked around the country at theaters such as Westport Country Playhouse, Shakespeare Company, The Guthrie, and more. TV: “FBI: Most Wanted,” “Chicago PD,” “L&O: SVU,” “New Amsterdam,” “Little America,” “Bull,” “The Blacklist,” “Jon Glazer Loves Gear,” “Madame Secretary,” “Mysteries of Laura,” “The Good Wife,” “Elementary,” “Blue Bloods,” “Person of Interest,” and more. Film: The Sound of Silence, Gold, Wilding, Two Days in NY, James White, Maiden Heist, and more. M.F.A., NYU Grad Acting.
MAHIMA SAIGAL (Young Woman 2) is a proud alum of the Atlantic Acting School and is thrilled to be making her Atlantic Theater debut with Elyria. Select NY credits: Queen (NY Premiere, APAC. Nomination: Best Actress in a Leading Role NYIT Awards); Hiding Kanye (Winner: Best Featured Actress, Tamasha-Hypokrit Theater); Jhaanjar Di… (National Queer Theatre); INVASION! (DramaWallah, Winner: Best Ensemble, SAIPAF); Mary V (NY Fringe Festival). Internationally, Mahima has worked with the Akshara National Theater of India where she originated the role of Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi’s Gita and played the titular role in Shaw’s Saint Joan. Workshops/Development: Vigil-Aunties, Karma Sutra Chai-Tea Latte, Lost in the Fire (Gingold Theatrical Group); I Love Sean (Playwright’s Realm); Dance Nation (Atlantic); Night Diary (Children’s Theatre of Charlotte), among others. This performance is dedicated to Frontier Booking International, Atlantic’s staff, students, and faculty, and to her entire family who reside on the other side of the Atlantic (ocean). www.mahimasaigal.com
KHYATI SEHGAL (Young Woman 1) is so excited to be making her Off-Broadway debut! Her other theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet at The Huntington and As You Like It with Brown Box Theatre. She has also helped develop new works with The Civilians and Gingold Theatre Group. TV Credits include “New Amsterdam”. She holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College and has also trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. For my family and everyone that got me here.
OMAR SHAFIUZZAMAN (Hassanali) is deeply passionate about his involvement in this compelling and beautiful play. It is a wonderful opportunity for him and many of the creatives in the company to weave a narrative that reflects not only their own cultures, but the voices and lives of so many unheard individuals. It means a lot to see people from such diverse backgrounds finally having larger platforms to tell such rooted and inspired stories! He is overjoyed to be making both his Off-Broadway debut and his United States debut at the prestigious Atlantic Theater Company, which he has been an admirer of for some time now. Omar trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and has received untold amounts of support from his instructors, friends, and family. He would like to thank them all for helping him manifest his artistic aspirations as a reality.
DEEPA PUROHIT (Playwright) is a New Georges Audrey Resident (2022) and has been a member of Ma-Yi Writers Lab since 2014. She received her MFA in Playwriting at Brooklyn College in 2020. She co-founded and ran Rising Circle Theater Collective for 12 years (2000-2012), overseeing the development of over 20 plays by playwrights of color. She’s a trained actor, has a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University, and a BA in History from Northwestern University. Born in the UK, with familial roots in Ohio, East Africa, and India, she lives in NYC with her husband and son.
AWOYE TIMPO (Director). Off-Broadway credits include Wedding Band by Alice Childress (Theatre for a New Audience), In Old Age by Mfoniso Udofia (New York Theatre Workshop), Good Grief by Ngozi Anyanwu (Vineyard Theatre), The Revolving Cycles Truly And Steadily Roll’d by Jonathan Payne (Playwrights Realm), The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu (Atlantic Theater Company), Carnaval by Nikkole Salter (National Black Theatre), Ndebele Funeral by Zoey Martinson (59E59, South African tour, Edinburgh Festival), and Sister Son/Ji by Sonia Sanchez (Billie Holiday Theater). Her regional credits include The Bluest Eye (Huntington), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Paradise Blue (Long Wharf Theatre), and Skeleton Crew (Chester Theater). Other work includes “Black Picture Show” (Artists Space/Metrograph), Bluebird Memories (Audible). Awoye is the Founding Producer of CLASSIX, a collective dedicated to exploding the classical canon through an exploration of work by Black writers, theclassix.org.
ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director). At Atlantic, our aim is singular—to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. We are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. From our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our community-based education programs, we are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence. Founded as an ensemble of impassioned artists in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has grown into a powerhouse Off-Broadway company. We challenge, inspire, and awaken audiences with truthful storytelling presented across our two venues, the Linda Gross Theater and the intimate Stage 2 black-box. As a producer of compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We have produced more than 200 plays and musicals including Tony Award-winning productions of The Band’s Visit (David Yazbek, Itamar Moses), Spring Awakening (Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik), and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize recipient Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis); New York Drama Critics’ Circle winners for Best New Play The Night Alive (Conor McPherson) and Best Foreign Play Hangmen (Martin McDonagh); Obie Award winners for Best New American Play Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night (Rajiv Joseph); Obie Award Special Citation recipient Skeleton Crew (Dominique Morisseau); Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award and Lucille Lortel Award winner English (Sanaz Toossi); and New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Drama Desk Award, and Lucille Lortel Award winner for Best New Musical Kimberly Akimbo (David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori).
Schedule:
Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7pm, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.
Wednesday matinee performance on 3/1 & 3/15 at 2pm.
No Saturday matinee performance on 2/11.
No Sunday evening performance on 3/5, 3/11 & 3/19.
Tickets:
Regular tickets begin at $75. Order online at atlantictheater.org or by calling AudienceView at 646-989-7996.
Atlantic members receive first access and savings of up to 40% on tickets and exclusive access including a priority-booking period, unlimited exchanges, discounted guest tickets, no additional fees, and more. For information on Atlantic Memberships starting at just $50, visit atlantictheater.org/membership/ or email membership@atlantictheater.org.
Atlantic is committed to connecting deeply and authentically with audiences from a broad range of economic backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and perspectives. Its access ticket initiative makes $25 tickets available to every preview performance in the 2022|2023 season. Access tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis via Atlantic’s website beginning 2 weeks prior to the first performance of each Atlantic Theater Company 2022|2023 production. $25 access tickets for Elyria will go on sale Thursday, January 26 at noon ET.
