Berkeley Rep Presents West Coast Premiere of Disgraced

Disgraced, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Ayad Akhtar, starts performances tonight at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Amir Kapoor and his wife, Emily, are living the American dream. He’s a Muslim-American lawyer, and she’s an artist whose work focuses on Islamic imagery. However, everything begins to come apart when they host a dinner party for their friends and colleagues. Lies are uncovered and deception threatens to shatter the fragile balance of Amir’s life of cultural assimilation.

Akhtar’s play is directed by Kimberly Senior and features J. Anthony Crane as Isaac, Behzad Dabu as Abe, Nisi Sturgis as Emily, Bernard White as Amir, and Zakiya Young as Jory.

"I’m thrilled that Disgraced will have its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep," said Akhtar. "The play seems to function as a kind of litmus test; it tells you where you are in society, and has the capacity to connect people to themselves and others in a heartfelt way. I’ve gotten an equal amount of feedback from both sides of the Muslim community; some ask, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and others say, ‘Thank God you are doing this!’ Much work was done at every stage of development of Disgraced, but it finally feels like it has found its most mature form."

The creative team includes John Lee Beatty (set design), Christine A. Binder (lighting design), Jennifer Von Mayrhauser (costume design), and Jill DuBoff (sound design).

Performances will run through January 10.

For tickets and more information, click here.