Anthony Edwards and Aria Shahghasemi Join PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC Cast

Initial casting has been announced for the Broadway premiere of Prayer for the French Republic, written by Drama Desk Award winner Joshua Harmon and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Performances will begin Tuesday, December 19, 2023, with opening night set for Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

The cast of Prayer for the French Republic will feature Betsy Aidem, Francis Benhamou, Ari Brand, multi-Emmy Award nominee Anthony Edwards, Molly Ranson, Nancy Robinette, and Aria Shahghasemi. Additional cast members and the creative team will be announced soon.

Winner of the 2022 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Play, Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic bursts onto Broadway after MTC’s highly acclaimed extended, sold-out Off-Broadway run. In 1944, a Jewish couple in Paris desperately awaits news of their missing family. More than 70 years later, the couple’s great-grandchildren find themselves facing the same question as their ancestors: "Are we safe?" This celebrated work by the author of Bad Jews and Significant Other is about history, home and the effects of an ancient hatred. Directing is David Cromer, a Tony Award winner for The Band's Visit.

Theatrely's Joey Sims wrote of the play's Off-Broadway production, "At its strongest, the play uses the family’s dilemma as a springboard for larger messy, challenging debates around Jewish personhood. A second act war of words between Molly and Marcelle’s strident daughter Elodie (Francis Benhamou, superb) over Israel is thrilling to take in, and includes a signature Harmon rant-monologue. Even better is the verbal sparring between Marcelle and her aggressively secular brother Patrick (Richard Topol), who dismisses the safety concerns and suggests she simply “draw the curtains and light candles in the dark.”'

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