The Public Theater has found casting for their upcoming world premiere of Anna Ziegler's Antigone (This Play I Read in High School), set to play the Off-Broadway company's Anspacher Theater February 26–March 22, 2026, officially opening March 11. Tyne Rafaeli will be at the helm.
As previously announced, Tony winners Celia Keenan-Bolger and Tony Shalhoub will star as Chorus and Creon (respectively), opposite newly announced co-stars Ethan Dubin as Copy 3/Achilles, Katie Kreisler as Cop 1/Proprieter, Susannah Perkins as Antigone, Dave Quay as Cop 2/Palace Guard, Calvin Leon Smith as Haemon, and Haley Wong as Ismene. Understudy casting is to be announced.
The work reimagines the Sophocles tragedy through a modern lens, following an independent young woman determined to have control of her own body even in a world governed by archaic and misogynist laws.
“I wrote this Antigone adaptation hoping to capture how absurd, painful, and deeply human it feels to navigate the moral minefields of our moment,” says Ziegler in a statement. “I’m so excited to bring it to The Public, a theatre that has shaped my imagination for decades and welcomes nuance and conversation. My hope is that audiences leave with a renewed appreciation for Antigone’s bravery—and also a sense, however begrudging, of how hard it is to lead other human beings, even as so many of our own leaders fall short.”
“Anna's adaptation ofAntigone pulls this ancient text into our modern moment without gimmick or reduction,” adds Rafaeli. “By channeling what made the original so radical, she has created a singular theatrical world that straddles ancient Thebes and modern America and asks the most important question of our time: what is a citizen to do in the face of an unjust law? She does so with wild imagination, humor, sophistication, and visceral force. For the Greeks, theatre was a democratic imperative, a space for the public to collectively process their world. Today, there is no better home for this play than The Public—one of the last true civic gathering places we have. I am thrilled to be working with The Public on this astonishing play that has survived millennia for a reason.”
The production will feature scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Enver Chakartash, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design and music by Daniel Kluger, and prop management by Claire M. Kavanah.
Tickets are at PublicTheater.org.
