SCENE PARTNERS

Marjan Neshat most recently starred as ‘Nazanin’ in Sanaz Toossi’s new play Wish You Were Here at Playwrights Horizons. She also led the cast of Ms. Toossi’s award-winning play English at the Atlantic Theater, which was nominated for the 2022 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Ensemble and winner of Best Play. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed play Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury at Playwrights Horizons, the controversial Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar (NYSF), and The Seagull (with Alan Cumming and Dianne Wiest). Marjan’s feature film work includes leading roles in the multi-award winning film Rockaway as well as in the indie feature Almost in Love and Cry Funny Happy. She has played supporting roles in many films, including Robocop, Sex and the City 2, Alfie, and the upcoming Love-40. Marjan’s TV credits include New Amsterdam, For Life, Bull, Elementary, Quantico, Law & Order: SVU, and Fringe among others. She is a recipient of the Sam Norkin Drama Desk award for her portrayals in Selling Kabul and English in the same season.

David Cale (Playwright) returns to Vineyard Theatre following his solo play Harry Clarke, starring Billy Crudup, and directed by Leigh Silverman, which transferred to the Minetta Lane Theatre in a run produced and recorded by Audible (2018 Lucille Lortel Award). Cale’s works as both writer and performer include the solo shows The History of Kisses, Palomino, A Likely Story, Lillian (Obie Award), Deep in a Dream of You (Bessie Award) and the musical, Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky, for which he also wrote the lyrics and co-composed the music (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination). He composed the songs for 600 Highwaymen’s Employee of the Year (Bessie Award nomination) and wrote the monologue The Actor, starring Marin Ireland, for Weston Playhouse’s online, One Room. His most recent stage work is his solo musical memoir We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, for which he wrote the book, lyrics, co-composed the music with his musical collaborator Matthew Dean Marsh and starred (Goodman Theatre, Public Theater). For We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, Cale and Marsh received a 2019 Jeff Award and a 2020 Lucille Lortel Award nomination, and Cale was the recipient of a 2020 Drama Desk Award nomination, a 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award and a 2020 Obie Award.

Matthew Dean Marsh (Composer) has collaborated with David Cale over the past five years, their anthology of songs growing extensively during this time. Most notably, We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, the autobiographical one-man musical with Cale as the starring role, featured music written by the duo and arranged by Marsh. For We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time Cale and Marsh received the 2019 Jeff Award for New Musical and a 2020 Lucille Lortel Award nomination. Matthew music directed Clubbed Thumb’s revival of Tumacho, directed by Leigh Silverman, in early 2020. His compositions have sounded at Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, Tribeca Film Festival, The Public Theater, MassMOCA, and The Goodman Theater in Chicago.

Leigh Silverman (Director) last directed Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup and written by David Cale at the Vineyard Theatre and subsequent transfer to the Minetta Lane. She has directed over 55 world premiere new plays and musicals. Her Broadway credits include: Grand Horizons (2ST; Williamstown Theater Festival); The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54); Violet (Roundabout; Tony nomination); Chinglish (Goodman Theatre; Longacre); Well (Public Theater; ACT; Longacre). Recent Off-Broadway: SUFFS (Public Theater); The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Shed); Soft Power (Public Theater; Ahmanson Theater/ Curran Theater; Drama Desk nom); Tumacho (Clubbed Thumb); Hurricane Diane (New York Theatre Workshop; Two River Theater); Harry Clarke (Vineyard Theatre/Audible, Minetta Lane; Lortel nom); Wild Goose Dreams (Public Theater; La Jolla Playhouse); Sweet Charity (New Group); On The Exhale (Roundabout); The Outer Space (Public Theater). Encores: Bring Me to Light; Violet; The Wild Party; Really Rosie. 2011 Obie Award and 2019 Obie for Sustained Excellence.