DISGRACED is the story of Amir Kapoor (to be played by Aasif Mandvi), a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots.  When Amir and his wife Emily (to be played by Heidi Armbruster), a white artist influenced by Islamic paintings, host a dinner party, what starts out as a friendly conversation escalates into something far more damaging.

DISGRACED, which premiered earlier this year at Chicago’s American Theatre Company (Artistic Director, PJ Paparelli) and developed as part of the AracaWorks bi-annual reading series, will have sets by Lauren Helpern, costumes by Dane Laffrey, lighting by Tyler Micoleau and sound by Jill BC DuBoff.

Playwright Ayad Akhtar is a writer and actor whose first novel, American Dervish, was published to critical acclaim earlier this year by Little Brown.  He is the co-author of numerous screenplays and co-wrote and played the lead role in the film, The War Within, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.  His plays, in addition to DISGRACED, include The Invisible Hand which recently premiered at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Kimberly Senior is a Chicago-based director whose credits include productions at Steppenwolf, Strawdog, American Blues and Next Theatres.  She is an Artistic Associate at Next Theatre, Strawdog Theatre and Chicago Dramatists.

LCT3 was established in 2008 by Lincoln Center Theater as a programming initiative devoted to producing the work of new artists as well as developing new audiences.   Tickets to all LCT3 productions are $20.  This fall, in addition to DISGRACED, LCT3 will be presenting a special presentation, for four performances only, of Young Jean Lee and the band Future Wife, in their critically acclaimed Obie Award-winning show, We’re Gonna Die, Wednesday, September 12 through Saturday, September 15 in the Claire Tow Theater.  Meanwhile, LCT3’s inaugural production in the Claire Tow Theater, Greg Pierce’s Slowgirl, directed by Anne Kauffman, continues its extended run through Sunday, August 5.

This fall, in addition to DISGRACED, in the Claire Tow Theater and the open-ended run of its Tony Award winning production of War Horse in the Vivian Beaumont Theater, LCT will present the 75th Anniversary production of Clifford Odets’ classic drama, Golden Boy, to be directed by Bartlett Sher beginning Thursday, November 8 at a Broadway theatre to be announced and Christopher Durang’s new play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (in association with the McCarter Theater), to be directed by Nicholas Martin, beginning Thursday, October 25 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Tickets to DISGRACED, priced at $20, will be available beginning Friday, September 14, at the Lincoln Center Theater box office, telecharge.com or by visiting www.lct3.org.

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HEIDI ARMBRUSTER Broadway: Time Stands Still.  New York: Sea of Tranquility (Atlantic Theater Company), Tea and Sympathy (Keen Company/Drama League nomination).  Film/TV: Michael Clayton, The Smurfs Movie, Revolutionary Road, “Unforgettable,” “Louie,” “Mercy.” 

ADAM DANNHEISER LCT:  Cymbeline, The Coast of Utopia, Contact (National Tour).  Broadway: Rock of Ages, Proof.  Off-Broadway: Henry V, Henry VIII, The Tempest, Macbeth (Public Theater).  Film: Down To Earth, A Price Above Rubies.  TV:  “Law & Order,” “Brotherhood,” “Sex and the City.”

AASIF MANDVI is currently a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  Off-Broadway:  Sakira’s Restaurant (both wrote and acted in – 1999 Special Citation Obie Award), Trudy Blue (MCC), Death Defying Acts.  Film: The Last Airbender, The Mystic Masseur, Spiderman 2, Analyze This, The Siege.  TV: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Sex and The City,” “The Sopranos,” “Oz,” “CSI,” “Law & Order,” “Jericho,” “e.r.”

OSCAR MASKATI Off-Broadway: The Belle’s Stratagem (Pearl Theatre Company).  Regional: The Nutcracker and I (George Street Playhouse).  Film: Dreamworld, Sister Impossible, Easy Money.

KAREN PITTMAN  Broadway:  Good People, Passing Strange.  Off-Broadway: When Last We Flew, Missing Celia Rose.  Regional: Kennedy Center, McCarter Theater.  TV:  “Law & Order,” “White Collar,” “30 Rock,” “Medium.”

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