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. The New York Times calls it "thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and wickedly funny." Directing is David Cromer, a Tony Award® winner for The Band's Visit.
There is perceptiveness and humor in Prayer for the French Republic, and Cromer’s direction does its best to keep things honest. But as Harmon weighs out the issues, you can sense his thumb on the scale; by the denouement, it feels more like his whole hand, pressing for amens.
Harmon is the talented playwright of Significant Other, about the frailty of friendship; Admissions, about race and privilege; and Bad Jews, about family legacies. He digs deeper than ever in Prayer for the French Republic and strikes pure gold. It’s a plus-size play about big social issues that impresses in large structural ways as well as small moments.
2022 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2024 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Betsy Aidem |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Prayer for the French Republic |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Amith Chandrashaker |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Betsy Aidem |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Joshua Harmon |
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