EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award winner Ari’el Stachel (The Band’s Visit) will star in a new autobiographical solo drama-comedy he’s written titled Other, which actor-producer LaChanze will produce Off Broadway next month.
Directed by Tony Taccone, Other begins previews on Wednesday, October 8, at the Greenwich House Theatre with an opening night scheduled for Sunday, October 19. The exclusive engagement will run through Saturday, December 6.
“Ari’el’s brave, funny and vulnerable retelling of his life through this performance blows me away,” said LaChanze, who produces through her LaChanze Productions. Other marks her first solo production credit.
“It’s so relevant and identifiable for anyone who has ever been othered and the anxiety that can be caused by living in that truth,” the producer added. “It’s important to me as a producer that the stories we tell reflect everyday members of society and explore how we are more alike than different- and this play does just that.”
The synopsis: Ari’el Stachel brings an ensemble of voices from his past to life in Other, a raw and hilarious one-man show about his anxious search for belonging. From childhood reinventions to performing through chronic panic in front of thousands, he navigates identity, self-acceptance, and the pursuit of his dreams with hilarity and heart—delivering a performance as relentlessly funny as it is vulnerable.
Other features scenic design by Afsoon Pajoufar; lighting & projections design by Alexander V. Nichols; and sound design by Madeleine Oldham.
Stachel won a 2018 Tony Award for his performance as Haled in The Band’s Visit. On screen, he stars in the upcoming feature Death Do Us Part and has appeared in Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling (Warner Bros.) and A24’s Zola. His television credits include Law & Order: SVU, Billions, Jessica Jones, Blue Bloods, and The Night Agent.
Director Taccone served as Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep for 22 years, during which time the theater produced more than 70 world, American and West Coast premieres and sent 24 shows to New York, two to London and one to Hong Kong. Most recently he directed The Harder They Come by Suzan Lori-Parks and Kiss My Aztec, which he co-wrote with John Leguizamo.
LaChanze has served as producer on The Outsiders, Topdog/Underdog, Kimberly Akimbo, Here Lies Love, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Buena Vista Social Club and Purpose. As an actor, LaChanze has starred in The Color Purple, Once on This Island, Trouble in Mind, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, If/Then, A Christmas Carol and many others.
Other was previously titled Out of Character and was originally produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
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