McCarter Theatre Center is bringing a new comedy about marriage, intimacy and the secrets couples keep from one another to its Princeton stage next spring.
The theater has announced the world premiere of True Marriage, a new play by Carter Bays, the showrunner and co-creator of the hit television series How I Met Your Mother. Directed by McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, the production will run May 8 through May 30, 2027, in McCarter’s Berlind Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.
The comedy centers on Dave and Rosemary, a married couple who have been together for five years but find themselves struggling to reconnect. Hoping to put some excitement back into their relationship, the couple agrees to participate in an experimental treatment that promises to transform their communication.
There is just one catch: The treatment allows them to hear each other’s thoughts — all of them, all the time.
What begins as an attempt to restore intimacy quickly becomes a potentially explosive examination of what people say, what they think and what they deliberately leave unsaid. The production promises to explore the complicated boundaries between honesty and privacy while finding humor in the realities of long-term relationships.
“We are delighted to welcome Carter Bays to McCarter for this world premiere,” said Rasmussen. “Carter is one of the funniest writers working today, and we can’t wait to share his new comedy with our audiences. It’s a thought-provoking and hilarious story about love, intimacy, and the things we might be better off keeping to ourselves.”
Bays said he wanted to create a play that was both funny and truthful about marriage.
“I set out to write a funny and true play about marriage,” Bays said. “I hope the result is a fun night at the theater that leads to lots of good conversations, and zero divorces.”
Bays co-created How I Met Your Mother and served as showrunner during the series’ nine-season, 208-episode run. His other credits include The Late Show with David Letterman and American Dad!. He also wrote the 2022 novel The Mutual Friend and teaches as an adjunct assistant professor in the Film program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
Rasmussen, who has served as McCarter’s artistic director, has directed productions at major theaters including Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie and La Jolla Playhouse.
Tickets for True Marriage are available through McCarter Theatre Center. Accessibility services, including ASL interpretation, audio description and open captioning, will be offered for selected performances.