Theater fans have reason to celebrate this spring as When Playwrights Kill, a brand-new backstage comedy by Matthew Lombardo (Tea at Five), makes its world premiere at The Huntington Theatre. Running from April 3 through April 18, this strictly limited engagement features a powerhouse cast including Tony Award winners Beth Leavel (The Prom), Matt Doyle (Company), and Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray), alongside Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family), Adam Heller (Some Like It Hot), and Tomás Matos (Fire Island). The production will be directed by Noah Himmelstein (Conversations With Mother).
When Playwrights Kill delivers a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud story set behind the scenes of a theatrical production. The plot follows Jack Hawkins (Doyle), an aspiring playwright on the cusp of Broadway success, whose dreams take a chaotic turn when he is forced to cast Brooke Remington (Leavel), a notoriously temperamental diva, in his out-of-town Boston tryout. With the play’s Broadway hopes hanging by a thread, Jack faces an impossible dilemma: stop Brooke at all costs — literally — to save his career.
Kevin Chamberlin stars as Oliver Kendall Walker, the veteran director trying desperately to prevent the playwright and actress from coming to blows. Adam Heller takes on the role of Freddie Carlton, a struggling producer willing to risk everything to revive his career, while Marissa Jaret Winokur plays Liz Jennings, the unflappable stage manager attempting to bring order to the unfolding chaos. Tomás Matos rounds out the ensemble as Tobias Deschanel, a flamboyant felon inexplicably hired as the diva’s prompter.
Produced by Naughty Playwright, LLC, along with Bryan McCaffrey, Laura Z. Barket, Alan Seales, Raymond Esposito, Amy Wen, and Jason and Kira Turchin, the show is managed by BPM Theatrical, with casting by Nick Peciaro, CSA. Further members of the creative team and casting will be announced in the coming weeks.
With a cast of Broadway heavyweights, a hilarious premise, and a limited engagement, When Playwrights Kill promises a theatrical experience that Boston audiences won’t soon forget — a backstage comedy where ambition, chaos, and comedy collide in the most entertaining ways imaginable.