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Gabrielle Choi, Associate Director of Publicity

gchoi@huntingtontheatre.org

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THE HUNTINGTON ANNOUNCES BOSTON-AREA AUDITION CALL FOR  HARMON, PASEK, AND TAUB WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL UNORTHODOX

Local performers are invited to submit headshots and resumes to The Huntington in Boston for the opportunity to be among the original cast of a major new musical.

(BOSTON) – The Huntington is inviting Greater Boston performers to submit materials to be considered for a Boston local audition call for upcoming new musical Unorthodox, based on the New York Times best-selling memoir by Deborah Feldman. This is a rare opportunity for performers to be part of the original cast of this world premiere directed by Jordan Fein (Into the Woods at London’s Bridge Theatre) and crafted by Broadway icons Joshua Harmon (Tony nominee, Prayer for the French Republic), Benj Pasek (EGOT winner, Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman), and Shaina Taub (two-time Tony-winner, Suffs).

This search marks a unique opportunity for The Huntington, one of Boston’s leading professional theatres and recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, to discover extraordinary talent and uplift new voices.

“Every once in a blue moon, a true theatrical event comes along. And if you’re especially lucky, it also marks the birth of something thrilling, meaningful, and true,” says Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco. “The joining of musical theater visionaries Benj Pasek and Shaina Taub with one of our great living playwrights, Joshua Harmon, collaborating for the first time together to create a musical adaptation of Unorthodox is one such moment. What they’ve crafted is an urgent, intimate, and soul-stirring story of two women discovering who they are and what world they want to forge for their children. I have no doubt this extraordinary new musical, directed by the incredible Jordan Fein, will resonate far beyond our walls, and you’ll be able to say you experienced it here first.”

More information about auditions and submitting materials can be found at huntingtontheatre.org/auditions. Artists can submit headshots and resumes to casting@huntingtontheatre.org. Select artists will be invited to audition at the local audition call on October 20, 2026.

The Huntington’s production of Unorthodox will run at the Huntington Theatre in Boston (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115) from May 6 – June 6, 2027. More information can be found at huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/unorthodox

ABOUT UNORTHODOX

Deep in the heart of Brooklyn, Devoiri, just seventeen, enters an arranged marriage in the Hasidic Satmar community. Sixty years earlier, her grandmother Fraida arrives in America at roughly the same age, alone, to begin a new life. In parallel journeys, one woman decides to join this devout world, while another awakens to the realization that she wants to try and leave. Based on the best-selling memoir, Unorthodox is an intimate and emotionally resonant new musical about the impossible choices we face trying to do what is right for our children – and ourselves. 

“We are close friends who had been searching for something to write together,” shares creators Harmon, Pasek, and Taub. ”When we discovered this story, we knew it was the one we wanted to tell, as it’s full of complex characters in extraordinary circumstances making impossible choices. Collaborating on this show has been a genuine joy, we are grateful to The Huntington for the chance to see it realized, and eager to share it with audiences!”

“I am thrilled to be developing a new piece that speaks so directly to the heroic challenges of searching for one’s place in this tumultuous world,” shares director Jordan Fein. “The development of a new musical is always a daunting prospect but once I heard the brilliant words and music of this writing team I knew I needed to take part in the creation of this profound and complex story.”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS BEHIND UNORTHODOX

Joshua Harmon (Playwright) is a Tony-nominated (Prayer for the French Republic) playwright who has been produced nationally and internationally: on Broadway and the West End; Off Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Atlantic Theater Company; across the country at The Huntington (We Had a World in 2026 and Prayer for the French Republic in 2023), Geffen Playhouse, SpeakEasy Stage, Studio Theatre, Theater Wit, About Face, Actor’s Express, and The Magic, among others; and internationally in a dozen countries. His plays include We Had a World, Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight, and Prayer for the French Republic [nomination for Best Play at the 2024 Tony Awards]. Musicals: The Bedwetter. His honors include two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play, two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, a Guggenheim, and MacDowell fellowships. He is a graduate of Juilliard.

Benj Pasek (Music and Lyrics) is an Oscar and multi-Grammy, Tony and Emmy-winning songwriter and producer. Theater credits include Dear Evan Hansen, A Christmas Story, Dogfight, James and the Giant Peach. Film/TV credits include La La Land, The Greatest Showman, Only Murders in the Building, Spirited, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Trolls, and Smash. 

Shaina Taub (Music and Lyrics) is a songwriter/performer whose honors include two Tony Awards, an Obie Award, and nominations for a Grammy and an Emmy. An artist-in-residence at the Public Theater, she created and performed in Broadway’s Suffs (now touring nationally) and Public Works’ Twelfth Night and As You Like It. As an Atlantic Records recording artist, her honors include the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award, Kleban Prize, and Jonathan Larson Grant. She currently plays Emma Goldman in Ragtime on Broadway. Other credits include Hadestown, Great Comet of 1812, and Old Hats. Named to the 2024 TIME100 Next list, Taub co-chairs the NYCLU Artist Ambassador program and holds an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music. shainataub.com

Jordan Fein (Director) is a New York and London based theatre and opera director. His work has been produced and developed at The Bridge, The Barbican, Regents Park Open Air, The Public Theater, The Young Vic, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Ars Nova, The Bushwick Starr, Dixon Place, Curtis Opera Theatre, Opera Philadelphia, Here Arts Center, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Joe’s Pub, A.R.T. Philly Fringe Arts, Bard College & Incubator Arts Project. Jordan was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA.  He attended New York University where he studied directing at Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Theatre includes: Into The Woods – Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival (The Bridge); Fiddler on the Roof – Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Dark Disabled Stories – Obie Award for Best New American Play (Public Theater/Bushwick Starr); Rags Parkland Sings The Songs of The Future – Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Musical (Ars Nova); Singlet (The Bushwick Starr); A Ride On The Irish Cream (American Realness Festival/American Repertory Theater). Other work includes: Co-director of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (Young Vic) – Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival; Director of The Prologue; Associate Director Cabaret – Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival (West End/ Broadway).

ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON

Celebrating over 40 years of outstanding theatre, The Huntington is Boston’s leading professional theatre company. On our stages and throughout our city, we share enduring and untold stories that spark the imagination, amplify diverse voices, and connect communities. Since 1982, The Huntington has welcomed more than 3.5 million audience members, produced over 250 plays (including more than 140 premieres, with 18 moving to Broadway or Off Broadway), earned the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, and served more than half a million students.

Led by Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Executive Director Christopher Mannelli, The Huntington welcomes broad and diverse audiences, provides life-changing opportunities for students through our education and community programs, is a national leader in the development of playwrights and new plays, and serves as a hub for Boston’s cultural community at the beautifully restored Huntington Theatre and the state-of-the-art Calderwood Pavilion/BCA.

From 2024-2026, The Huntington catalyzed the ambitious two-year Ufot Family Cycle in Boston, a landmark nine-play series by Emmy-nominated and Massachusetts-born playwright Mfoniso Udofia, activating a city-wide effort supported by 35+ organizations and reaching thousands of live and digital audience members across Greater Boston and beyond. In Summer 2026, Olivier-nominated playwright John Kolvenbach’s Stand Up if You’re Here Tonight (part of The Huntington’s 23/24 season) reached international audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And, coming up in 2027, The Huntington will open a new wing of the Huntington Theatre on Huntington Avenue. This storied venue’s expanded facilities reflect a bold vision for the future, allowing us to innovatively expand our services to audiences, artists, and the community for generations to come.

For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

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