Danny Burstein, Jessica Hecht, and Jeremy Shamos will lead the cast of a Broadway revival of Awake and Sing!.
Manhattan Theatre Club announced the casting on June 1, 2026. Burstein will play Uncle Morty, Hecht will play Bessie Berger, and Shamos will play Myron Berger.
The production begins previews in December 2026 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. It is scheduled to open in January 2027 as part of the company’s 2026-27 Broadway season.
Tyne Rafaeli will direct, marking her Broadway debut.
Awake and Sing! is one of the great masterpieces of our canon—it makes you laugh and breaks your heart in one fell swoop... I’m thrilled to bring the wildly talented Danny Burstein, Jessica Hecht, and Jeremy Shamos back to the Friedman stage. With Tyne Rafaeli – who will make her Broadway debut with this production – at the helm, I look forward to sharing the power of this play with our audiences.
The 1935 Clifford Odets drama centers on a Jewish family in the Bronx navigating economic hardship. The revival returns the play to Broadway after previous productions in earlier decades.
Playbill and Deadline reported the same timeline and creative team details on the day of the announcement. The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre has hosted several Manhattan Theatre Club productions in recent seasons.
Rehearsals are expected to begin in the fall ahead of the December previews. No additional casting has been confirmed at this time.
The play explores themes of family dynamics, financial struggle, and personal aspirations during the Great Depression era. Its dialogue captures the rhythms of everyday speech in a working-class household. Audiences have long appreciated the balance of humor and pathos that defines the story.
Producers have emphasized the relevance of these themes to contemporary viewers facing similar economic pressures. The creative team aims to highlight both the historical context and timeless emotional core of the narrative. Ticket sales are anticipated to reflect strong interest from longtime theatergoers and new audiences alike.
