Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? tickets
About Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?
Get Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been tickets on TodayTix to see this electrifying docudrama based on real events. A rotating cast of theatre legends brings this starry play to life. Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been plays for a limited time only at New York City Center – Stage 1, running for 15 weeks this summer.
Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been in New York makes unique use of only original transcripts that bring to life iconic artists' words while on trial. The rotating cast includes Brooks Ashmanskas, Jason Babinsky, Steven Boyer, Adam Kantor, Frederick Weller, and Michael McKean, plus guest stars Santino Fontana, Billy Eugene Jones, T.R. Knight, David Krumholtz, Harry Lennix, Andrew McCarthy, Sally Murphy, Bob Odenkirk, Steven Pasquale, Molly Ringwald, Thomas Sadoski, and Jay O. Sanders.
Audiences can expect a thrilling evening of timely American trials revisited. Don't miss Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been off Broadway, now playing.
“History's chilling echo demands attention now”
A Powerful Warning From History
This docudrama built from actual HUAC hearing transcripts delivers a gripping theatrical experience that audiences find frighteningly relevant to today's political climate. The stellar rotating cast—f...
What It Feels Like
- Frighteningly relevant
- Thought-provoking
- Riveting
You’ll Love This If…
- You appreciate theater that illuminates American history
- You enjoy stellar ensemble acting from recognizable stars
- You want art that sparks urgent political conversation
Incredible to see such fabulous actors!! And my son was able to meet Bob Odenkirk , his all time favorite actor, at the stage door! An amazing memorable night! The play was so significant to what is happening in our world right now, very thought provoking.
A incredibly historically accurate portrayal of what it intended to accomplish
Enlightening history. Thought provoking. Frighteningly relevant.
Stars on stage
Michael McKean
Bob Odenkirk
T.R. Knight
Steven Pasquale
Santino Fontana
Brooks Ashmanskas
Harry Lennix
Steven Boyer
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? cast and creative team
Permanent cast members for the run:
Michael McKean
Brooks Ashmanskas
Frederick Weller
Steven Boyer
Jason Babinsky
Adam Kantor
Additional cast through July 12:
Scott Adsit
Billy Eugene Jones
Sally Murphy
Ben Rappaport
Tom Sadoski
Additional cast July 13 - August 2:
Norbert Leo Butz
TR Knight
Harry Lennix
Bob Odenkirk
Molly Ringwald
Additional cast dates TBA:
Steven Pasquale
Santino Fontana
By: Eric Bentley
Director: Anna D. Shapiro
Sets: Andrew Boyce
Costumes: Johanna Pan
Lighting: Donald Holder
Sound: Milbo Music
Projection design: Brittany Bland
Venue
Accessibility
Wheelchair access, assistive listening devices
More information about Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?
Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been is a timely and relevant revival of Eric Bentley's pulse-pounding docudrama, which dives into the intense world of the 1940s House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings. The play features the transcripts from on-trial artists, including Arthur Miller, Jerome Robbins, Paul Robeson, Elia Kazan, Lillian Hellman, Abe Burrows, and Lionel Stander. During a conservative political era for media and entertainment, those artists and public figures were on trial as they faced an impossible decision: defend their integrity, protect their careers, or betray their peers.
Facing a powerful committee, the questions these artists endured speak volumes today about free speech, expression, and art making. A chilling climate of intimidation and moral conflict resonates far beyond this period nearly a century ago. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been is a unique theatrical event that will be hard to shake thanks to brilliant performances and transcripts.
What to watch for
- In 1998, writer Eric Bentley was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
- Anna D. Shapiro won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for August: Osage County.
- The Wall Street Journal called the play a work of "marvelous theatre and telling history."
- The House Un-American Activities Committee is often tied to conservative McCarthyism ideologies.
