REVIEWS OF 'DISGRACED' AT ATC / PHOENIX

In wake of Paris attacks, 'Disgraced' is theater that matters

Akhtar’s fearless script carries an incredible emotional and intellectual heft. And in a Phoenix-premiere production by Arizona Theatre Company, a powerhouse cast, led by Elijah Alexander as Amir, brings “Disgraced” to life with convincing edge-of-your-seat tension that builds relentlessly to a devastating climax …. 

.... At the center of it all is Alexander’s tour-de-force turn as Amir. Complex and conflicted, this character requires an actor who can walk a tightrope by earning the audience’s sympathy and then risking our wrath when he confronts us with uncomfortable truths.

Kerry Lengel, The Republic | azcentral.com

such is the relevancy of great theatre

All five performers are cast well, each flawlessly representing their type in a way we assume the author intended us to view them, but it’s Alexander’s portrayal of the conflicted Amir that stands out.

... I doubt whether any audience member at the Phoenix Herberger Centre opening performance of Disgraced was unaware of the horrific circumstances that occurred in Paris prior to the weekend ...  Such is the power of Disgraced, and more importantly, such is the relevancy of great theatre.

Valley Screen and Stage: David Appleford's Film and Theatre Reviews

'Disgraced' at the Herberger is not only good, but important

Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer-winner fresh off the Broadway stage explores the potential for prejudice in a variety of forms and contexts and provides a fully visceral visual representation of what can happen when conflicting ideas about race are forced into the open. And, quite honestly, I don’t think it could have been done any better ...

... The play brings up complex issues about race and culture that are important to examine at such a crucial moment in world history. This weekend, over 100 people died in France as victims of a religiously-motivated terrorist attack. On Monday, our state’s governor demanded that the flow of refugees into Arizona be stopped.  At a time like this, Akhtar’s play is crucially important to see. Especially when ATC’s production of it is so stinking good. 

Faith Miller, Downtown Devil / Curtain Critic

REVIEW OF 'DISGRACED' AT ATC / TUCSON

Photo by Tim Fuller / Arizona Theater Company

The Arizona Theater Company's production of Ayad Ahktar's 'Disgraced' opened this weekend to a warm reception in Tucson.  Read the Arizona Daily Star's review here.  

"Akhtar’s dialogue flows with rhythm and smarts and is delivered with nuance by a cast headed by Elijah Alexander as a tall, handsome and volatile Amir. He makes Amir’s frustration and rage palpable, but still allows the character to be sympathetic. "

The show runs in Tucson until November 7th, then moves to Phoenix until November 29th.  Tickets & Box Office information here. 

Gregory Award for "Outstanding Actor (Play)"

Elijah was awarded "Outstanding Actor (Play)" at the 2015 Gregory Award ceremony, for his role as Bashir in the “The Invisible Hand” at ACT Theatre in Seattle, WA. 

ACT's production swept a slew of Gregory Awards as well, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Scenic Design, & Outstanding Sound/Music Design.  Cast-mate Allen Nause also received Outstanding Supporting Actor.  

See a full list of Gregory Award recipients here. 

Elijah to play 'Amir' in "DISGRACED" at Arizona Theatre Company

This fall 2015, Elijah will be playing the role of 'Amir' in the Arizona Theatre Company's production of Ayad Akhtar's play Disgraced, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

From the ATC website:
"There are some topics you just shouldn’t discuss at a dinner party. Disgraced is the critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning current Broadway hit about the stories we tell our friends, the secrets we tell our lovers, and the lies we tell ourselves. Written by one of the most astonishing new voices in American theatre, this provocative tale dares to face the truth hiding just below the deception. In Disgraced, what begins as polite table conversation explodes, leaving everyone’s relationships and beliefs about race and identity in shards. We are thrilled to bring you the regional premiere of this blistering Broadway hit."

See full cast list here

Show run:
Tucson : 10/17/15 - 11/07/15
Phoenix : 11/12/15 - 11/29/15
Full schedule & ticket information on the ATC website

2015 Gregory Awards Nominee - Outstanding Actor (Play)

2015 Gregory Awards presented by Theatre Puget Sound
Elijah Alexander
Nominee - Outstanding Actor (Play)
“The Invisible Hand” - ACT Theatre

"When we first meet Bashir, he is an angry brute, uneducated and seemingly incapable of any empathy. By the play’s end, he has become a sophisticated manipulator and financial genius. Alexander is so skillful that this evolution seems completely natural; he helps us to understand the root cause of Bashir’s fury without making him an overly sympathetic character. At play’s end, when Bashir has evolved into a different kind of monster we are horrified by the scale of the damage he can do." - Alice Kaderlan, Seattle P-I Blog

Award Ceremony: October 26. 2015 in Seattle

Elijah Nominated for Gypsy Rose Lee Award

The Seattle Theater Writers critics' circle just announced the nomination slate of the fourth annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (2014), and Elijah was nominated for "Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor", along with co-star Connor Toms, for their roles in The Invisible Hand last fall.  The cast of four was nonimated for an "Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble", and the play itself was also nonimated for "Excellence in Production", as well as director Allen Nause for "Excellence in Direction".  

Elijah to play 'Gentleman' in World Premiere of "Fingersmith" @ OSF

Elijah will be playing the role of 'Gentleman' in the World Premiere of Fingersmith at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which opens March 1st, 2015 and runs through July 9th, 2015.   Adapted by Alexa Junge, based on the 2002 novel by Sarah Waters. Directed by Bill Rauch, who won a Tony for the Broadway production of All the Way, starring Brian Cranston.  

About the play: 

A wild ride of a Victorian crime thriller
At first, the job seems simple: All pickpocket Sue Trinder has to do is help a con man cheat a gullible young heiress out of her fortune. But nothing is quite what it seems in this gritty mystery set in 19th-century England. As the twisting story sends Sue spiraling through squalid London streets, madhouses and a stifling mansion with a ghastly secret, it leads her to the most dangerous landscape of all: awakening sexuality, love and betrayal. 

Elijah named "Best Leading Actor in a Play" - Critic's Pick Award, BroadwayWorld Seattle

BroadwayWorld Seattle has announced their CRITIC'S PICK AWARDS (by critic Jay Irwin). Not only was "The Invisible Hand" named BEST PLAY OF 2014, and ACT awarded THEATRE OF THE YEAR, but Elijah was also named BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY for his performance as 'Bashir', in a tie with Jack Willis ("All The Way/The Great Society" at Seattle Repertory Theatre).  Kudos all around!

Elijah receives 2014 Footlight Award for 'Bashir'

Elijah was recognized with a 2014 Footlight Award by Seattle Times theatre critic Misha Berson, awarded in the category of GREAT PERFORMANCE for his role as 'Bashir' in The Invisible Hand. 

Elijah Nominated for BroadwayWorld Seattle Awards

Elijah has been nominated for BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY for the BroadwayWorld Seattle viewer's choice awards, for his role as 'Bashir' in Ayad Ahktar's The Invisible Hand.  

You can vote for him here!  (Voting closes on December 31st, 2014)

Read what reviewers had to say about Elijah's performance here and here. 

Elijah was recognized with a Southern California "Scenie Award" by Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com for "Best Performance by a Lead Actor" for his role as 'MacBeth' in the production at A Noise Within in Pasadena, California.  

THE INVISIBLE HAND: "Play of the Year ..."

"Elijah Alexander … is electric."

"… this is The Play of the Year. It has high theatricality, great acting, solid technical support and a terrifically smart script. It's a memorable event and topical, contemporary, and politically charged. "

Review of Ayad Ahktar's "The Invisible Hand" by Miryam Gordon. 

 Read the full review here

The Invisible Hand: "Powerful, relevant, moving …"

"I can guarantee that you will not find a more powerful, relevant or moving drama in any Seattle theater."

"All of these characters are rich and thoroughly genuine. There is not a false moment in the entire play and never an obvious or simple word uttered by any of them.  Their interactions feel spontaneous and thoroughly believable, their hopes and fears thoroughly rooted in the reality of their lives."

"Elijah Alexander is … compelling and powerful as Bashir.  Balancing brutality with a sense of civilized hope, his enormous stage presence becomes all of the power that shackles Nick in this forgotten place.  What I liked best about Bashir was the sense that he would do anything, anything to advance his cause, but that it must already have been justified in his own mind and to his own morality.  Entrance to that dark and forbidding place is as captivating and dangerous as the cell where Nick is held."

Review of Ayad Ahktar's "The Invisible Hand" by Jerry Kraft for SeattleActor.com.  

 Read the full review here. 

"THE INVISIBLE HAND" GRIPS MORALITY BY THE THROAT

"As usual, ACT offers the highest quality acting, stage design, lighting, sound, and special effects, but the gem in that setting that sparkled most brightly for me was the performance by Elijah Alexander, as Bashir …"

"Alexander's natural and spellbinding acting brings Bashir to life as someone we will not forget."

Read the full review by Candace Brown at Good Life Northwest

At ACT, “The Invisible Hand” delivers

"One of the most potent, provoking and timely theatre productions I’ve ever seen."

"Elijah Alexander deserves lots of credit for this performance."

Read Chris Burlingame's review of "The Invisible Hand" for the SunBreak

The Invisible Hand: "performance of astonishing range and subtlety"

"The four-person cast is terrific starting with Elijah Alexander as Bashir. This Yale Drama School graduate offers a performance of astonishing range and subtlety. When we first meet Bashir, he is an angry brute, uneducated and seemingly incapable of any empathy. By the play’s end, he has become a sophisticated manipulator and financial genius. Alexander is so skillful that this evolution seems completely natural; he helps us to understand the root cause of Bashir’s fury without making him an overly sympathetic character. At play’s end, when Bashir has evolved into a different kind of monster we are horrified by the scale of the damage he can do."

Read the full review here.