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Manhattan Theatre Club will produce a new production of Clifford Odets’ landmark 1935 drama Awake and Sing! The production will be produced as part of the company’s 2026-27 season on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The production, directed by Tyne Rafaeli (Off-Broadway: Data, The Coast Starlight, Epiphany), will begin preview performances in December 2026 ahead of a January 2027 opening night.
Awake and Sing! is produced with Tony and Olivier Award winners Brian and Dayna Lee (Broadway: Giant, Cabaret, Angels in America), and Tony and Olivier Award winners Nicole Kramer and Stephanie Kramer (Broadway: Giant, Sunset Blvd., Leopoldstadt).
Starring Tony Award winner Danny Burstein (Broadway: Moulin Rouge!, Marjorie Prime, Fiddler on the Roof), Tony and Emmy Award nominee Jessica Hecht (Eureka Day; Summer, 1976 at MTC), and Tony Award nominee Jeremy Shamos (Broadway: Clybourne Park, The Assembled Parties at MTC; TV: “Only Murders in the Building”), this bold new production of Clifford Odets’ timeless masterpiece tells a story about aspiration, family and how to live with dignity in America.
About Awake and Sing!
It’s the 1930s, and the Bronx is a furnace. New ideas clash with the old amidst the poverty and shattered promises of the Great Depression. And three generations of the Berger family, trapped inside their cramped tenement, struggle to hold different visions of an American dream. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli, this classic battle between hope and disillusionment returns to Broadway, speaking thrillingly to the present.
Awake and Sing! originally premiered on Broadway in 1935, produced by the legendary Group Theatre, and helped establish Clifford Odets as a major voice in American theatre.
“Awake and Sing! is one of the great masterpieces of our canon—it makes you laugh and breaks your heart in one fell swoop,” said MTC Artistic Director Nicki Hunter. “Though Odets wrote this story of a family caught between the life they imagined and the one they were saddled with nearly a century ago, its questions of ambition and sacrifice feel as timely as ever. 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.”
Already announced for MTC’s 2026-27 season are the Broadway premiere of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play by Tony Award nominee Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Tony Award nominee Whitney White, which will start performances on September 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre; the world premiere of Montauk by Tony Award nominee David Hare, starring Tony Award nominee Laura Linney, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, which will open in Spring 2027 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre; and the American premiere of The Unbelievers by Tony Award nominee Nick Payne, directed by Tony Award nominee Knud Adams, which will begin performances on October 10, 2026 at NY City Center Stage (i). Additional productions for MTC’s 2026-27 season will be announced at a later date.
Meet the Cast
Danny Burstein (Uncle Morty). Awake and Sing! marks Danny’s 22nd Broadway production; others include Marjorie Prime, Gypsy, Pictures From Home, Moulin Rouge!, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Golden Boy, Follies, South Pacific and The Drowsy Chaperone. Off-Broadway: Describe the Night A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Talley’s Folly; Mrs. Farnsworth; All in the Timing; etc. Film includes tick, tick, BOOM; The Same Storm; Indignation; The Family Fang; Blackhat; Transamerica; Molli and Max in the Future; etc. TV: Danny has had recurring roles on “Cry Wolf” (upcoming), “Julia,” “Tokyo Vice,” “The Good Fight,” “Evil,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Guest stars: “Will Trent,” “Winning Time,” “Tales of the City,” “Fosse/Verdon,” “The Blacklist,” “Law and Order” and many others. He has voiced characters for many animated series including “Long Story Short,” “Dora the Explorer,” “F is for Family,” “Central Park,” etc. Danny is the recipient of 2020’s Drama League Award, one Tony Award (nine nominations), three Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards and four Grammy Award nominations.
Jessica Hecht (Bessie Berger) is currently appearing on Broadway in Dog Day Afternoon (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination). Her recent appearances on Broadway include Manhattan Theatre Club’s Eureka Day, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award, and Summer, 1976, which also earned her a Tony Award nomination. She has appeared on Broadway in productions of The Price opposite Mark Ruffalo; Fiddler on the Roof opposite Danny Burstein; The Assembled Parties at MTC opposite Judith Light; Harvey opposite Jim Parsons; After the Fall opposite Carla Gugino; The Last Night of Ballyhoo opposite Paul Rudd; Brighton Beach Memoirs opposite Laurie Metcalf; Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington; and A View from the Bridge opposite Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Off-Broadway, she has appeared in A Mother, a play she co-conceived for Baryshnikov Arts; King Lear opposite John Lithgow and Annette Bening; Stage Kiss opposite Sandra Oh; Three Sisters opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal; The Orchard opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov; Letters from Max at Signature Theatre; and Admissions at Lincoln Center Theater, for which she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination and an Obie Award. Her notable television appearances include her Emmy-nominated performance in the Netflix series “Special,” and her roles on “Tokyo Vice,” “Super Pumped,” “The Sinner,” “The Loudest Voice,” “Dickinson,” “The Boys,” and “Succession.” She is also recognizable to television audiences for her work on the iconic television series “Friends” and “Breaking Bad.” She can currently be seen opposite Kevin Kline in the new series “American Classic.” Her film performances include Eleanor the Great, which debuted at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, as well as A+, Anesthesia, J. Edgar, The Grey Zone, The Sitter, My Soul to Take, Dan in Real Life, Sideways, The Atlantic City Story, The Sunlit Night, and The Home.
Jeremy Shamos (Myron Berger) was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park, for which he also received Lucille Lortel Award and Drama League Award nominations. His other stage appearances include the Broadway productions of Steve Martin’s Meteor Shower, Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, Richard Greenberg’s The Assembled Parties at MTC, and David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, as well as the off-Broadway productions of the original Gutenberg! The Musical; If I Forget (Drama Desk Award nomination); Animals Out of Paper (Drama Desk Award nomination); The Qualms; The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged); Dinner with Friends (Lucille Lortel Award); Engaged, for which he received the Obie Award; and Stephen Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are. His work on film and television has provided the opportunity to collaborate on many acclaimed features, including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Bad Education, The Big Sick, and Birdman, and many prestigious series including “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Better Call Saul,” “Succession,” “Dead Ringers,” “Nurse Jackie,” and “Fosse/Verdon.” For his role in the ensemble casts of “The Gilded Age” and “Only Murders in the Building,” he earned SAG Award nominations for his work on both award-winning series. He is an MFA graduate of New York University.
2026 Theater Fans’ Choice Awards – Live Stats
Best Revival of a Musical – Top 3
1.
Ragtime
36.7% of votes
3.
CATS: The Jellicle Ball
19.9% of votes
