On November 2, 2011, the Chicago cast was announced. Usman Ally played Amir, Alana Arenas played Jory, Behzad Dabu played Abe, Benim Foster played Isaac, and Lee Stark played Emily. Previews started on January 27, 2012, and the official debut was on January 30.[13] The Chicago production creative team included set designer Jack Magaw, lighting designer Christine Binder, costume designer Janice Pytel, prop designer Nick Heggestad, sound designer Kevin O’Donnell, fight choreographer David Woolley, and production stage manager Katie Klemme.[13]
On July 26, 2012, the Off-Broadway cast was announced: Aasif Mandvi, Heidi Armbruster, Adam Dannheisser, Omar Maskati and Karen Pittman.[14] At the time, Mandvi was a correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[15] Other creative team members were sets designer Lauren Helpern, costume designer Dane Laffrey, lighting designer Tyler Micoleau, and sound designer Jill BC DuBoff.[14] The show began previews with Dannheisser on October 7, but Erik Jensen replaced him on October 10 after an illness, with opening night scheduled for October 22.[16] Kimberly Senior directed both productions at the American Theater Company in Chicago and at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in New York. She was also set to direct the Broadway run in 2014.[17]
The New York production opened at the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on October 22, 2012, with the following cast: Heidi Armbruster as Emily, Erik Jensen as Isaac, Aasif Mandvi as Amir, Omar Maskati as Abe, and Karen Pittman as Jory. The Off West End cast, which was directed by Nadia Fall, consisted of Danny Ashok, Kirsty Bushell, Hari Dhillon, Sara Powell and Nigel Whitmey.[18]
The Broadway production was originated by Hari Dhillon and Danny Ashok reprising their Off West End roles as Amir and Abe, respectively, Karen Pittman reprising her Off-Broadway role as Jory, and Josh Radnor reprising as Isaac and Gretchen Mol as Emily.[19][20] Kimberly Senior, who directed the Chicago and Off-Broadway productions signed on to direct. She was joined on the creative team by John Lee Beatty (set), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costumes), Ken Posner (lighting) and Jill DuBoff (sound).[20]
The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions:
| Role | American Theater2012[13] | Lincoln Center2012 | Bush2014[21] | Lyceum2014[19][20] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir Kapoor | Usman Ally | Aasif Mandvi | Hari Dhillon | Hari Dhillon |
| Jory | Alana Arenas | Karen Pittman | Sara Powell | Karen Pittman |
| Isaac | Benim Foster | Erik Jensen | Nigel Whitmey | Josh Radnor |
| Emily | Lee Stark | Heidi Armbruster | Kirsty Bushell | Gretchen Mol |
| Abe | Behzad Dabu | Omar Maskati | Danny Ashok | Danny Ashok |
