No rehearsals. A different guest actor at every performance. A sealed envelope. And some surprises. In his latest work, Nassim explores the power of language to unite us in these uncertain times.

Nassim Soleimanpour’s first play, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, ran for more than nine months in New York, and was performed by Whoopi Goldberg, Bobby Cannavale, Nathan Lane, F. Murray Abraham, and other celebrated actors. It has been performed thousands of times in the United States and has been translated into more than 25 languages. NASSIM is his latest exploration into imaginative storytelling that also challenges traditional theatrical forms.

BST and Jean Doumanian are proud to announce the American premiere of the Nassim Soleimanpour and Bush Theatre production of NASSIM by celebrated Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (White Rabbit Red Rabbit), featuring direction by Omar Elerian.

Rotating casts with guest performers have become common in Off-Broadway theater.  Sometimes, actors appear for only few weeks, other times they stay for months and often appear in front of the audience with the script in hand. In a unique variation on that approach, playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (“White Rabbit Red Rabbit”) has created a sweet show “Nassim” that bears his own name to explore the power of language and how it binds us and how it separates us. Each performance features a different guest star. The night we attended the New York City Center Stage II, the guest performer was Thom Sesma (“Pacific Overtures,” “Sweeney Todd.”) When the stage manager asked how he was feeling, he noted he was “terrified.”  And who wouldn’t be?  Sesma must have felt like an acrobat without a safety net because when he got onstage, he was handed the script and saw it for the very first time. He began to read from the pages as then the script was projected onto a screen in front of us. Sesma was only to read the words that weren’t italicized. Every time he made an error, we all knew it and everyone, including Sesma, laughed. Nassim was backstage and the actor was invited to joined him there to h …Read more