“Pings us straight in the heart.”

Name: The Counter
Start: 2024-09-20 00:00:00
End: 2024-11-17 23:59:00
Location: Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre

SARAH HOLDREN, NEW YORK MAGAZINE

An intensely provocative new American play.”

STEVE SUSKIN, NEW YORK STAGE REVIEW

Every morning at the local diner in a small town, a waitress refills a regular’s coffee, and an unlikely friendship develops. But when he asks for a shocking favor, it brings to light both of their deepest secrets—and sets off a provocative, intimate theatrical triumph. The Counter is a funny, surprising, and moving meditation on the everyday connections that can change our lives.

After the success of Too Much, Too Much, Too Many and Napoli, Brooklyn, playwright Meghan Kennedy debuts her next Roundabout commission, The Counter. Directed by Tony Award® winner David Cromer (The Band’s Visit).

Running time: Seventy-five minutes. No intermission.

Advisory: This show has content which may be sensitive for some individuals, including themes of suicide.

Paul: Anthony Edwards
Katie: Susannah Flood
Peg: Amy Warren
u/s Paul: Joe Forbrich
u/s Katie and Peg: Susan Bennett

A woman with short brown hair wearing a blue sweater sits next to a man with a gray beard wearing a flannel. They sit shoulder to shoulder with their heads down in a quiet, tender moment. — Amy Warren and Anthony Edwards.
Joan Marcus

A woman in a blonde ponytail leans on a diner counter with her hand propping up her head. A soft spotlight illuminates her while silhouetting everything else in the diner, including a man looking out — Susannah Flood.
Joan Marcus

A man with a gray beard wears a blue flannel and sits at the counter of a diner. A soft spotlight illuminates him while silhouetting everything else in the diner. — Anthony Edwards.
Joan Marcus

An man with a gray beard leans on a counter as he quietly watches a waitress sitting on a crate writing on a notepad. — Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards.
Joan Marcus

An a small, hometown diner, a woman with blonde hair and a waist apron pours water into a coffee maker behind a counter, where a man with a gray beard sits and drinks a mug of coffee. — Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards.
Joan Marcus

Playwright: Meghan Kennedy
Director: David Cromer
Set Design: Walt Spangler
Costume Design: Sarah Laux
Lighting Design: Stacey Derosier
Sound Design: Christopher Darbassie
Production Stage Manager: Richard Hodge

An older man with a full graying beard leans his elbows on a counter as he sips from a coffee cup. Down the counter in the background, a woman with her blonde hair in a claw clip punches numbers into — Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards
Photo by Marcus Middleton

A woman with blonde hair pulled into a clip stands behind a counter with an apron on. She points her finger in a serious gesture while speaking to the older man with a full beard sitting at the counte — Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards
Photo by Marcus Middleton

The director, a man in a dark button down shirt and dark gray hair, sits in a wheely chair and points to two actors on a rehearsal set made to look like a diner. They listen intently. — David Cromer, Susannah Flood, and Anthony Edwards
Photo by Marcus Middleton

A woman in an apron with her blonde hair in a claw clip stands behind a diner counter and gestures a hand up in front of her customer, an older man with a full graying beard. — Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards
Photo by Marcus Middleton

A man with short gray hair wearing a dark button down shirt holds up a pen while sitting in an office chair. Behind him, two women sit behind rehearsal tables. — David Cromer, Meghan Kennedy, and Saki Kawamura
Photo by Marcus Middleton

THEATRE TALK

Learn more about the history of the production and its creators through a lively discussion with Roundabout Teaching Artists.

CHECK OUT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES

Discover the artists and history behind The Counter in the Upstage Playgoer’s Guide.

READ THE UPSTAGE GUIDE

Art photography by Darren Cox.

The Counter receives funding from the Laura Pels Play Production Fund, established by a grant from The Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.

The Counter is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

This work was supported by a Theatre Commissioning and Production Initiative grant from the Doris Duke Foundation.