Audible Theater and TOGETHER, the theatrical partnership led by Sonia Friedman and Hugh Jackman, today announced two additional productions for their 2026 season, directed by Ian Ricksonand presented in repertory at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. The productions include the first major revival of Tom Noonan’s What Happened Was with Corey Stoll (“Billions”, Appropriate) and Cecily Strong (“Saturday Night Live,” The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe), with performances beginning on April 14; and Ella Hickson’s New Born, featuring three monologues performed by Marianna Gailus (Vanya, Hedda Gabler), Hugh Jackman, and Sepideh Moafi (“The Pitt”), with performances beginning on May 8. These productions join the previously announced return engagement of Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes with Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman, with performances beginning on March 17.
Driven by a shared commitment to accessibility, 25% of the house for every performance will have $35 tickets, available only on the day of show through TodayTix or in person at the Minetta Lane box office. Tickets are now available at AudibleThhttps://audibletheater.com/eater.com.
Hugh Jackman said: “Our TOGETHER and Audible collaboration is what drew me to theater in the first place: incredible words brought to life in a space where the bond between actor and audience is immediate. Our productions deliver just that at the Minetta Lane, and later, we extend that experience to wherever you might be listening. I'm excited to be working with this remarkable ensemble, returning to Hannah Moscovitch's captivating play and taking on one of Ella Hickson's illuminating monologues. Through our approachable ticketing model, we can't wait to share this season with audiences.”
Sonia Friedman, TOGETHER co-founder and Kate Navin, Audible Head of Creative Development, North America said: “We're honored to celebrate Tom Noonan's memory by bringing his distinctly New York play back to the city. Tom wrote with a fearless clarity about the fragile, intimate moments that reveal who we really are, capturing the tenderness of human connection with extraordinary specificity. Rounding out our 2026 season are three brilliant complimentary monologues by Ella Hickson, whose work we've long admired for the vivid characters and worlds she creates that feel deeply alive. Collaborating with TOGETHER co-founder Hugh Jackman, director Ian Rickson, and these incredible artists, we're presenting plays that feel particularly resonant at a moment when audiences are searching for connection and immediacy. Through our commitment to accessibility, we're thrilled to share these dynamic productions with audiences live at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre and through global audio releases.”
What Happened Was and New Born will be recorded and released on Audible at a later date, extending their reach to millions of listeners around the world. Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classesis available now on Audible.
Obie Award-winning playwright Tom Noonan’s What Happened Waswith Corey Stoll and Cecily Strong begins performances on April 14. Known for his extensive career on stage (founding the East Village’s Paradise Factory, appearing in the original cast of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child) and on screen (Manhunter; Synecdoche, New York; “The X-Files”), Noonan also wrote and directed the acclaimed 1994 screen adaptation of What Happened Was, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. This production will be the first major revival of Noonan’s work following his recent passing.
Award-winning playwright Ella Hickson’s New Born features three monologues performed by Marianna Gailus, Hugh Jackman, and Sepideh Moafi, with performances beginning on May 8. Hickson’s monologues originated from a joint commission by Sonia Friedman Productions and Audible Theater. The New York Times calls Hickson a powerful voice, whose best monologues “seem like good short stories that pull you into the lives of characters who can feel suddenly, dramatically real.”
These productions join the previously announced return of Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes with Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman. Back by popular demand after an acclaimed New York premiere last year, the live show was praised as a “terrific, tightly plaited knot of a play” (The New York Times Critic’s Pick) and the Audible Original release was praised for its “incredible performances by Jackman and Beatty” (Collider). Performances begin March 17.
Audible Theater and TOGETHER’s acclaimed, sold-out first season in 2025 also included Jen Silverman’s New York Times Critic’s Pick adaptation of August Strindberg’s Creditors, with Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith. Creditors is available now on Audible. Audible Theater and TOGETHERdistributed over 13,000 affordable and complimentary tickets to community organizations over the course of the eight-week season.
ABOUT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES
Written by Hannah Moscovitch
With Ella Beatty & Hugh Jackman
Directed by Ian Rickson
35 Performances Only between March 17 – April 30
Back by popular demand, Hugh Jackman and Ella Beatty return to star in the encore production of Hannah Moscovitch's award-winning, New York Times Critic's Pick drama about desire, power, and blurred boundaries. Jon is an acclaimed novelist and charismatic professor staring down the collapse of his third marriage when he encounters Annie- a nineteen-year-old star student and devoted fan. An undeniable attraction pulls them into dangerous territory. Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes is a provocative, gripping exploration of agency and perspective that will leave you questioning your own assumptions long after it ends.
The creative team for Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes includes Brett J Banakis and Christine Jones (co-scenic design), Ásta Bennie Hostetter (costume design), Isabella Byrd (lighting design), and Mikaal Sulaiman (sound design). Jim Carnahan is Casting Director. The Production Stage Manager is Merrick A. B. Williams. Theatrical supervision is by Beacon Theatrical Services and general management is by ShowTown Theatricals.
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WAS
Written by Tom Noonan
With Corey Stoll and Cecily Strong
33 Performances Only between April 14 – June 14
New York City can be the loneliest place on earth. In a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, two co-workers meet for a first date. What begins as small talk quickly unravels into an achingly tender chamber piece about attraction, secrets, and the desperate need for connection. Don’t miss the first major New York revival of Tom Noonan’s play that inspired the Grand Jury Prize-winning 1994 Sundance film. What does it cost to let someone else in?
The creative team for What Happened Was includes Brett J Banakis and Christine Jones (co-scenic design), Kaye Voyce (costume design), Japhy Weideman (lighting design), and Mikaal Sulaiman (sound design). Jim Carnahan is Casting Director. The Production Stage Manager is Alyssa K. Howard. Theatrical supervision is by Beacon Theatrical Services and general management is by ShowTown Theatricals.
ABOUT NEW BORN
Written by Ella Hickson
Marianna Gailus, Hugh Jackman, and Sepideh Moafi
27 Performances Only between May 8 – June 8
A tree surgeon falls in love. A young woman searches for her lost friend on the prairie. A new mother is consumed by an unlikely celebrity friendship. In three monologues, unrelated individuals find their smallest choices ripple into seismic changes that connect them across centuries and continents. An unforgettable evening of theater exploring relationships, identity, and change from acclaimed British playwright Ella Hickson.
The creative team for New Born includes Brett J Banakis and Christine Jones (co-scenic design), Kaye Voyce (costume design), Japhy Weideman (lighting design), and Mikaal Sulaiman (sound design). Jim Carnahan is Casting Director. The Production Stage Manager is Merrick A.B. Williams. Theatrical supervision is by Beacon Theatrical Services and general management is by ShowTown Theatricals.
BIOGRAPHIES
HUGH JACKMAN is a multi-talented actor, producer and philanthropist. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, as well as for his lead roles in the romantic-comedy fantasy Kate & Leopold, the action-horror film Van Helsing, the drama The Prestige and The Fountain, the epic historical romantic drama Australia, the film version of Les Misérables, and the thriller Prisoners (2013). His work in Les Misérables earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in 2013. On Broadway, Jackman won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz. A four-time host of the Tony Awards themselves, he won an Emmy Award for one of these appearances. Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards in 2009. His most recent appearance on Broadway was as Harold Hill, in the revival of The Music Man. Hugh then co-starred in the Marvel Films 2024 blockbuster movie Deadpool and Wolverine and 2025’s Song Sung Blue. His upcoming films scheduled to be released are The Sheep Detectives and The Death of Robin Hood.
ELLA BEATTY is a Juilliard-trained actress who will soon star as Lizzie Borden, the lead role in the next season of Ryan Murphy and Netflix’s Monster, as well as Sophia Takal’s psychological thriller Act One, opposite Ari Graynor and Nate Mann. She was most recently seen in the A24 film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, alongside Rose Byrne and A$AP Rocky. On stage, Beatty recently starred in the off-Broadway play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes opposite Hugh Jackman, as well as Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts alongside Lily Rabe and Billy Crudup. Her Broadway debut was in Appropriate at the Belasco Theater, the hit play which won the 2024 Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Play,” where she assumed the role of "River" previously played by Elle Fanning. Additionally, she was seen in the role of "Kerry O'Shea" in the Gus Van Sant-directed, Ryan Murphy-produced FX series, “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.”
COREY STOLL. Well-known to film and television audiences, some of Corey Stoll’s favorite roles include “Billions” as ‘Mike Prince,' the Ant-Manfilms as ‘Darren Cross/M.O.D.O.K.’, Midnight in Paris (Independent Spirit nomination), West Side Story, The Many Saints of Newark, Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, Ryan Murphy’s “Ratched,” four seasons of Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Strain,” and the first season of David Fincher’s “House of Cards” (Golden Globe nomination). Stoll can currently be seen in the Amazon series “The Better Sister,” starring opposite Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks. He most recently wrapped shooting the Apple limited series “Imperfect Women” opposite Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss, the Apple film Matchbox opposite John Cena, and the starring role in the independent series “Recap.” Born and raised in New York, theater is his first love. He received a Tony Award nomination in 2024 for his role opposite Sarah Paulson in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Appropriate. Other stage highlights include playing the title role in Macbeth at CSC, ‘Iago’ in Othello and ‘Brutus’ in Julius Caesar in the Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park, and in Lynn Nottage’s breakthrough Intimate Apparel opposite Viola Davis (Drama Desk Award nomination). Stoll has an MFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School. He lives with his wife and son in Brooklyn, NY.
CECILY STRONG is an actress and author best known for her work as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2012-22. On “SNL,” Strong received back-to-back Emmy Award nominations in 2020-21 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Critics Choice Award nomination. She earned rave reviews for her notable Judge Jeanine Pirro, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Melania Trump impressions. Strong starred in Apple TV+’s hit musical series, “Schmigadoon!,” on which she also served as a producer. Her memoir, This Will All Be Over Soon, was released in 2021. That same year she made her New York stage debut at the Shed in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and returned to star in the production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2022. Strong voiced Ms. Malkin in the hit Netflix film Leo and co-starred in the animated feature Garfield. Strong recently finished starring in the John Patrick Shanley play Brooklyn Laundry at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Strong has appeared in the films The Female Brain and Paul Feig’s reboot of Ghostbusters, as well as Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss, The Bronze and The Meddler. Additionally, Strong emceed the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
MARIANNA GAILUS recently performed the one-person play VANYA (adapted from Chekhov by Simon Stephens) Off-Broadway as Andrew Scott’s understudy. Her other credits include Broadway: Katya/Compromised Journalist in Patriots. Regional: Sylvia Plath in Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia (Geffen Playhouse, world premiere); Hedda in Hedda Gabler (Yale Repertory Theatre); Lizzy Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (Cleveland Playhouse). Other New York: cityscrape (Good Apples Collective, world premiere). Television: “Law & Order.” MFA, Juilliard Group 51. Recipient of the Laura Pels Prize in Acting for outstanding achievement and professional promise. BA, History, Yale University. She also studied maritime and global history at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
SEPIDEH MOAFI is a critically acclaimed actor whose work spans television, film, and on stage. Currently, Moafi can be seen starring in the second season of the Emmy Award-winning HBO Max drama “The Pitt” opposite Noah Wyle. Prior to this, she starred in the Apple TV+ limited series “Black Bird” and in FX/Hulu’s “Class of ’09.” She is also widely known for her fan-favorite role as Gigi in Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q.” Moafi’s television work includes “The Deuce” (HBO), “Falling Water” (USA), “Notorious” (ABC), “Black Box” (ABC) and the animated series “Scavengers Reign” (HBO Max), among others. On the film side, she stars in I’ll Be Right There and the Sundance Film Festival favorite The Killing of Two Lovers (Neon). A versatile performer, Moafi has sung in original Off-Broadway musicals, plays, and operas at renowned venues around the world, including Lincoln Center Theater, David Geffen Hall with the New York Philharmonic, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and an M.F. A. in Acting from the University of California, Irvine. Moafi is also a proud ambassador for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), advocating for displaced people and communities in crisis around the world.
HANNAH MOSCOVITCH is one of Canada’s most acclaimed playwrights. Her sixteen plays have been widely produced at home and abroad, and she’s been honoured with numerous awards for her work, including The Governor General’s Award, the Trillium Book Award, the Nova Scotia MasterWorks Arts Award, and the Windham-Campbell Prize. In television, Hannah was the Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Head Writer of the limited series “Little Bird” alongside showrunner Jennifer Podemski. “Little Bird” garnered a landslide of awards and critical praise, winning thirteen Canadian Screen Awards in 2024 including Best Drama Series. Hannah has worked as a writer and producer on all three seasons of AMC’s hit series “Interview With The Vampire,” which has been included on many Best TV of the Year Lists, such as Vanity Fair, Variety, TV Guide, Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Slate, Collider, Vulture and IndieWire.
TOM NOONAN was an acclaimed playwright, actor, writer, and director whose distinctive voice shaped theatre, film, and television for more than four decades. After dropping out of Yale, he founded New York’s Paradise Theatre in 1983, where he created original, character-driven works for the stage, including Wifey, which earned an Obie Award. What Happened Was… began as a two-character stage work developed at the Paradise Theatre before Noonan adapted it into the film of the same name, which he wrote, directed, and starred in. The film won the Grand Jury Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. As an actor, Noonan is also known for memorable performances in films including Manhunter, The Monster Squad, RoboCop 2, and Last Action Hero, along with numerous television appearances including Damages, Hell on Wheels, and 12 Monkeys.
ELLA HICKSON is an award-winning writer whose work has been performed throughout the UK and abroad. Her plays include Oedipus, starring Indira Varma and Rami Malek which opened at The Old Vic in 2025; Adult Children, a 2022 VR collaboration between Donmar Warehouse, ETT and Trial and Error Studio; Swive [Elizabeth], which opened at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2019; and ANNA, created with Ben and Max Ringham, which opened at the National Theatre in 2019. The Writer and Oil opened at the Almeida in 2018 and 2017 respectively. In 2013-15, Wendy & Peter Pan, adapted from the book by J.M. Barrie, played to wide acclaim at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other credits include: Riot Girls (Radio 4); Boys (Nuffield Southampton/Headlong/HighTide Festival Theatre); Decade (Headlong/St Katharine Docks); The Authorised Kate Bane (Grid Iron/Traverse, Edinburgh); Rightfully Mine (Radio 4); Precious Little Talent (Trafalgar Studios/Tantrums Productions); Hot Mess (Arcola Tent/Tantrums Productions); Eight (Trafalgar Studios/Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh). Ella is a member of the Royal Society of Literature, a MacDowell and Yaddo Fellow and recipient of The Catherine Johnson Award. She is a 2025 Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University.
IAN RICKSON (Director) was the Artistic Director of the Royal Court from 1998 to 2006. He directed numerous productions including The Weir by Conor McPherson, Jerusalem, The River (also West End and Broadway), Mojo (also Chicago), all by Jez Butterworth; Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen and This is a Chair by Caryl Churchill. West End shows include Lyonesse, Rosmersholm, Uncle Vanya, The Birthday Party, Old Times, Betrayal and The Children’s Hour; National Theatre, London Tide, Paradise, All of Us, Translations by Brian Friel, Evening at the Talk Houseby Wallace Shawn, The Red Lion by Patrick Marber, The Hothouse by Harold Pinter. Productions at the Old Vic include Electra by Sophocles. Ian was Artistic Director of Sonia Friedman’s Re-Emerge season in the West End in 2021 and directed for the stage and the filming of Walden, one of the three plays in that Season. Rickson also works with PJ Harvey and Kae Tempest on their music and poetry shows.
ABOUT TOGETHER
Sonia Friedman and Hugh Jackman have launched TOGETHER, a company dedicated to creating live theater that is intimate and accessible. Every TOGETHER production is driven by a commitment to offering audiences a chance to experience theater in a fresh and engaging way.
Working alongside artistic director Ian Rickson, TOGETHER stages short runs of fully rehearsed, full-length plays in the US, UK, and beyond. The focus is on collaboration, ensemble, equal pay for actors, and shared creative credit. By stripping the fully rehearsed productions down to their essentials, with minimal décor, TOGETHER aims to celebrate the raw power of storytelling — getting back to what often makes theater so compelling in the first place.
Performances take place in small venues, where established actors perform just feet from the audience, creating an intimate, elemental experience and heightened sense of community. Above all, TOGETHER is committed to keeping its productions genuinely affordable for a large proportion of the house and open to as many people as possible.
ABOUT AUDIBLE THEATER
Audible Theater makes outstanding performances and powerful storytelling available to live audiences in New York City and millions of people all over the world. Since founding in 2018, Audible Theater’s dynamic mix of live and audio theater productions have been praised as “trailblazing” (Variety), “illuminating” (Forbes), and “an exemplary use of the medium” (The Observer).
Audible Theater productions have garnered more than 60 nominations and 14 wins across the theater awards landscape. More than 120 audio theater titles have released on Audible. Audible Theater has produced the multi-award-winning and seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical Dead Outlaw, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, book by Itamar Moses, conceived by David Yazbek, and directed by David Cromer; Hannah Moscovitch’s play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes starring Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman; Sorry for Your Loss written by and starring Michael Cruz Kayne; Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares written by and starring Laura Benanti; Alex Newell and the Gospel of a Diva written by and starring Alex Newell; Nostalgia: A Love Letter to NYC written by and starring Eva Noblezada; Girls & Boys starring Carey Mulligan; Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup; and many others at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. Audible Theater has also produced audio adaptions of acclaimed plays including Colman Domingo’s Wild with Happy starring Domingo, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Washington, Alex Newell, and Tyler James Williams; David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face starring Daniel Dae Kim and Jason Biggs; David Auburn’s Summer, 1976 starring Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht; and many more.
In May 2018, Audible announced that the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village would serve as its creative home for live performances in New York, with Audible members receiving exclusive access to discounted tickets and related audio content. Since then, Audible has hosted and produced a wide variety of live performances at the Minetta Lane including dramatic plays, comedic shows, original musical performances, and more.
Since June 2017, Audible has commissioned 50 playwrights to receive support from its $5 million Emerging Playwrights Fund dedicated to developing innovative English-language works from around the globe. The initiative enables the creation of original plays driven by language and voice, keeping with Audible’s core commitment to elevate listening experiences through powerful performances and extraordinary vocal storytelling. Emerging Playwrights commissions have included Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar, The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson, Good Enemy by Yilong Liu, and more.
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, offering global audiences a powerful way to enhance and enrich their lives through extraordinary content. Audible’s catalog includes more than 1,000,000 audio titles, including Audible Originals as well as audiobooks and podcasts from leading studios, print, audio and magazine publishers and world-renowned entertainers.