See Off-Broadway's Letters From Max All Bundled Up For Its Opening Night Red Carpet

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The Off-Broadway's cast and creative team were joined by Paula Vogel, Elvis Costello, Sinan Refik Zafar, and more.

By Leah Putnam

March 01, 2023

Timothy J. McClimon, Sarah Ruhl, Ben Edelman, Jessica Hecht, and Zane Pais Johnny Nunez

Check out the opening night of the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s Letters from Max, a ritual, currently playing at Signature Theatre. The play officially opened at the Off-Broadway venue February 27, following previews that began February 7. Read the reviews here.

Letters From Max is adapted from a 2018 epistolary book Letters from Max: A, a Teacher, a Friendship—it was written by Ruhl and her former student, the late poet Max Ritvo. In the book Ritvo openly discusses terminal illness and tests poetry’s capacity to put to words what otherwise feels ineffable. The play flows between full-hearted letters, poetry, music, and dialogue.

The cast features Tony nominee Jessica Hecht (A View from the Bridge, Breaking Bad) as Sarah with Ben Edelman (Admissions, The Gett) and Zane Pais (The Perplexed, Sunday) alternating in the role of Max. Pais played the role opening night. Edelman and Pais sat down with Playbill to discuss finding peace in the play's exploration of grief—read more here.

Directed by Kate Whoriskey, the production plays through March 19 at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. Ruhl, whose works include Eurydice and Pulitzer Prize finalists In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and The Clean House, begins her Signature Spotlight Residency with this play.

Signature Theatre Artistic Director Paige Evans said in an earlier statement, “This meditative piece about poetry, ritual, and human bonds feels like such a fitting start to Sarah’s residency. It is a personal distillation of elements that are ever-present in her work, and which I am sure we will see in many forms as we produce several plays from her body of work at Signature. It is an honor to collaborate with one of the American theatre’s most imaginative minds, and to begin that work with a piece that brings us so close to the playwright herself. In sharing this correspondence with her dear friend, she gives voice and body to their stunning exchange of words through letters and poetry and honors the legacy of another brilliant writer.”

The production also has scenic design by Marsha Ginsberg, costume design by Anita Yavich, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar, projection design by S Katy Tucker, choreography by Warren Adams, props supervision by Joshua Larrinaya-Yocom, and casting by Caparelliotis Casting. Shelley Miles is production stage manager.