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John is a play from Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright Annie Baker. The show premiered off-Broadway at New York's Signature Theatre Company in 2015, and was directed by Sam Gold.[1] Time ranked John as one of its top 10 plays and musicals of 2015, where it took the number four spot.[2] The play also reached number eight on the Hollywood Reporter's list of the "Best New York Theatre of 2015."[3]
The 2016 off-Broadway production was critically acclaimed and was nominated for five Lucille Lortel Awards,[4] six Drama Desk Awards,[5] and two Obie Awards.[6]
World Premiere
John opened Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre on July 22, 2015 (previews). It was directed by Sam Gold and starred Georgia Engel and Lois Smith. The play ran to September 6.[7] This marked the fifth time that Baker and Gold worked together, starting with Circle Mirror Transformation in 2009.[8] The play is set in a bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Time ranked it at No. 8 on its list of Top Ten Plays and Musicals for 2015.[9] It is No. 8 in The Hollywood Reporter's "Best New York Theater of 2015".[10] The New York Times wrote that the play is a "...haunting and haunted meditation on topics she has made so singularly her own: the omnipresence of loneliness in human life, and the troubled search for love and lasting connection."[11]
John was nominated for the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards, Outstanding Play; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Georgia Engel); Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Lois Smith); Outstanding Scenic Design (Mimi Lien); and Outstanding Lighting Design (Mark Barton).[12] John received six 2016 Drama Desk Award nominations: Outstanding Play; Outstanding Actress in a Play (Georgia Engel); Outstanding Director of a Play; Outstanding Set Design for a Play (Mimi Lien); Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play (Mike Barton); and Outstanding Sound Design in a Play (Bray Poor).[13] John won the 2016 Obie Awards for Performance for Georgia Engel and a Special Citations: Collaboration, for Annie Baker, Sam Gold and the design team.[14]
Canadian Premiere
The Company Theatre (TCT) brought the Canadian premiere of John to Canadian Stage's Berkeley Street Theatre in 2017.[15] Directed by Jonathan Goad, a member of TCT's ensemble, John starred TCT's co-Artistic Director Philip Riccio as Elias and Loretta Yu as Jenny. Nancy Beatty played Mertis, the owner of the B&B Elias and Jenny visit, while Nora McLellan took on the role of Genevieve, Mertis' Blind friend.[16] The critically acclaimed production[17] boasted a familiar creative team, with Kevin Lamotte (lighting design: Belleville, 2014; Domesticated, 2015), Michael Laird (sound design: Marion Bridge, 2007; Festen, 2008; Through the Leaves, 2010; Speaking in Tongues, 2012/13), and Michael Sinclair (stage management: Speaking in Tongues, 2012/13; Belleville, 2014; Domesticated, 2015) all returning to the TCT. Shannon Lea Doyle, a TCT newcomer, designed the production's set.[18]
The production was nominated for four 2017 Dora Mavor Moore Awards in the Independent Theatre category: Riccio received a nod for Outstanding Performance Male, both Beatty and McLellan were nominated for Outstanding Performance Female, and Doyle was nominated for Outstanding Set Design.[19] McLellan and Doyle won in their respective categories.[20] John was also picked up three awards at the 2017 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards: Best Supporting Actress (McLellan), Best International Play, and Best Production (John tied with Ex Machina/Canadian Stage's production of Robert LePage's 887 ).[21]
London Premiere
John opened in the West End at the National Theatre in January 2018. It was directed by James Macdonald, and starred Marylouise Burke (Mertis) and June Watson (Genevieve).[22] Andy Propst of Time Out ranked it the 40th best play ever written,[23] and it made a 2019 list by The Independent.[24]
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