Binghamton Theater Group to Present Reading of “Disgraced”

Tough issues like racism and Islamophobia will be tackled in a staged reading of the play Disgraced at the Bundy Museum Annex Theatre in Binghamton.

Face It! Theatre Company plans to present three readings of the Ayad Akhtar play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Artistic director James Michalec said the story is of a first-generation Pakistani who grows up in New York City who becomes a corporate attorney and gains material success. He faces challenges as he starts to deal with the fact that he really is Muslim, even though he initially tried to reject that.

Pratik Mamtora, one of the actors who will participate in the reading, was born in India. He has spent time in London and in various parts of the United States. He said he has personally faced some of the issues addressed in the play.

Michalec and Mamtora discussed the play Thursday during an appearance on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program.

Performances of Disgraced are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Bundy Annex at 129 Main Street on Binghamton's West Side.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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