Emmy Rossum and Zoe Winters Will Lead WALDEN at Second Stage Theater

Second Stage Theater has announced that Emmy Rossum and ZOË WINTERS will star in Amy Berryman’s play, WALDEN, directed by Whitney White. WALDEN will begin previews on October 16th and will officially open on November 7th at the Tony Kiser Theater (305 West 43rd street).  The role of Bryan remains to be cast.

Emmy Rossum is an acclaimed actress, singer, producer and director. Best known for her role as Fiona Gallagher on the award-winning Showtime / Netflix's series “Shameless,” Rossum's performances have captivated audiences with her raw and dynamic talent. She starred as Christine in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, earning multiple awards including a Golden Globe nomination. Most recently, she portrayed the iconic Angelyne in Peacock's limited series “Angelyne,” and starred in Apple's limited series “The Crowded Room” opposite Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried. Rossum’s other notable film credits include The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon, and Mystic River. A passionate storyteller, she has also directed multiple episodes of television. Having gotten her start in the children's chorus at the Metropolitan Opera, Walden will mark her off-Broadway debut. 

ZOË WINTERS just wrapped production on Celine Song’s A24 feature, Materialists, starring opposite Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans. She is known best for her breakout role as Kerry on the HBO critical hit, “Succession,” which recently won an Emmy for Best Drama Series. Zoë and the cast also received a 2024 SAG Award for Best Drama Ensemble. Most recently, Zoë can be seen in Marc Turtletaub’s film, Jules, which just sold to Bleecker Street and was produced by Big Beach Films. Highlights of her many New York stage credits include Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Playwrights Horizons (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Nomination), White Noise opposite Daveed Diggs at The Public Theatre, Small Mouth Sounds at the Signature, and Amy Herzog’s beloved play 4000 Miles at Lincoln Center. Originally from Santa Cruz, Zoë is based in New York City. 

ABOUT WALDEN

Theatrical rising star and O’Neill finalist Amy Berryman brings us a drama about how vast the space can be between two people. In the near future, Stella (Rossum) and her fiancé, Bryan, are waiting at their remote cabin for Stella’s estranged twin sister, Cassie (Winters). Raised by their astronaut father to be NASA scientists, the twins have taken different paths: Cassie has just returned from a successful moon mission, while Stella has left NASA behind. When they reunite, old conflicts reignite, forcing the sisters to choose between staying on Earth or pursuing a future in space, as humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. Directed by Tony Award®️ nominee Whitney White (Jaja's African Hair Braiding), WALDEN is a thrilling and engrossing new play that wrestles between the gravitational pulls of duty and desire.

WALDEN will feature scenic design by Matt Saunders, costume design by Qween Jean, lighting design by Adam Honoré, and sound design by Lee Kinney.  Casting is by Taylor Williams, CSA.

WALDEN received its world premiere, presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, in May 2021 on London’s West End at the Harold Pinter Theatre, followed by its American Premiere at TheatreWorks in Hartford, CT in August 2021. WALDEN is being presented by special arrangement with Seaview and Soto Productions. 

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Amy Berryman (Playwright) is a writer, actor, and teaching artist originally from Seattle by way of West Texas. Her play Walden had its world premiere on London’s West End in 2021, directed by Ian Rickson and produced by Sonia Friedman at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Walden then had its US premiere at Theaterworks Hartford directed by Mei Ann Teo (NY Times Critic's Pick). Other plays include Alien Girls (O’Neill Finalist 2024, Center Theatre Group Writers’ Workshop Commission), God’s Flesh (MTC/Sloan Commission), The New Galileos (O’Neill Finalist 2019), Three Year Summer, The Whole of You, and Epiphany, or What Would You? (Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries Finalist). She is adapting Ben Shattuck’s book Six Walks… into a song cycle with Sam Amidon for Little Island’s 2025 summer season. Amy has a television project in development at Warner Bros and was recently awarded a MacDowell Fellowship. amy-berryman.com

Whitney White (Director) returns to Second Stage Theater where she directed Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (New York Times Critic’s Pick) in a co-production with WP Theatre. Whitney is an Obie and Lily Award winning, as well as a Tony Award nominated director, writer and musician. She was a staff writer on Boots Riley’s I’m a Virgo and is a believer of multi-disciplinary work and collaborative processes. Recent directing: Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Broadway), Jordans (The Public Theatre), The Secret Life of Bees (The Almeida, UK), Soft (New York Times Critic’s Pick, MCC), On Sugarland (New York Theatre Workshop), What to Send Up When it Goes Down (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The Amen Corner (Shakespeare Theatre DC), An Iliad (Long Wharf), Canyon (LA Times Critic’s Choice, IAMA), Jump (National New Play Network Rolling World Premier, PlayMakers Rep), The Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Steppenwolf Theatre). Original works include: Semblance (NYTW), Definition (Bushwick Starr), and Macbeth in Stride for which she won an Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance (American Repertory Theatre, Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theatre). Her four-part cycle deconstructing Shakespeare’s women is currently in development with American Repertory Theater (Boston, MA) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (UK).  Whitney has developed work with: Sundance, The Roundabout, New York Theatre Workshop, The Vineyard, The New Group, Page 73, Playwrights Realm, Juilliard, Trinity Rep, NYU TISCH, Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage, SUNY Purchase, Princeton University, Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, The Drama League, South Oxford, Jack, The Tank, New York Musical Festival, The Lark, and others. She also has been an Associate to: Sam Gold (Othello, New York Theatre Workshop), Daniel Sullivan (If I Forget, Roundabout), and Anne Kauffman (Marvin’s Room, Broadway). Whitney is a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, is a recent recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing Award, Herb Alpert Award and the Jerome Fellowship. She is an Artistic Associate at The Roundabout and an associate Artistic Director at Shakespeare DC. Past residencies and fellowships: Colt Coeur, The Drama League, the Roundabout and the 2050 Fellowship at the New York Theatre Workshop. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA: Northwestern University. Whitney will direct the upcoming Broadway production of The Last Five Years featuring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren.

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