Spring delivers one of the largest and most ambitious productions in GableStage history: the Florida Premiere of Prayer for the French Republic (March 20 – April 19, 2026) by Tony Award–nominated playwright Joshua Harmon. Twice extended on Broadway and winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New Play, this sweeping family drama spans five generations of the Solomon Benhamou family as they wrestle with safety, identity, and belonging in the country they love.
Since the 1970s, the Solomon Benhamous have built a life in Paris. But when their teenage son is attacked for wearing a yarmulke, past and present collide in a story that blends razor-sharp humor, deep emotion, and a powerful chronicle of the past. As history echoes across generations, the family must grapple with a devastating question: When must we leave to survive?
Directed by Bari Newport, the powerhouse cast features GableStage familiar faces Patti Gardner (Summer, 1976), Casey Sacco (Hand to God), Michael McKenzie (The Price) and Jason Peck (We Will Not Be Silent) who will star alongside his 13-year old son, Holden Peck. South Florida favorites Elizabeth Price, Jeremy Sevelovitz, Stephen Trovillion, and Don Bearden make their GableStage debuts alongside New York-based Bruce Sabath and Irina Kaplan, a Ransom Everglades alum.
Prayer for the French Republic premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2022 before transferring to Broadway two years later, where it was twice extended due to critical and audience demand. The production received multiple Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New Play. The title refers to a prayer recited in French synagogues since the early nineteenth century, offering a blessing for the safety and protection of the French Republic.
Joshua Harmon’s plays include Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight, and the musical The Bedwetter. His work has been produced on Broadway and the West End; Off Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Atlantic Theater Company; and at leading regional theatres across the country. He is the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and MacDowell fellowships, and is a graduate of Juilliard.
GableStage previously produced the Miami and regional premieres of Harmon’s Bad Jewsand Admissions, continuing its longstanding relationship with one of contemporary theatre’s most incisive voices
“Spanning generations, this play arrives at a moment when questions of safety, inheritance, and belonging feel urgent and unresolved,” said Bari Newport. “Joshua Harmon has written a work that is at once intimate and epic, a deeply human family story that confronts history without losing its humor. It is exactly the kind of bold, urgent theatre we are proud to bring to our community.”
Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon is presented by Roz & Charles Stuzin, with leading sponsorship from Funding Arts Network, the Sue & Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and Knight Foundation.
Additional support comes from the generosity of donors to the Jewish Philanthropy Initiative: Marc & Robyn Abrams • David & Jan Ichel • In Loving Memory of Ronald Hinds • Elaine & Daniel Katz • Zelda Kloner’s Gift Fund / Heidi Berghuis • Jessie Wolfson & Lawrence Kron • Richard & Susan Lampen • Lynn & Linda Newport • Aaron & Dorothy Podhurst • Adele & Joel Sandberg • Debbie & Dr. Michael Troner • Carolynn & Michael Friedman • Jill & Hal Gaffin • Dr. Susan Jay • Marian & David Rocker • Stanley & Barbara Schwartz • Fred & Bonnie Shapiro • Sharon & Howard Socol.
Season funding is made possible with the support of Knight Foundation, and with the support of the City of Coral Gables Cultural Arts Division, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and the Board of County Commissioners.
Prayer for the French Republic is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:00pm, with matinees on Wednesdays and Sundays at 2:00pm, plus additional Saturday matinees at 1:00pm.
The performance runs approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes, including two intermissions, and plays from March 20 – April 19, 2026.
Please note: all evening performances begin at 7:00pm. Wednesday evening performances have been replaced with Tuesday evening performances, except for the first Tuesday after opening. Additional Saturday matinees at 1:00pm have been added.
*JEWISH PHILANTHROPY INITIATIVE
The Jewish Philanthropy Initiative was launched this season to ensure that Jewish stories are told with power and purpose. A growing community of supporters is helping bring two powerful productions to life: Sotto Voce (January 23 — February 15, 2026) and Prayer for the French Republic (March 20 – April 19, 2026), works that explore legacy, identity, resilience, and what it means to belong.
To add your name to this vital effort, contact Kate Kramitz at KKramitz@gablestage.org or 305.446.1116 ext 307.
WINDOW ON THE WORK
Award-winning pre-show talks with a member of the artistic team, 30 minutes before each performance (except opening nights).
WINE DOWN FRIDAYS
Audiences are invited to enjoy a free wine tasting before each Friday evening’s performance, courtesy of Clementine’s Wine Gourmet.
AFTER WORDS
Robust post-show discussions with the cast and creative team following the first Sunday matinee and all Wednesday matinees.
MOSAIC MIAMI
Each season, GableStage partners with MOSAIC Miami to present Can We Talk?, a series of post-show conversations designed to spark dialogue and reflection around the themes onstage.
For Prayer for the French Republic, audiences are invited to stay for:
Au Contraire: When the Republic Becomes the Question, Not the Answer to Our Prayers
Sunday, April 12 | Immediately following the 2pm matinee
Moderated by Matt Anderson, Executive Director of Mosaic Miami, this curated conversation features Leslie Benitah, Paris-born journalist and filmmaker and creator of The Last Ones, a documentary series on Holocaust survivors widely used in European education, and Rabbi Jason Cook of UM Hillel, whose background in international relations and Jewish education offers thoughtful perspective on Jewish identity, history, and community in contemporary society.
DRAMATICALLY SPEAKING
Now entering its fifth season, GableStage’s popular community speaking series Dramatically Speaking brings artists, scholars, and community leaders into dialogue around timely themes inspired by the theatre’s mainstage productions. Presented in partnership with The Hub at Temple Beth Am, these public programs foster civic dialogue and community connection.
Keys to Survival: Pianos, Patrie, and Prayer for the French Republic
Monday, March 9, 7:30pm
History strikes a dissonant chord in Prayer for the French Republic, Joshua Harmon’s explosive drama tracing a Sephardic family’s struggle with faith, identity, and safety across generations—from post-Holocaust Paris to present-day France. Award-winning actor Jason Peck, starring in the GableStage production of Prayer for the French Republic, leads an electrifying conversation with Dr. Terence Peterson (FIU Holocaust Studies program affiliate) and Susana Behar (Havana-born Sephardic singer and storyteller based in Miami) as together they explore one of the play’s urgent questions: When must we leave to survive?
Free with RSVP at thehubmiami.org/events
STUDENT/TEACHER RUSH
Students and teachers may attend any performance free of charge by arriving 45 minutes prior to curtain and filling any open, unsold seat. Valid ID required.
SINGLE TICKETS
Single tickets begin at $50, with special rates for military, students, teachers, artists, and groups of 8+. Tickets are available at www.gablestage.org or by calling (305) 445-1119.