The world premiere of ‘Finish Line,’ the play about the Boston Marathon bombings, has its cast
In April 2016, three years after the Boston Marathon bombings, audiences attended 16 workshop performances of Finish Line: A Documentary Play About the 2013 Boston Marathon, cocreated in the city by Joey Frangieh and Lisa Rafferty. The play’s transcript was created verbatim from dozens of interviews with those who experienced the tragedy that day — runners, doctors, police officers, students, clergy, and journalists.
In the almost-year since, HBO has aired the documentary Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing, and Mark Wahlberg’s Patriots Day has hit theaters (with the promise of at least one more Marathon bombings movie to come from Hollywood).
And now, the Boch Theater in association with Boston Theater Company has announced the full cast for the world premiere of a reconfigured production of Finish Line at the Shubert Theatre from March 15-26, 2017.
Cocreator of ‘Finish Line’ Lisa Rafferty (left) and Producing Artistic Director of the Boston Theatre Company and co-creator of ‘Finish Line’ Joey Frangieh pose for a portrait on March 27, 2016 in Boston.
The new production of the documentary play will star two acclaimed Boston actresses in dual roles. Karen MacDonald will portray both Liz Norden, the mother of two sons who each lost a leg in the bombings, and Paula McLaughlin, a Boston police officer’s wife and the manager of a charity team. Paula Plum will juggle the parts of TV news anchor Maria Stephanos and Carol Downing, a runner whose family was injured in the bombings.
“As an actor and native Bostonian, I feel a great responsibility working on Finish Line,” said MacDonald in a press release. “I am in awe of these people and am so fortunate to be part of bringing them to the stage. To lift them up and bear witness to their stories of courage is an honor.”
Other cast members include Amie Lytle, Greg Maraio, Lewis D. Wheeler, Omar Robinson, Ed Hoopman, Katy Sullivan, Sam Tanabe, Danny Bolton, and Tonasia Jones.
Tickets are available through the Boch Center Box Office, Bochcenter.org, or by calling 866-348-9738. If you know you won’t be able to make it, check out a 30-minute special on the making of the play on March 3 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Boston or March 5 at 11:30 a.m. on NECN, or a 60-minute preview of the production on March 11 at 7 p.m. on NBC Boston or March 12 at 8 p.m. on NECN.
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