TFANA's Des Moines Postpones Start of Previews

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Off-Broadway News TFANA's Des Moines Postpones Start of Previews

Members of the Off-Broadway production's company have tested positive for COVID.

By Leah Putnam

November 28, 2022

Hari Nef and Michael Shannon in rehearsal for *Des Moines* Hollis King

Theatre for a New Audience has cancelled preview performances of Denis Johnson's Des Moines through December 3 due to positive COVID cases within the company. Originally set to begin November 29, the run will now commence December 4.

A new opening date for the run at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center will be announced. Performances are set to run through January 1, 2023.

Starring in the play are two-time Tony nominee Johanna Day (Sweat, Proof), Oscar, Golden Globe, and Tony nominee Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Long Day’s Journey into Night), Heather Alicia Simms (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Raisin in the Sun), Arliss Howard (Mank, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), and Hari Nef (“Daddy”, Transparent).

Chance events—including a plane crash, a rescued wedding ring, and a frightening diagnosis—bring five characters together in Des Moines, Iowa. The dark comedy, complete with karaoke, liquor, and sex, "confronts death, mortality, and the stubborn pursuit of grace among those who barely believe in it."

Arin Arbus directs the production, helming the creative team comprised of scenic designer Riccardo Hernández (Jagged Little Pill), costume designer Qween Jean (Wedding Band), lighting designer Scott Zielinski, sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman (Macbeth), and choreographer Byron Easley (Slave Play).

The director first explored Des Moines with Johnson in a 2015 TFANA workshop. It originally made its world premiere in 2007 at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, following which it was further developed by Johnson until completing Des Moines in 2013.

For tickets and more information, visit TFANA.org.