GableStage Miami Begins Casting Joshua Harmon's 'We Had a World' for Regional Premiere Production

GableStage in Coral Gables, Florida is now casting its regional premiere production of 'We Had a World,' the new play by Joshua Harmon, with performances scheduled to run from December 28, 2026 through February 14, 2027. For actors, directors, designers, and theater production professionals in South Florida and beyond, the timing is right to get on the radar for this one. Casting is actively open, and with a production window just over seven weeks long, the full team will need to be in place well in advance of that late-December opening.

Joshua Harmon is one of the most compelling voices in American playwriting right now. His breakthrough play 'Bad Jews,' which premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company in 2012 and has since received hundreds of productions across the country and internationally, established him as a sharp, funny, and emotionally precise writer with a particular gift for family dynamics and Jewish American identity. His follow-up 'Significant Other' earned strong notices Off-Broadway and in London, and his more recent 'Prayer for the French Republic,' which played at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2023, was widely praised as one of the most ambitious and urgent new American plays in years. 'We Had a World' continues in that vein, described as a deeply funny and moving love letter to complicated families. The play centers on Joshua, a gay Jewish playwright who moves fluidly between his child and adult selves as he unravels thirty years of family history alongside his mother Ellen, with a Rashomon-style structural device that signals Harmon is working at the top of his craft again. For actors considering this production, the material is rich and the roles are demanding in the best possible way.

Directing is Stuart Meltzer, a longtime collaborator with GableStage who has helmed numerous productions at the company over the years. His familiarity with the space, the organization, and the South Florida theater community makes this a production that is likely to move efficiently through its pre-production process. Bari Newport serves as both Artistic Director and Casting Director, which is common at regional theater companies of this scale and means that casting inquiries and submissions should be directed through GableStage's established channels. Newport's dual role signals a hands-on, artistically driven process where casting decisions will be closely tied to the overall creative vision of the production.

GableStage is one of South Florida's most respected regional theater companies, known for producing serious, literary, and often challenging new and contemporary work. Based at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables at 1200 Anastasia Ave, the company operates an intimate venue that suits precisely the kind of character-driven, memory-play storytelling that 'We Had a World' appears to be. The Biltmore setting itself is worth noting for production and design teams: the space has its own architectural character and the company has a well-established relationship with the venue, meaning local designers and stage managers who have worked at GableStage before will have a meaningful advantage in understanding the physical production environment.

For South Florida-based theater professionals, this production represents a serious opportunity at one of the region's flagship companies. Miami and Coral Gables have a growing and committed theater community, and GableStage productions regularly draw from both local talent and professionals brought in from New York and other regional markets. Given the play's intimacy and the company's scale, this is not a large-ensemble production, but the design, production management, and stage management positions are real and will need to be filled as pre-production ramps up through mid-to-late 2026. Actors with strong dramatic range who can handle both comedic and emotionally grounded material, and who can navigate the play's structural complexity involving memory and shifting timelines, should take note of this one early.

For the complete GableStage listing including production office contacts, full crew list as it develops, and any scheduling updates as the December start approaches, head to ProductionList.com. Casting is underway now, and the earlier you make contact or get your materials in front of the right people, the better your position when the production formally moves into its rehearsal phase later this year.

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