Pakistani-American actor Faran Tahir has been cast in a Broadway play based on Afghan American author Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 novel 'The Kite Runner', reported Broadway News on Tuesday.
The US-born star, who has credits in movies like Iron Man, Star Trek and television’s Scandal will play the role of Baba, father of the main character Amir played by actor Amir Arison.
The Kite Runner is a bestselling novel, which has been adapted into a 2007 film of the same name. Set against the backdrop of tumultuous local and global politics, the story follows a young boy, Amir, from Kabul who is struggling with the guilt of failing to protect his childhood friend from rape.
The novel has sold millions of copies worldwide.
Tahir’s spouse, Pakistani actor Zara Tareen shared the news on her social media and said, “To say that I am proud of you is an understatement. I always wished I’d seen you on stage doing your Othello or your Richard III but my wish has come true even better than that. I get to see you on the most prestigious stage on earth, Broadway.”
Produced by Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, The Kite Runner is set to play a limited run (where a play has a set closing date due to an actor or theatre's availability) from July 6 to October 30, with the opening date scheduled for July 21.
According to Broadway News, it’s going to be the first play scheduled for the 2022-2023 Broadway season.
Other members of the cast include Demosthenes Chrysan, Danish Farooqui, Azita Ghanizada, Joe Joseph, Dea Julien, Dariush Kashani, Beejan Land, Amir Malaklou, Christine Mirzayan, Haris Pervaiz, Alex Purcell, Eric Sirakian, Houshang Touzie and Evan Zes. Salar Nader, a percussive instrumentalist, will provide music for the play on the tabla.