Lauren Gunderson, Sarah Rasmussen and Ari Afsar
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre Center has announced an all-woman creative team for the World Premiere of I & You: The Musical, which runs September 13 through October 12, 2025. Inspired by Lauren Gunderson's internationally acclaimed play I and You, this new musical reunites Gunderson with director Sarah Rasmussen, who helmed the play's world premiere in 2013.
Rasmussen now returns to the story in her role as McCarter Artistic Director, joined by composer and lyricist Ari Afsar. Movement director Steph Paul, music director Sujin Kim-Ramsey, and dramaturg Julie Felise Dubiner complete the team. Commissioned by McCarter with support from the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, the production is a co-production with Olney Theatre Center.
“This production represents the best of what McCarter stands for — fearless new work, storytelling that resonates deeply, and a celebration of women’s creative leadership propelling the future of American theater,” said Rasmussen. “Opening our season with a world premiere led by this extraordinary group of women is both a privilege and a powerful artistic statement. I’m incredibly proud of this team and the new light we’re bringing to Lauren Gunderson’s poignant story.”
Seventeen-year-olds Caroline — stuck at home with an illness — and Anthony — an earnest overachiever toting Walt Whitman and waffle fries — are classmates pulling an unexpected all-nighter. What starts as a reluctant school assignment soon sets both their worlds spinning into a soul-searching exploration of fate, friendship, and the fragile wonder of being alive.
Casting and the full production team will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets and subscription packages are now on sale. Visit mccarter.org to learn more.
Groups of 10 or more save 20% — contact [email protected] for details.
Creative Team Biographies
Lauren Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list three times, including the 2022–2023 season. A two-time recipient of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award (I and You, The Book of Will), she is also the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award and the Lanford Wilson Award and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her plays have been translated into more than a dozen languages and performed worldwide. Her latest anthology, Revolutionary Women, is published by Bloomsbury.
Ari Afsar is a Bangladeshi American singer, songwriter, and storyteller. A former Eliza in Hamilton (Chicago), she has developed musicals at Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, where she received the Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award. Her debut album, We Won’t Sleep, was released by Sony Masterworks in 2020. An Artivism Fellow with the Broadway Advocacy Coalition and a Dramatists Guild Fellow, Afsar has opened for Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris and is currently pursuing an MPA at NYU Wagner.
Steph Paul is a New York-based director/choreographer who weaves together her lived experience as a first-generation Haitian American, body percussionist, dancer, and athlete to build community and teams through art. Her credits include choreographing Nobody Loves You by Gaby Alter and Itamar Moses (American Conservatory Theater), directing Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City (Steppenwolf Theatre), and co-directing and movement directing Liliana Padilla’s How to Defend Yourself (New York Theatre Workshop — NYT Best of 2023). International credits include NYU Abu Dhabi, Royal Opera House Muscat, and National Theatre of Scotland. She is a Princess Grace Award winner and Helen Hayes Award winner.
Sujin Kim-Ramsey music directed KPOP the musical for both Broadway (Circle in the Square Theatre, 2022) and Off-Broadway (Ars Nova, 2017). She was associate music director for CATS: The Jellicle Ball (Perelman Performing Arts Center, 2024) and performed at Carnegie Hall with an original concert piece (April 2023). She also served as music supervisor for the pro-wrestling rock musical The Last Match (East Coast tour, 2024), and recently music directed the new musical The Apple Boys (Bucks County Playhouse, 2025). Kim-Ramsey holds degrees in classical composition (Yonsei University), jazz composition (Berklee College of Music), and musical theatre writing (NYU Tisch).
Julie Felise Dubiner, dramaturg, is the Director of Artistic Initiatives at McCarter Theatre. She was Associate Director of American Revolutions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and resident dramaturg at the Prince Music Theater. She is co-creator of Rock & Roll: The Reunion Tour and co-author of Process of Dramaturgy. Her essays are included in Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation in Contemporary Dramaturgy, Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy, Innovation in Five Acts, and the Bloomsbury editions of I and You and Revolutionary Women by Lauren Gunderson.
Sarah Rasmussen is the Artistic Director of McCarter Theatre Center, where she carries forward a legacy of adventurous, inclusive programming. Previously Artistic Director of the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, she was named Star Tribune’s Artist of the Year. Rasmussen has directed at many of the nation’s leading theaters, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, the Guthrie, and La Jolla Playhouse. Her accolades include a Princess Grace Award, an Ivey Award for Overall Excellence, and Drama League and Fulbright fellowships. She directed the world premiere of I and You at Marin Theatre Company in 2013.
McCarter is one of the country’s flagship theaters and a vibrant center for community and the performing arts. Located on the campus of Princeton University, the company is an independent nonprofit, serving as a nationally renowned, multi-disciplinary creative hub for arts and ideas, offering theatre, music, dance, spoken word, and educational programs for all ages. A two-time Tony Award winner, McCarter’s legacy of artistic excellence dates back to its first performances in 1930. Our Town, You Can’t Take It with You, and Bus Stop all premiered at McCarter, paving the way for a long history of launching remarkable works that have gone on to tens of thousands of performances worldwide.
The company is equally revered for presenting global artists on its stages, including Alvin Ailey, Yo-Yo Ma, Samara Joy, Hasan Minhaj, Jon Stewart, Caetano Veloso, Rhiannon Giddens, Patti Smith, Esperanza Spalding, Lake Street Dive, and Herbie Hancock. Of the 100,000 community members who engage with McCarter each year, more than 5,000 are students participating in educational programs in Princeton, Trenton, and schools across the region. McCarter leads with values of justice, joy, and beauty in belonging — creating stories and experiences that enliven minds, expand imaginations, and engage communities.
I & You: The Musical joins a distinguished list of musicals seen on the McCarter stage, including Betsey Brown, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Fiasco Theatre’s Into the Woods, Maltby & Shire’s Take Flight (American Premiere), Ride the Cyclone, Dreamgirls, and Empire Records (World Premiere).
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