The Ask at Theater 555 in Midtown, NYC: Marilu Henner and Shannon Purser in a Donor-Meeting Drama

The Ask, a new off-Broadway play by Matthew Freeman, is now playing at Theater 555 in Midtown West. Jessi D. Hill directs. The official site bills it as a strictly limited engagement with a 90-minute running time, and performances began on October 6.

The setup is a single meeting. In an Upper West Side apartment, Greta, a longtime donor with strong progressive views, receives Tanner, a young ACLU fundraiser sent to secure a significant gift. The two start from shared ideals, but those give way to unexpected divisions as the conversation goes on. The play uses the encounter to expose the cultural and emotional fault lines between their generations. The production's tagline sums it up: one meeting, two generations, and a fight neither side sees coming.

Marilu Henner plays Greta. She is known for Taxi and Evening Shade. Shannon Purser plays Tanner, and her credits include Stranger Things and Riverdale. They are the only two performers, and the official site describes the show as the two going head-to-head. For Japanese readers, both actors are recognizable from television work that has reached audiences in Japan, which makes this a way to see them in a small-theater, dialogue-driven production rather than on screen.

The play is staged at Theater 555, 555 West 42nd Street. Tickets are sold through the Get Tickets link on the show's website, theaskplay.com, which also has a group ticket inquiry form.