An Exclusive Evening at THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY West Coast LA Premiere and Meet Playwright Sam Baum ’98!

Samuel Baum is a playwright, screenwriter, and producer. He is thrilled to be collaborating with Geffen Playhouse on the West Coast premiere of his play, The Engagement Party, directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak. The play was originally produced at Hartford Stage, where it received four Critics Circle Awards, an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation. As a screenwriter, Baum was nominated for a WGA Award for the Emmy–nominated HBO Film The Wizard of Lies, starring Robert DeNiro. Previously, Baum created and executive produced the Fox television drama Lie to Me, which ran for three seasons. He also co-created and executive produced the ABC series The Evidence, as well as television pilots for Amazon, Netflix, Showtime, and CBS. He is currently an executive producer of the NBC series The Irrational, inspired by the work of behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely. Originally from New York, Baum is a graduate of Harvard College.

The show will run 80 minutes with no intermission. Post show, The Geffen is hosting a talkback with the creative team of the show. After this full-audience talkback, Harvardwood members will join writer Sam Baum for an exclusive meet and greet.

Play synopsis:

The champagne is on ice, the hors d'oeuvres are perfectly arranged, and the table is exquisitely set. At a swank Park Avenue apartment, a young couple is celebrating their engagement with an intimate gathering of family and friends. When a glass of wine is spilled, the night takes an unexpected turn, unleashing a spiraling sequence of events and revelations that will irrevocably change their lives.

Directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak (A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder, Anastasia), The Engagement Party’s original production at Hartford Stage in 2019 was heralded as a "masterful piece of playwriting” and a “theatrical experience worth its 85 minutes in gold."