Mint Theater names cast for New York premiere of PHYL

Mint Theater Company has announced the full cast and creative team for the New York premiere of Cecily Hamilton’s PHYL, opening Oct. 22 at Theatre Row after previews begin Oct. 3. The production launches the company’s new season focused on sex, love, marriage and relationships.

Why it matters: - Mint Theater is bringing a rarely seen play by a pioneering British suffragist to New York audiences. - PHYL opens the company’s new season, which is built around frank plays about sex, love, marriage and relationships. - The production gives Off-Broadway visibility to a work that was once banned in Oxford despite passing Lord Chamberlain scrutiny unchanged.

What happened: - Mint Theater Company announced the complete cast and creative team for its New York premiere of PHYL by Cecily Hamilton. - Performances begin Oct. 3, 2026, at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, and run through Nov. 7, 2026. - Opening night is Oct. 22, 2026. - Britt Berke is directing. - The production is part of Mint Theater Company’s “Let’s Talk About Sex” season.

The details: - PHYL follows Phyllis Chester, a governess whose isolated life is disrupted after a moment of lost temper pushes her to risk everything. - The cast includes Lily Ganser as Phyllis “Phyl” Chester, in her Off-Broadway debut. - The cast also includes Tessa Blimes, Jennifer Blood, Curzon Dobell, Katie Firth, Livvy Marcus, Anthony Michael Martinez, Talia Sulla and Charlotte Van Ledtje. - The creative team includes Brittany Vasta on scenic design, Alicia J. Austin on costume design, Mary Louise Geiger on lighting design, Jane Shaw on sound design, Chris Fields on properties, Amy Stoller on dramaturgy and dialect design, Stephanie Klapper, CSA, on casting, Mitch Strong as production manager and Jeff Meyers as production stage manager. - Jonathan Bank serves as artistic director, and Matthew McVey-Lee serves as producing director. - Tickets start at $39. - Tickets are available at MintTheater.org, by phone at 212-714-2442 ext. 2, or at the Theatre Row box office Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Theatre Row is fully accessible, with accessible restrooms, elevator service to all floors and assisted-listening devices. - The season is dedicated to the memory of David Gersten, Mint Theater Company’s longtime press agent. - The season will continue in February 2027 with Miles Malleson’s THE FANATICS, directed by Davis McCallum. - Mint Theater says more than 30,000 viewers from all 50 states and 50 countries have watched its productions online since 2020, totaling more than 60,000 hours.

Between the lines: - Cecily Hamilton’s play history suggests PHYL carries both artistic and political weight. - Hamilton was a playwright, novelist, journalist, actress and advocate for women’s rights. - Her credits include Diana of Dobson’s, the suffrage plays How the Vote Was Won and A Pageant of Great Women, the book Marriage as a Trade and the autobiography Life Errant. - Britt Berke returns to Mint Theater after directing Becomes a Woman, which marked her Off-Broadway directorial debut and earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. - Berke’s additional credits include work with New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Mabou Mines, Chautauqua Theater Company and Origin Theatre Company. - Mint Theater has focused on rediscovering overlooked plays since Jonathan Bank became artistic director in 1995. - The company says it has produced more than 60 overlooked works and has received special Obie and Drama Desk Awards. - Mint also publishes plays through anthologies and its “Reclaimed” series.

What's next: - PHYL begins previews Oct. 3 and opens Oct. 22. - Mint Theater’s next announced season production is THE FANATICS in February 2027. - More information is available through Mint Theater Company, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

The bottom line: - Mint Theater is betting that a once-banned suffrage-era comedy can still land with modern audiences.