Christine Lahti Joins Cast of ‘Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy’ Off-Broadway (Exclusive)

Christine Lahti has joined the cast of Sarah Gancher’s Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy, set to open Off-Broadway this winter.

The Oscar and Emmy winner will portray Lubja, a supervisor of a professional troll farm who hands down increasingly specific asks to her subordinates, in the office comedy-meets-political satire opening at off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre on Feb. 8. She will star alongside Haskell King, Renata Friedman, John Lavelle, and Hadi Tabbal in the play’s New York debut, directed by Tony winner Darko Tresnjak.

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Set during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy explores what happens in a place where office romances abound and one employee who just wants to win a microwave mix with a concerted, collective daily effort to lie. Steve (Lavelle), Masha (Friedman), Nikolai (Tabbal), and Egor (King) are among the fictional employees of the Internet Research Agency, a real Russian disinformation troll farm that was sanctioned by the U.S. government for its interference in American elections.

In this fictional spin on a real thing, characters are tasked with manipulating social media out of their St. Petersberg office in the name of advancing Russia’s agenda at home and abroad, inventing identities, staging conflicts, and creating conspiracies along the way. But as they get deeper into their work, they’re faced with more questions, like whether you can keep your grip on the truth when your whole job is lying, and what might happen to your identity when you spend your days impersonating Americans professionally.

A “shape-shifting examination of the power, seduction, and danger of a good story” according to the show, Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy had its world premiere in October 2020 as part of a virtual production hailing from TheaterWorks Hartford and TheatreSquared. The current staging is produced in association with Dori Berinstein/Dramatic Forces and in association with GEVA Theatre Center.

The design team includes scenic designer Alexander Dodge, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designer Marcus Doshi, sound designer Darron L West, and video & projection designer Jared Mezzocchi.

Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy is set to play a limited run at the Vineyard through Feb. 25, 2024, with previews beginning Jan. 25, and tickets on sale to the public today.

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