The Ziegfeld Files

Written and read by Jesse Eisenberg, The Ziegfeld Files is built from therapy recordings of a new father struggling to connect to his baby.

He talks about copying machines, early man, breastfeeding classes, failed jokes, sour oranges, and Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. The result is something funny, uncomfortable, and unexpectedly tender—a portrait of marriage, fatherhood, and the strange performance of trying to say how you feel.

Playing for seven performances only at Studio Seaview, from October 6 to December 1.

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A portion of the proceeds from The Ziegfeld Files will be donated to non-profit organizations providing relief in Haiti.

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September2025

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Cast

JESSE EISENBERG

<h2 class="text--uppercase">JESSE EISENBERG</h2>Jesse Eisenberg is an Academy Award nominated actor and filmmaker as well as an acclaimed playwright and author.
Eisenberg’s film credits include Roger Dodger, The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland, The Social Network, Now You See Me, The Double, Night Moves, The End of Tour, American Ultra, Louder Than Bombs, Batman v. Superman, Now You See Me 2, Café Society, Justice League, The Hummingbird Project, The Art of Self Defense, Zombieland: Double Tap, Resistance, Vivarium, Wild Indian, Manodrome, Sasquatch Sunset, and the upcoming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.  On television, he starred as the title character in FX’s “Fleishman Is In Trouble.”
His directorial debut, the A24 film, When You Finish Saving The World, starred Julianne Moore and played at Sundance and Cannes, 2022.
His most recent film, A Real Pain, was released by Searchlight Pictures and Eisenberg won several screenwriting awards, including the BAFTA and Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for an Oscar.
Eisenberg is currently in post-production on his third directorial effort, An Untitled Musical Comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. He will direct from his own script, for which he also wrote the music and lyrics, as well as perform in a supporting role.
Eisenberg has written four plays, including “The Spoils,” which had a box-office record-breaking run-on West End.  He also wrote and starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave in his play “The Revisionist,” and “Asuncion.” His play, “Happy Talk” starring Susan Sarandon and Marin Ireland opened April 2019 at the Signature Theater in New York.
Born in New York, Eisenberg is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, the author of the collection, Bream Gives Me Hiccups from Grove Press and the Audible Original When You Finish Saving the World, which won “Best Original Work” at the 2021 Audie Awards.

Team

JESSE EISENBERG

Writer / Performer

<h2 class="text--uppercase">JESSE EISENBERG</h2>Writer / PerformerJesse Eisenberg is an Academy Award nominated actor and filmmaker as well as an acclaimed playwright and author.
Eisenberg’s film credits include Roger Dodger, The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland, The Social Network, Now You See Me, The Double, Night Moves, The End of Tour, American Ultra, Louder Than Bombs, Batman v. Superman, Now You See Me 2, Café Society, Justice League, The Hummingbird Project, The Art of Self Defense, Zombieland: Double Tap, Resistance, Vivarium, Wild Indian, Manodrome, Sasquatch Sunset, and the upcoming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.  On television, he starred as the title character in FX’s “Fleishman Is In Trouble.”
His directorial debut, the A24 film, When You Finish Saving The World, starred Julianne Moore and played at Sundance and Cannes, 2022.
His most recent film, A Real Pain, was released by Searchlight Pictures and Eisenberg won several screenwriting awards, including the BAFTA and Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for an Oscar.
Eisenberg is currently in post-production on his third directorial effort, An Untitled Musical Comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. He will direct from his own script, for which he also wrote the music and lyrics, as well as perform in a supporting role.
Eisenberg has written four plays, including “The Spoils,” which had a box-office record-breaking run-on West End.  He also wrote and starred alongside Vanessa Redgrave in his play “The Revisionist,” and “Asuncion.” His play, “Happy Talk” starring Susan Sarandon and Marin Ireland opened April 2019 at the Signature Theater in New York.
Born in New York, Eisenberg is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, the author of the collection, Bream Gives Me Hiccups from Grove Press and the Audible Original When You Finish Saving the World, which won “Best Original Work” at the 2021 Audie Awards.

SHAYOK MISHA CHOWDHURY

Director

<h2 class="text--uppercase">SHAYOK MISHA CHOWDHURY</h2>DirectorShayok Misha Chowdhury (he/him) is an Obie Award winning director and Whiting Award winning writer. His playwriting debut, Public Obscenities, was one of three finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. The bilingual play, in Bangla and English, was a New York Times Critic’s Pick and named Best Theater of 2023 by The New Yorker. It premiered at Soho Rep as a co-production with the National Asian American Theatre Company and went on to encore runs at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Theatre for a New Audience.
Misha is also the recipient of a Princess Grace Award, The Mark O’Donnell Prize, Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, a Jonathan Larson Grant, and the Relentless Award for his musical How the White Girl Got Her Spots and Other 90s Trivia, co-created with composer Laura Grill Jaye. His newest work, Rheology, a collaboration with his physicist mother, recently premiered at The Bushwick Starr as a co-production with HERE Arts Center and Ma-Yi Theater Company. Other favorite collaborations include Brother, Brother (New York Theatre Workshop) with Aleshea Harris, SPEECH (Philly Fringe) with Lightning Rod Special, and MukhAgni (Under the Radar @ The Public Theater) with Kameron Neal. Misha was also a collaborator on the Grammy Award winning album Calling All Dawns.
A two-time Sundance Fellow, he is the creator of VICHITRA, a series of short films rooted in queer South Asian imagination. A Kundiman, Fulbright, and NYSCA/NYFA fellow, his poems have been published in The Cincinnati Review, TriQuarterly, Hunger Mountain, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Asian American Literary Review, and elsewhere.

ISABELLA BYRD

Lighting designer

<h2 class="text--uppercase">ISABELLA BYRD</h2>Lighting designerIsabella Byrd (Lighting Designer). Broadway: Cabaret, An Enemy of the People, Romeo+Juliet. Recent or Notable Off-Broadway: Churchill short plays, Grief Camp, Infinite Life; Primary Trust; Epiphany; Sanctuary City; Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Corsicana, Plano. International: Cabaret (West End), Weather Girl. Awards: two-time 2024 Tony nominee, Drama Desk Special Award, three Lortels, two Obies, Henry Hewes, Olivier nomination. Proud USA829 member, pay equity and sustainability advocate.  <a href="http://www.isabellabyrd.design" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">www.isabellabyrd.design</a>

LEE KINNEY

Sound Designer

<h2 class="text--uppercase">LEE KINNEY</h2>Sound DesignerLee Kinney (Sound Design & Original Music, he/him). Playwrights Horizons: Selling Kabul, The Light Years. Soho Rep: For All The Women... Broadway: Is This A Room. Select Off-Broadway: Walden (Second Stage); You Will Get Sick, Exception To The Rule (Roundabout); Help (The Shed); Prayer For The French Republic, Morning Sun (MTC); The Good John Proctor (Bedlam); “Daddy” (New Group/Vineyard); Thom Pain (Signature); Gnit (Theatre for a New Audience). Other projects include work with Rolex, Almeida Theatre, Google, Virgin Voyages. Outer Critics Circle Honors for Outstanding Sound Design. Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Henry Hewes nominations.

AMANDA MICHAELS

Production Stage Manager

SEAN GORSKI

Hudson Theatrical Associations – Production Supervisor

JONATHAN WHITTON

Seaview – General management

SEAVIEW

Producer

How to Buy Tickets

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Buy online from the official box office.

All tickets are $65 or $95, including fees.

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In Person

The Studio Seaview box office is located at 305 W 43rd St, New York, NY 10036.

Opening Hours:

Tuesday – Friday, 2-6pm

Future sales close 1 hour before curtain.

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Where is The Ziegfeld Files playing?

The Ziegfeld Files is playing at Studio Seaview, located at 305 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036

How much are tickets?

All tickets for The Ziegfeld Files are $65 or $95, including fees.

How long is the show?

The show is approximately 70 minutes, without an intermission.

Does Studio Seaview have wheelchair access?

All of our accessible locations are removable to accommodate a wheelchair. The building is fully accessible and there are no steps to enter. Once you are inside, there is elevator access to the theater level.

How many tickets can I buy?

There is a limit of 6 tickets per person. For Group Tickets & Events, please click here or email [email protected].

How do I contact the box office?

Please contact us at (212) 542-3147, or by email at [email protected].

Studio Seaview

Studio Seaview is a new Off-Broadway home for daring, artist-driven work—an intimate space in the heart of the Theater District, where bold theatrical voices rise and thrilling audience experiences unfold. Formerly the Tony Kiser Theater, this historic venue is now operated by Seaview, whose commitment to boundary-pushing storytelling guides its next act.