Independent Arts News Reporting Broadway's Matt McGrath to star as Mister Haltson, world premiere production at Bay Street Theater, June 2026
Reported on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Pictured Above: Matt McGrath. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: SAG HARBOR, NEW YORK
This world premiere production runs June 2 through June 21, 2026, at Bay Street Theater
Sag Harbor, NY — Just in time for Halston’s birthday (the legendary designer would have celebrated his 94th birthday on Thursday, April 23), Bay Street Theater (Scott Schwartz, Artistic Director) has announced that acclaimed stage and screen actor Matt McGrath will play the title role in the new play Mister Halston. This world premiere production runs June 2 through June 21, 2026, at Bay Street Theater (1 Long Wharf, Sag Harbor, NY, 11963). Tickets for Mister Halston and other 2026 Summer Mainstage Season productions are now available at BayStreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500.
Mister Halston is a new play by Raffaele Pacitti and directed by Michael Wilson, exploring the life and times of famed American fashion designer Halston. Set against the glamorous and volatile 1970’s and 80’s New York, Mister Halston offers an unguarded look at the man behind the myth, tracing the meteoric rise, stunning fame, and ultimate fall of this iconic fashion and cultural figure. Mister Halston is a bold, intimate and surprisingly human exploration of artistry, ambition, identity, and the cost of fame.
Matt McGrath is best known for his work on stage, including Broadway’s Cabaret and Off-Broadway productions such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well as appearances in films including Still Alice. A familiar artist to Bay Street audiences, McGrath has appeared in multiple productions over the years, including Japes, The Lady in Question, Beyond Therapy, Bell, Book & Candle, and Romance, and directed My Brilliant Divorce.
“I’m beyond thrilled to step into the role of Halston,” says McGrath. “It’s not every day you’re asked to portray a titan of industry, and revisiting the energy of the 1980s through the lens of his genius feels especially meaningful right now. In times of turmoil, great art rises, and Halston’s story reminds us how powerful that can be.”
“Matt is a deeply transformative actor,” said Scott Schwartz, Artistic Director, Bay Street Theater. “He brings an intensity and precision to his work that allows him to fully inhabit the people he portrays. That is essential for Halston, a figure defined by vision, control, and contradiction. Matt has the ability to reveal both the public icon and the private man in a way that feels immediate and authentic.”
Bay Street Theater joins forces with Tony Award–winning producer Bruce Robert Harris (this season’s Dog Day Afternoon and Death of a Salesman on Broadway), in bringing Mister Halston to the Bay Street Theater stage. Internationally-acclaimed designer and philanthropist Donna Karan will serve as Executive Producer. Bay Street Theater is a nonprofit professional theater and community arts center that has served the East End for 35 years.
Matt McGrath (Roy Halston Frowick) can currently be seen opposite Kevin Kline in “American Classic” on Amazon. He also appeared in PBS Great Performances Broadway Live Capture of Girl From The North Country as well as Masterpiece’s First Feature Film The Chaperone by Julian Fellowes and directed by Michael Engler. He starred with Marianne Faithful in The Black Rider in San Francisco and London, as well as L.A. (Ahmanson, and Sydney. Broadway: Cabaret and A Streetcar Named Desire. Off-Broadway: Legend of Georgia McBride (Denver Center, MCC, Geffen) (Drama Desk nomination)(Lucille Lortel and LAOCC Awards), Lonely Planet (Keen Co.), Jerry Springer Opera, Steve (New Group), Verite, A Fair Country (Lincoln Center), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Jane St.), Collection/A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter, Minutes from the Blue Route (Atlantic), Fat Men in Skirts, The Old Boy, Life During Wartime, Amulets Against the Dragon Forces and Dalton’s Back (Drama Desk nomination). Regional: Peter and the Starcatcher, Putting it Together, Ridiculous Fraud and Raised in Captivity (SCR), Loot, His Girl Friday, Babbitt (La Jolla), Rocky Horror Show, Merry Wives of Windsor (The Old Globe), Romance, Japes and Bell, Book and Candle, Beyond Therapy (Bay Street Theatre), Caroline in Jersey and Loot (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Distant Fires (LA Weekly Award). Film: Boy’s Don’t Cry, Notorious Bettie Page, Anniversary Party, Broken Hearts Club, Impostors.
