Kristine Froseth and Havana Rose Liu Go Back to College for Their Theater Debuts in ‘All Nighter’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Havana Rose Liu and Kristine Froseth in ‘All Nighter’.Photo:Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

A new Off-Broadway play is taking one of its stars to college for the first time.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE,Kristine Frosethand Havana Rose Liu talk about returning to their teenaged selves to make their theater debuts in Natalie Margolin’s new play,All Nighter,which follows a close group of roommates as they stay up the entire night to study for finals week at their small liberal arts college.

“Holed up in an old ballroom, the pressure mounts and the Adderall flows as the truths that bind this group together are put to the test. What will be left when the sun rises?” a synopsis for the play teases.

“I actually never went to college,” says Froseth, 29, who most recently appeared on-screen inThe Buccaneers. “So, this was my first experience of gathering data about what it’s like. I relied on what everyone else was saying about their experiences. I mainly focused on the friendships and the dynamics that I knew from high school, and then they elevated it a little bit.”

Kristine Froseth in ‘All Nighter’.Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Meanwhile, the play is taking Liu, known for her role in the 2023 hit comedyBottoms, down memory lane. “I went to a small liberal arts college for a little while before I transferred,” she says. “There’s been some introspection I’ve had about that period in my own life.”

The actress, 27, notes that the college experience of forming tight friendship circles, in some ways, is similar to being on a movie or television set. “These small atmospheres that are created happen in so many different ways,” Liu says. “You also have some of that on a set, or even in high school. There’s lots of ways people can relate to that insular world. Maybe in the grand spectrum of time, it’s not as fleeting as you might think.”

The must-see comedy opened at the Newman Mills Theater in the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space in New York City on March 9, after beginning with previews on Feb. 25. The production has a strictly limited 12-week run that concludes on May 18.

Havana Rose Liu in ‘All Nighter’.Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

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Froseth and Liu were both drawn to Margolin’s script, which offers a complex perspective on young, female friendships and self-acceptance, as well as plenty of shocking twists and turns.

From Left: Alyah Chanelle Scott, Kathryn Gallagher, Kristine Froseth, Havana Rose Liu and Julia Lester at Sardi’s on Feb. 28, 2025.Bruce Glikas/Getty

Bruce Glikas/Getty

Liu, who had never done theater aside from acting in a show during a playwriting contest when she was in high school, says that every single choice she makes on stage “has to do with how much the material speaks.”

The cast of ‘All Nighter’.Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

“But everyone’s just been so helpful in teaching me what theater is like and Havana has been a good support because neither of us have done it before,” she adds. “It’s rare to actually feel genuine support and no weird energy amongst females, and no passive aggressiveness, no competition. It’s just pure love and support.”

Liu agrees with how natural the bond among the cast feels, saying, “I feel like the idea of building chemistry is not even relevant to this because we all just immediately clicked in the most magical way. I feel so much respect and love for each of these people and how much of a master they are at their craft.”

She adds, “The stage actors, Julia, Kathryn and Alyah, have been so formative in creating a safe space and teaching us how to explore in this medium. I really put them all on, honestly, such a pedestal. I think about the sort of beautiful and impressive choices they make every day. I feel like there’s a real symbiotic, beautiful thing happening, where we all are really trusting one another through this. It’s one of the most loving creative experiences I’ve had in a long time.”

Tickets forAll Nighterare now on sale.

source: people.com