Nael Nacer is an award-winning actor based in Boston and New York. A classically trained actor with over 20 years of experience, Nael has appeared on many Boston and NY stages throughout his career. He is best-known for playing the role of Charles in the acclaimed Broadway premiere of Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic, with Manhattan Theatre Club, and for starring alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jessica Hecht in The Orchard, Igor Golyak’s dazzling and innovative take on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

Nael is a two-time Elliot Norton award winner, a resident acting company member of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, and a monologue coach with My College Audition. He has been nominated for a 2026 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Midsize for his work in The Moderate, a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production at Central Square Theater, Cambridge, MA. (The awards ceremony is June 1, 2026).

Nael starred in Meet the Cartozians at 2nd Stage’s The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York, where he currently plays Edward Raymond in The Receptionist through May 24. Theater Mirror’s Shelley A. Sackett caught up with him after a recent performance in New York.

SAS: What drew you to this project?

NN: There were a few things that drew me to The Receptionist. I loved the script; I found it haunting and hilarious, and I’m a big fan of Adam Bock’s rhythm as a playwright. Also, I jumped at the chance to work with Sarah Benson, who’s just an incredible artist and human. And I was thrilled to be invited back to 2^nd Stage!

SAS: How would you describe Edward Raymond, the character you play in “The Receptionist?” What did it feel like to play him?

NN: Mr. Raymond is someone who I feel got into his line of work for really good reasons. He’s a good man who does difficult things in service to his country, but has a strong moral center and realizes he’s part of a system that has become corrupt. Either it’s always been this way and he’s waking up to it, or it’s a new regime and he’s sensing change in a bad direction. I have my answer, but the play can hold multiple interpretations, which I love.

SAS: Is there a difference in the New York theater experience vs Boston for you? How so?

NN: Yes and no. In both places I get to work with talented and passionate artists who are part of a great community. The two biggest differences I’ve gotten to experience in New York are having playwrights in the room every day, and the preview process, where we perform at night and continue rehearsing and refining during the day. That process has lasted 2-3 weeks on the shows I’ve done there (in New York) and it’s a gift to be able to spend that time learning how the play works in front of an audience and calibrating accordingly.

But at its core, the process of putting on a play is very much the same in both places, and I’m thrilled to be able to work in both!

Category: Theater Reviews