The Program in Theater & Music Theater will present a diverse season of productions in the 2024-25 academic year. The breadth of theatrical ideas proposed by students, faculty and guest artists offers a season invested in the creation of new dramatic forms, invention of new genres, investigation into identity and culture, and experimentation in reimagining community.
Fall 2024 Productions
The Inheritor (Canceled)
Staged reading of the new translation by Kate Bredeson and Thalia Wolff
From the play L’héritier ou les étudiants pipes by Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron
Directed by Associate Professor of Theater Brian E. Herrera
A Thread of Golden Ashes
A new play by Le’Naya Wilkerson ’25
Directed by Wasif Sami ’25
Lighting design by Le’Naya Wilkerson ’25
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
October 4 + 5 at 8 PM; October 6 at 2 PM
What’s the Issue with Charlie Roth
An up-to-the-moment, comedic, political news report conceived, created, and performed by Charlie Roth ’25
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
October 28 at 8 PM
Anon(ymous)
Written by Naomi Iizuka
Directed by faculty member Bi Jean Ngo
Scenic design by faculty member Yoshinori Tanokura
Costume design by Ariel Wang
Lighting design by Elena Milliken ’26
Set design assistant Matthew Ciccone ’25
Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center
November 1-2, 7-9 at 8 PM
Conversation with Naomi Iizuka: November 7 at 5:30 PM
Little Dickens
A new play by Molly Lopkin ’25
Co-directed by Andrew Duke ’25 and Margalit Ramirez ’28
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
November 3-5 at 7:30 PM
A Life Worth Living
A new musical written by and featuring Jeffery Chen ’25
Directed by Chesney Snow
Assistant Directed by Ava Adelaja ’27
Music direction by Vince DiMura
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
November 8, 14, + 15 at 8 PM; Nov. 9 + 16 at 2 PM
Cholla
A new play written/directed by Daniel Viorica ’25
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
November 22-23 at 7:30 PM; Nov. 24 at 2 PM
Tularosa, New Mexico. 1982. The night she leaves home, Rachel reveals a secret her sister Leah has been keeping close. When she returns twenty years later, the family finds simmering resentments ready to boil. Over the next months, they must painstakingly articulate something new: reconciliation.
The Amish Project
Written by Jessica Dickey
Performed by Caitlin Durkin ’25
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
December 6-7 at 7:30 PM
The Amish Project explores the aftermath of the 2006 shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, a small village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The play, written by Jessica Dickey, delves into themes of community loss and transcendent forgiveness that continue to resonate today. Senior Caitlin Durkin performs this solo show, portraying six characters forever transformed by the tragic event. Content advisory: References to gun violence and ideations of sexual assault.
Spring 2025 Productions
Scenes of Connection: An Exploration of Intimacy Direction
A collection of scenes directed by Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26
Intimacy Directed by Kat McLaughlin ’25
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
Feb. 1 at 7:30 PM; Feb. 2 at 2 PM
An exploration of intimacy across forms: what is love? How does love spring up across and through life, for different people and different souls? Two not-so-strangers find themselves and each other through snippets of life in a multiverse of connection. This show features sexual, romantic, and platonic relationships including physical contact and explicit speech. The project aims to show the beauty of vulnerability and to make intimacy direction more present and accessible for theater makers on campus. Content advisory: Explicit sexual content, profanity, depictions/discussions of trauma.
To Dream About Wings
A new play by Stephenie Chen ’25
Directed by Wasif Sami ’25
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
February 14-15, 20-22 at 8 PM
To Dream About Wings is a play which follows a girl named Anna, who loves a boy named Leo, who is destined to leave her—that is to say, destined to fly away. The first half of the play resides in reality, where we follow Anna, Leo, and their relationships with their family and each other. The second half of the play falls into a dream in which Anna has to learn to let Leo go. The play explores the family dynamics and relationships that arise from being immigrants and Asian-American. It also asks the questions of how we navigate grief and whether religion can do anything about the predicament of loss.
Safe Harbor: Choose Your Own Adventure
An interactive play conceived and created by Dominic Dominguez ’25
Produced and managed by Lev Ricanati ’25
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
February 14-16
Safe Harbor is an original piece of interactive theater modeled after choose-your-own-adventure video games. The audience will be the protagonists/main players in a story where their choices have a real impact. The audience begins in a bomb shelter after nuclear armageddon, and they quickly realize there are not enough rations to survive. A missionary from a place called “Safe Harbor” welcomes audience members to escape certain death and join their community. Those who follow will find themselves citizens of an authoritarian post-apocalyptic commune where they must balance liberty and security in a series of choices. This production will include audience interaction, a mix of scripted moments and improvisation, and creative collaboration from the cast/design team. It will be more fun than any one of us can handle!
Princeton Playhouse Ensembles Concert
Conceived and created by student ensemble members and faculty member Solon Snider Sway
Music direction by Solon Snider Sway
Stage direction by faculty member Aaron Landsman
In collaboration with the Music Department and visiting guest artists
Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center
March 1
María Irene Fornés Institute Symposium
Conceived and organized by Associate Professor of Theater Brian Herrera in collaboration with the Fornés Institute and Latinx Theatre Commons
Performances and Events: Week of March 17
Symposium: March 22
Macbeth in Stride: A Musical by Whitney White
Directed by Layla Williams ’25
Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center
April 4-5, 10-12
“What’s the difference ‘tween what you’re told and what you know?” When we dissect and reassemble canonized narratives, what new stories emerge? Macbeth in Stride is a 90 minute rock-pop-gospel-R&B musical that “examines what it means to be an ambitious Black woman through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters.” It preserves the madness, mystery, and macabre while infusing its own twist of irony, indulgence, and introspection.
Ti-Jean and His Brothers by Derek Walcott
Directed by abigail jean-baptiste ’18
Dramaturgy and performance by Aleena Brown ’25
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
April 11-12, 17-19
Ti-jean and His Brothers is a West Indian fable where fantasy meets reality. It is a folklore set in a forest that tells the story of 3 brothers, their individual weaknesses, and their quest to beat the Devil at his own games. It’s a story of family, mischief, humility and of course—Caribbean history.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Dramaturgical conception and performance by John Venegas Juarez ’25
Directed by Chesney Snow
Associate direction by Ava Kronman ’26
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
April 11-12 at 7:30 PM; April 13 at 2 PM
A queer reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that centers process and joy.
One-Night Only Music, Monologue & Dance Cabaret
Produced by Lev Ricanati ’25
Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex
May 1
Exploring the Relationship Between Sound, Lighting & Emotion
Research presentation by Alex Slisher ’25 (lighting) and John Wallar ’25 (sound)
Drapkin Studio, Lewis Arts complex
Dates TBA
Senior Independent Projects
Also in development are a series of one-night only presentations by Avi Chesler, Kate Stewart, and Vincent Gerardi focused on their independent research and performance projects.