The Drama Book Show!

In this episode, we talk with playwright Doug DeVita about his adaptation of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, reimagining the classic novel through the lens of hidden desire, forbidden intimacy, and colonial repression.

Set in British-ruled India, the play follows Dr. Aziz, Cyril Fielding, and Adela Quested as their tangled attractions challenge the boundaries of culture, class, and empire. Using a storyteller-theatre style, DeVita brings unspoken passions to the forefront, exploring the devastating consequences of silence and denial in a society governed by rigid moral codes.

Featuring performances by Nitin Madan, Marie Elena O’Brien, David Sabella, Joy Franz, Carole Monferdini, Anuj Parikh, David Carson, Patricia Randell, Mary Powelson, and David Mackler, this adaptation offers a provocative new perspective on a literary classic.

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In this episode, we talk with award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tori Keenan-Zelt about The JonBenét Game, a play exploring the complicated relationship between true crime, violence, grief, and the stories we tell ourselves.

The play follows Rae, a school guidance counselor haunted by a childhood game she played with her best friend Molly: reenacting the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. Twenty years later, after Molly’s death, the game resurfaces through Molly’s daughter, forcing Rae to confront the past and the unsettling ways women process violence and grief.

Joining the conversation is moderator Katy Zapanta, a Filipino American dramaturg, producer, and theatrical literary agent, along with actors Keilly McQuail and Molly Carden. Together, they discuss the play’s themes, its characters, and the process of bringing The JonBenét Game to the stage.

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In this episode, we talk with members of Fake Friends—Michael Breslin, Patrick Foley, Rory Pelsue, Cat Rodríguez, and Ariel Sibert—about their groundbreaking digital theater work created during the pandemic.

Their book collects Circle Jerk, the first digital theater work to be shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and This American Wife. From AI influencers and social media to queer fandom and reality television, the plays embrace the possibilities of theater on the internet while exploring our increasingly online, political, and personal lives.

Joining the conversation as moderator is arts and culture writer and critic Juan A. Ramírez. Together, they discuss the creative, practical, and interpersonal process behind bringing these wildly theatrical and digitally native works to life.

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In this episode, we talk with Tony Award–winning producer and Broadway Plus founder and CEO Nathaniel Hill about his book The VIP Effect and the art of creating unforgettable experiences.

Drawing on his career in theater and experience design, Hill explores how intentional planning, thoughtful hospitality, anticipation, and care can transform everyday interactions into meaningful connections. From Broadway triumphs and behind-the-scenes crises to the moments that make people feel truly seen, The VIP Effect offers a fresh take on what it means to create experiences that leave a lasting impression.

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In this episode, we talk with Nicole Brewer, theater director, educator, and originator of the internationally recognized Antiracist Theatre (ART) model, about her book The Antiracist Theatre and reimagining how artists collaborate.

Brewer’s book combines memoir, self-exploration, and practical tools to examine power, privilege, accountability, and care in theatrical spaces. Rooted in transformative justice, she offers a framework for disrupting harmful practices and building healthier, more humane, and more liberatory creative environments.

Joining the conversation is moderator Ann James, an Intimacy and Sensitivity Specialist and the first Black Intimacy Coordinator on Broadway. Together, they explore what it means to build greater awareness, responsibility, and care into the creative process.

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In this episode, we talk with playwright, songwriter, and educator Ro Reddick about her darkly comedic play Cold War Choir Practice, winner of the 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Set in Ronald Reagan’s America, the play follows a young girl caught up in family intrigue when her estranged uncle, a prominent Black conservative, brings his mysteriously ill wife home for the holidays. Blending music, comedy, espionage, roller disco, cults, and choir practice, Cold War Choir Practice offers a wildly unconventional look at family, politics, and life in the shadow of the Cold War.

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In this episode, we talk with Catherine Weidner, actor, director, educator, and author of Acting Heightened Text: The Basics, about bringing heightened language to life onstage.

Weidner’s book offers actors, directors, students, and teachers practical tools for working with verse and prose, from text analysis and playing actions to auditions, rehearsals, rhetorical arguments, and rhyming couplets. We explore how curiosity, rigor, and techniques like “hooking” can help performers make dynamic, textually supported choices and connect with heightened language in a truthful, contemporary way.

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In this episode, we explore the third volume of the Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays, featuring nine new works by trans playwrights and centered on young trans characters, from age twelve through their late twenties.

The collection highlights a wide range of voices, genres, and theatrical styles while exploring coming of age, family, relationships, athletics, dating, and navigating challenging social and political environments. Each play is accompanied by an introductory essay offering additional context and insight into the work.

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In this episode, we talk with novelist and actor Michael Golding about new novel, Quick Bright Things, a love letter to Broadway’s Golden Age.

Set in New York in 1948, the novel follows a young rehearsal pianist, a visionary director, and his Girl Friday as they race toward opening night with a musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Drawing on Golding’s own experiences in the theatre, Quick Bright Things celebrates the colorful, talented, and sometimes chaotic people who keep Broadway humming.

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In this episode, we talk with Stefan Sittig, director, choreographer, educator, performer, and author of Latinidad in Musical Theatre, about the lasting influence of Latine artists, music, dance, and choreography on the American musical.

From Carmen Miranda to Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sittig traces a century of Latine contributions through shows including West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, In the Heights, and Hamilton, while exploring the careers of artists such as Chita Rivera and Graciela Daniele. The conversation looks at how Latine artists have moved from being represented through stereotype and appropriation toward owning and shaping their own narratives within musical theatre.

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In this episode, we talk with Paige Allen and Stacy Wolf, authors of Feminist Approaches in Musical Theatre, about the relationship between feminism, spectatorship, and the musical theatre canon.

Using shows including The Music Man, Evita, Fun Home, and SIX, the book explores how feminist theory can help us understand and analyze musicals, particularly the contradictions of an art form beloved by women audiences while historically dominated by male artists and producers.

Joining the conversation as moderator is Jill Dolan, theater scholar, critic, and author of The Feminist Spectator as Critic and Utopia in Performance. Together, they explore how a feminist perspective can reshape the way we watch, interpret, and understand musical theatre.

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In this episode, we talk with Robert W. Schneider, artistic director of J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company, producer at 54 Below, and host of Behind the Curtain: Broadway’s Living Legends, about his book Queer Musicals.

Taking a chronological look at queer musicals from the second half of the twentieth century through today, the book explores how these shows were created, produced, received, and understood within the larger history of Broadway. Schneider traces the evolution of queerness in musical theatre and examines how queer stories moved from the margins toward becoming an increasingly visible part of the art form.

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In this episode, we talk with award-winning playwright Tom Dugan about Irish Goodbye, the first installment of his Jersey Pub Trilogy.

Set in a small New Jersey pub on Christmas Eve, the darkly comic play follows a disgraced cop and an ex-beauty queen who take shelter from a winter storm and form an unexpected connection. Joining the conversation are Broadway veteran Mel Johnson, who serves as moderator, and actress Anica Petrovic, who originated the role of Sandy in the Los Angeles premiere. Together, they explore Dugan’s play and the people who bring this funny and heartfelt story to life.

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In this episode, we talk with Deborah Jean Templin, award-winning playwright and veteran actor of theatre, film, and television, about her solo work Unsinkable Women: Stories and Songs From the Titanic.

Inspired by Templin’s experience touring with the Tony Award-winning musical Titanic, Unsinkable Women explores the lives of nine women who survived the sinking and how the disaster shaped their lives. Through vivid monologues and historical songs, Templin brings their stories to life—from the grandeur of Titanic’s launch to the tragedy of the sinking and the strength, hope, and activism that followed.

Joining the conversation as moderator is veteran dramaturg, writer, and creative executive Ken Cerniglia, whose Broadway credits include Hadestown and Aladdin. Together, they explore the history, storytelling, and theatrical process behind Unsinkable Women.

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In this episode, we talk with Dionne O’Dell, artistic director of the MSU Sense-Ability Ensemble, about The Sense-Ability Ensemble’s Guide to Creating Theatre for Audiences That Are Neurodiverse.

Part case study and part practical guide, the book explores how theatre makers can create work with neurodiverse audiences in mind—from sensory engagement, live music, and puppetry to design, storytelling, audience interaction, and performer training.

Joining the conversation are Sense-Ability Ensemble founding artists Ryan Duda and Evan Hill Phillips, with actor, writer, director, and arts manager Joel Guzmán moderating. Together, they discuss the ensemble’s journey and the process of creating more inclusive, interactive, and accessible theatrical experiences.

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In this episode we talk with performer and longtime voice teacher Carolyn Marcell Elmore about the art and practice of singing.

Elmore’s career spans opera, classical concert performance, and musical theatre, as both a performer and educator. Her book, Uncovering Your True Voice: A Practical Guide for Singers & Teachers, explores the day-to-day process of discovering, creating, and memorizing the energies and sensations that make up the art of singing.

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In this episode, we sit down with Diana Feldman to discuss her book Stuck in a Role: Releasing Trauma in Teens through the ENACT Drama Therapy Method. Drawing on more than 30 years of work in NYC schools, Feldman shares how drama therapy helps adolescents break free from protective roles and reconnect with their authentic selves. Through improvisation, role play, and empathy-driven communication, her method offers powerful tools for educators, therapists, and parents to support at-risk youth.

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In this episode, we explore What This Place Makes Me, a groundbreaking collection of works by first- and second-generation immigrant playwrights of Lebanese, Nigerian, Korean, Bengali, Polish, and Mexican descent. These seven powerful voices illuminate stories of displacement, alienation, and the search for belonging, weaving together narratives that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.

We’re joined by editor Isaiah Stavchansky—a playwright, actor, and creator whose work has been developed with Williamstown Theatre Festival, Atlantic Theater Company, and The Tank—as he shares the inspiration behind the anthology and the importance of these stories on today’s stage.

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In this episode, we talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated playwright, director, and educator James Ijames about his creative process and the art of making new work.

In anticipation of the world premiere of his new play Wilderness Generation at Philadelphia Theatre Company, Ijames joins Nancy Boykin and Kimberly S. Fairbanks for a conversation moderated by PlayPenn Artistic Director Che’Rae Adams. Together, they discuss collaboration, developing new plays, and creating theatre in turbulent times.

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In this episode, we celebrate Broadway Poster Art: 1945–1969 by Nicholas van Hoogstraten, a visually stunning tribute to Broadway’s iconic posters—from My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof to rare designs for legendary flops. The book offers an insider’s look at the artists behind the posters, featuring Al Hirschfeld, David Klein, Fay Gage, and more, along with alternate concepts, rejected designs, and fascinating stories about how these visuals shaped Broadway’s identity.

Nicholas van Hoogstraten is the author of Lost Broadway Theatres, the award-winning musical Johnny Guitar, and other theatrical works. He created television programs including KTLA Morning News and Private Sessions for A&E, and helped launch the original FX network. He lectures on theater history and owns Triton Gallery, New York City’s largest source for vintage and current Broadway posters.

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