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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices