Boats is the true(ish) story of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of loyal misfits set out to chart the wilderness. With a gender-bent cast, this innovative plays offers a fresh perspective on the American West and the nature of adventure itself. With humor, heart, and a helluva lot of grit, it is storytelling in a unique and thrilling theatrical journey. The interesting twist is that Backhaus’ casting notes mention that even though ten white men were on the journey, the casting should be anything but. A diverse group of women is playing the men on the expedition. At times uproariously funny, at times deadly serious, Men on Boats asks the cast and audience to consider what it means to revisit and retell our cultural history.

 

Indian American Jaclyn Backhaus is a playwright, screenwriter, and educator hailing from Phoenix, Arizona. She writes on themes of gender and history including the plays Out of Time, Wives, Men on Boats, Folk Wandering, and India Pale Ale (Winner, 2018 Horton Foote Prize). She was the 2016 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Clubbed Thumb and currently in residence at Lincoln Center and a New Dramatists resident playwright. Backhaus holds a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch, where she teaches.

 

She began work on Men on Boats where after several readings of the piece, “it became clear that we were actually not interested in performing with men in drag. We wanted to carry the sincerity of real characters. And that’s when we really cracked open a deeper truth about it.”

 

Artistic Director Andy Berkovsky directs the production. He mentions “There is a definite course that runs deeply through Men on Boats. It’s rooted in the American spirit and timeless themes about American identity.”

 

The production features the ensemble cast of Allison Fifield, Em Ball, Breanna Klotzbach, Mackenzie Allen, Taylor Allen, Judy Lee, Alli Rose, Grace Simmons, Laura Sturm, and Aimee Knight.