Why We Theater

It can be a challenge to make an episode of Why We Theater in time for you to see every show while it’s running. So here are some recommendations for currently running Broadway and Off-Broadway shows that speak to Why We Theater and some incoming productions to keep an eye on. From Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong at The Shed to The Tonight Show’s Tariq Trotter and his new Off-Broadway musical, these are recommendations you’ll want to hear and tickets you’ll want to book.

Building on our episodes about Nadira Simone’s The Killing of Kings, in this mini-episode, Ruthie recommends the documentary The Prison Within. The film reveals the stories of six incarcerated men—their upbringings, their crimes, their humanity—as we watch them go through a restorative justice process. It’s remarkable. A must-see.

Building upon last week’s episode “THE KILLING OF KINGS and the Transition of Incarcerated Persons From Prison,” host Ruthie Fierberg speaks one-on-one with expert Esther Matthews, PhD, about the practical steps to take to achieve the prison and transition reforms we spoke about in our main episode.

Today we welcome artist Nadira Simone, who wrote the breath-stealing new play The Killing of Kings. The drama weaves a tapestry of Black families in America dealing with mass incarceration and police brutality, grappling with Black Lives Matter, and surviving racism. Simone achieves this by homing in on the King family, as patriarch Patrick King returns home from a second stint in prison...

Authenticity was the heart of our last episode “INTERSTATE and Authentic Trans, Queer, and Asian-American Representation.” Our discussion included artists Kit Yan and Melissa Lee and experts AC Dumlao of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and Sheena Brevig of the Center for Scholars and Storytellers...

Interstate, a new musical by Kit Yan and Melissa Li, follows two Asian-American artists (one a lesbian and one a trans man) as they embark on a U.S. tour with their band Queer Malady. Meanwhile, trans teen Henry discovers QM’s music and finds his story in theirs...

Host Ruthie Fierberg recommends the most thought-provoking and moving pieces of New York theatre she’s seen to date. These plays and musicals bring to life issues in our society, which make them ripe for discussion. Each is further proof of why we theater. Some of these shows may become full episodes in the future. Some of them relate to past episodes. All of them will appeal to your taste if you love Why We Theater...

Harriet Brown’s memoir Brave Girl Eating: A Family’s Struggle With Anorexia is a must-read for anyone looking to better understand eating disorders after last week’s episode “RINSE, REPEAT and Eating Disorders.”

Eating disorders affect 29 million Americans (9 percent of the population). Every 52 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies as a direct result of their eating disorder. Guided by Domenica Feraud’s rapturous play RINSE, REPEAT, this week we delve into eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, and every eating disorder on the spectrum.

Beloved medical drama THE GOOD DOCTOR has a lot to teach us. Beyond its premise—following the evolution of Dr. Shaun Murphy, a physician on the autism spectrum, and the hospital and its employees around him—and beyond its weekly case, the ABC television series also demonstrates the use of the strengths model in foreign aid. Expert Ana Jiménez-Bautista taught us the definition and importance of the strengths model in last week’s episode “Witness Uganda and Ethical Foreign Aid...