Revolution(s) is on stage through November 9.
It’s funny, this relationship between life and art.
When a writer has the courage (or perhaps the unassailable need) to write about their present moment, there’s an inherent risk. A few, really. There’s the notion of topic exhaustion—that the play will fall into the 24/7 news cycle and an audience approaching overwhelm. There’s also the very real possibility, given the supply and demand issues of the American theater, that by the time said work gets produced, the moment that called the play into being may have passed.
But once in a while a daunting thing happens. A writer imagines a moment, and just when the play premieres, that fever dream has actually come to pass. Such is the story of Revolution(s)—a play set a bit in the past and vividly reflective of the vortex that is the right now.
These are the moments when I am deeply grateful for brave artists (looking at you, Zayd Ayers Dohrn, Tom Morello and Steve H. Broadnax III), an intrepid audience (that would be YOU), and a most durable and powerful art form.
Breathe deep, because here we go.
Susan V. Booth
Walter Artistic Director
