Image by Jonny Ag
Mystics, anarchists, Russians and “snowflakes” swirl in this sinister, absurd new musical about political action and what it means to stand up for one’s beliefs in the face of oppression, confusion, and “interference.”
In the first few months of 2017, 12 year-old Addison has a lot of questions about the world — and very little parental supervision. Her best (imaginary) friend is a turn-of-the-19th-century Russian mystic, and her favorite pastime is fighting with deplorables on the internet. But when Addison starts to learn about another turn-of-the-century Russian — the American immigrant and Anarchist, Emma Goldman — she begins questioning the meaning of political action and just how far we should go to fight oppressive systems.
Conceived / Written by Alexis Roblan
Conceived / Directed by Katie Lindsay
Music by Teresa Lotz
Produced by Emma Orme and The Tank as the headlining production of The Tank’s LadyFest
August – September 2018
Featuring Maybe Burke, Fernando Gonzalez, Drita Kabashi, Jonathan Randell Silver, and Imani Pearl Williams.
PRESS for RED EMMA & THE MAD MONK:
The New York Times (CRITIC’S PICK):
“an astute representation of a searching tween’s inner world”
“sweet, sui generis”
Theatre Is Easy:
“a magical mash-up that we both deserve and need”
“Writer Alexis Roblan gives us a play that is brilliantly complex and nuanced. With her careful examination of 1889 pre-Soviet Russian politics and turn-of-the-century American union rights placed alongside an investigation of the “failed American Experiment,” she is able to attack our present day in a wholly unique, un-recycled way.”
“Red Emma and the Mad Monk is the theatre we need right now.”
Culture Catch:
“an invigorating production that seamlessly interweaves times and tones in an exploration of what it means, and what it could mean, to speak and act as a political subject.”
RED EMMA & THE MAD MONK was first produced / developed by The Habitat as part of Ars Nova’s ANT Fest 2017, featuring Maybe Burke, Kim Gainer, Miles G. Jackson, Drita Kabashi, and Cesar J. Rosado.
ALEXISROBLAN.com 