Overview

Like Hamilton, Angels in America, and The Vagina Monoloques, a powerful, poliltically charged drama that speaks directly to the present moment—the dawn of the Trump era and the implications of his anti-immigration rhetoric turned into policy. Publication is part of a nationwide event, with the play going into production instantly and opening in a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere in five theaters across the country: Fountain Theatre in LA (3/18/17) Curious Theater in Denver (4/4/17) Forum Theater in Washington, DC, 4/27–5/7, moving to its Silver Springs, MD, stage 5/18 Borderlands Theater in Tucson (February 2018) City Theatre in Miami (9/27-10/8/17) Other theaters that aren't part of the NNPN will also stage the play, including: Adobe Rose Theater in Santa Fe (date TK) New World Stages in New York City (previews starting 5/12/17; opening 5/21/17) The play and its nationwide rolling premiere have garnered a NY Times article and it will receive much more publicity after each opening: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/theater/trump-wall-mexico-play.html?_r=0 Robert Schenkkan is the real deal: winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play, he is the author of All the Way, which was made into the movie starring Bryan Cranston, and co-screenwriterof Hacksaw Ridge; he is extremely well-connected culturally and in the media and has a practiced stage presence. Dystopian fiction is immensely popular now, and the dystopian premise of this play addresses the national mood. Includes essays from three noted historians on: the real purpose of the border wall, our dark history of restictionism in immigration, and the tradition of political protest in the arts for the last century.

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9781628728774

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Reviews

A disquieting response to the dawn of the Trump era. --The New York Times Schenkkan has penned a dystopian peek into the troubled future of Trump's America. Many adjectives describe the play: taut, harrowing, unnervingly artful, and downright shocking. But the most disturbing word of all may simply be 'plausible.' In the current political landscape, Building the Wall is an urgent and necessary work. --Doug Wright, Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright of I Am My Own Wife This is an urgent cry of warning from a leading voice in the American theater. . . .This project is more than a play. It's already ignited a national firestorm with theaters across the country signing up to produce it. --Stephen Sachs, Artistic Director Fountain Theater This riveting, harrowing and illuminating drama delivers a powerful warning and puts a human face on the inhuman, revealing how when personal accountability is denied, what seems inconceivable becomes inevitable. --Playbill MAGNIFICENT! Building the Wall should be seen and shuddered over, if only to heighten our collective vigilance. The theater historically has provided a forum for citizens to contemplate the agonizing issues of the day, and it's heartening to see Schenkkan and the Fountain [Theatre] respond with such celerity to present dangers. --Los Angeles Times MESMERIZING! Simmers with of-the-moment urgency. A cautionary look at how fascism can come to define the land of the free in Trump's America. --Hollywood Reporter GRIPPING! Timely and relevant. --LA Splash ONE HELL OF A SCARY PLAY! Topical and theoretically accurate . . . a necessary wake-up call. --Edge Media Network A DYSTOPIAN VISION! Shenkkan executes his tale skillfully, Michael Michetti has cast and directed it well, and the two actors perform superbly. --Stage Raw

A disquieting response to the dawn of the Trump era. --<i>The New York Times</i> Schenkkan has penned a dystopian peek into the troubled future of Trump's America. Many adjectives describe the play: taut, harrowing, unnervingly artful, and downright shocking. But the most disturbing word of all may simply be 'plausible.' In the current political landscape, <i>Building the Wall</i> is an urgent and necessary work. --Doug Wright, Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright of <i>I Am My Own Wife</i> This is an urgent cry of warning from a leading voice in the American theater. . . .This project is more than a play. It's already ignited a national firestorm with theaters across the country signing up to produce it. --Stephen Sachs, Artistic Director Fountain Theater This riveting, harrowing and illuminating drama delivers a powerful warning and puts a human face on the inhuman, revealing how when personal accountability is denied, what seems inconceivable becomes inevitable. --<i>Playbill</i>

-A disquieting response to the dawn of the Trump era.- --The New York Times -Schenkkan has penned a dystopian peek into the troubled future of Trump's America. Many adjectives describe the play: taut, harrowing, unnervingly artful, and downright shocking. But the most disturbing word of all may simply be 'plausible.' In the current political landscape, Building the Wall is an urgent and necessary work.- --Doug Wright, Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright of I Am My Own Wife -This is an urgent cry of warning from a leading voice in the American theater. . . .This project is more than a play. It's already ignited a national firestorm with theaters across the country signing up to produce it.- --Stephen Sachs, Artistic Director Fountain Theater -This riveting, harrowing and illuminating drama delivers a powerful warning and puts a human face on the inhuman, revealing how when personal accountability is denied, what seems inconceivable becomes inevitable.- --Playbill -MAGNIFICENT! Building the Wall should be seen and shuddered over, if only to heighten our collective vigilance. The theater historically has provided a forum for citizens to contemplate the agonizing issues of the day, and it's heartening to see Schenkkan and the Fountain [Theatre] respond with such celerity to present dangers.- --Los Angeles Times -MESMERIZING! Simmers with of-the-moment urgency. A cautionary look at how fascism can come to define the land of the free in Trump's America.- --Hollywood Reporter -GRIPPING! Timely and relevant.- --LA Splash -ONE HELL OF A SCARY PLAY! Topical and theoretically accurate . . . a necessary wake-up call.- --Edge Media Network -A DYSTOPIAN VISION! Shenkkan executes his tale skillfully, Michael Michetti has cast and directed it well, and the two actors perform superbly.- --Stage Raw

A disquieting response to the dawn of the Trump era. -The New York Times Schenkkan has penned a dystopian peek into the troubled future of Trump's America. Many adjectives describe the play: taut, harrowing, unnervingly artful, and downright shocking. But the most disturbing word of all may simply be 'plausible.' In the current political landscape, Building the Wall is an urgent and necessary work. -Doug Wright, Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright of I Am My Own Wife This is an urgent cry of warning from a leading voice in the American theater. . . .This project is more than a play. It's already ignited a national firestorm with theaters across the country signing up to produce it. -Stephen Sachs, Artistic Director Fountain Theater This riveting, harrowing and illuminating drama delivers a powerful warning and puts a human face on the inhuman, revealing how when personal accountability is denied, what seems inconceivable becomes inevitable. -Playbill MAGNIFICENT! Building the Wall should be seen and shuddered over, if only to heighten our collective vigilance. The theater historically has provided a forum for citizens to contemplate the agonizing issues of the day, and it's heartening to see Schenkkan and the Fountain [Theatre] respond with such celerity to present dangers. -Los Angeles Times MESMERIZING! Simmers with of-the-moment urgency. A cautionary look at how fascism can come to define the land of the free in Trump's America. -Hollywood Reporter GRIPPING! Timely and relevant. Â LA Splash ONE HELL OF A SCARY PLAY! Topical and theoretically accurate . . . a necessary wake-up call. Â Edge Media Network A DYSTOPIAN VISION! Shenkkan executes his tale skillfully, Michael Michetti has cast and directed it well, and the two actors perform superbly. Â Stage Raw

Author Information

Robert Schenkkan is a playwright and screenwriter. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Kentucky Cycle and a Tony Award for Best Play for All the Way, which was also made into a multiple Emmy-nominated HBO movie starring Bryan Cranston. His most recent screenwriting credit is for Hacksaw Ridge, which was nominated for six Academy Awards. He lives in New York City. Douglas S. Massey is the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University and Director of its Office of Population Research. Julian E. Zelizer is a political historian at Princeton University and a fellow at New America. He is also a contributor to CNN, where he writes a weekly column and appears as a regular guest on television. His most recent book is The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (Penguin Press). Timothy Patrick McCarthy is an award-winning scholar, educator, and activist. He holds a joint faculty appointment at Harvard University, where he is Director of Culture Change & Social Justice Initiatives at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The author or editor of four books from the New Press, including The Radical Reader and Prophets of Protest, Dr. McCarthy is the host and director of The A.R.T. of Human Rights, an ongoing public conversation series on art and politics co-sponsored by the Carr Center and at the American Repertory Theater.

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