Men on Boats

Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus and directed by Pamela Downs.

Men on Boats is a comedic drama portraying events in American history of an 1869 expedition that was mapping the Colorado River. The explorers included a one-armed captain and a crew of loyal daredevils and rapscallions, all of whom are being portrayed by female-identifying or non-gender-conforming actors. As the playwright indicates: “The characters in Men on Boats were historically white males. The cast should be made up entirely of people who are not….”

“MEN ON BOATS makes canny use of the obvious distance between performers and their roles to help bridge the distance between then and now…The tone is comic, but never cute or camp. And ultimately, you feel, the play respects its bold if fallible pioneers, in all their natural bravery and fearfulness.” —NY Times