
Daniel
Abeles
By Chisa Hutchinson
Directed by Jade King Carroll
With Daniel Abeles, Molly Carden, Luke Robertson, Tobias Segal, Andrea Syglowski, Amber Reauchean Williams, and Victor Williams
In small-town Maryland, Jeff Browning resolves to give his newborn son every possible advantage – by joining a local white supremacist group. When his attempt to join is thwarted by some surprising ancestry test results, the line between “us” and “them” gets incredibly blurry. Jeff scrambles to maintain appearances, but his sanitized story starts to unravel when a prominent Black journalist and his daughter start asking questions.
Both bitterly funny and deeply compassionate, Amerikin explores the lengths we go to protect our own, the lies we tell ourselves, and the cost of division on us all.
Chisa Hutchinson developed Amerikin as part of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages, and the play was featured in the 2018 Fresh Ink Reading Series.
In an effort to care for our community, we’re sharing details about this production that may be sensitive for members of our audience. The following information may reveal plot points.
Contains racial slurs, post-partum depression, descriptions of suicide, and a visible gun.
Post-performance talkbacks will be held on Sunday, March 23, and Thursday, April 3.
Join us on Tuesday, March 11 for Black Theater Night: A Community Night and Talkback with Chisa Hutchinson (Playwright) and Jonathan McCrory (Executive Artistic Director, National Black Theatre)
Erin Daley, Artistic Director | Shane Hudson, Executive Director
Primary Stages is dedicated to inspiring, supporting, producing, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the support they need to fully realize their vision. Primary Stages is the Resident Off Broadway Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters.
Read more at: www.primarystages.org
"This is a play about parents and children and what kind of country we want to be. " – New York Times
★★★★ "Chisa Hutchison’s play blasting racism is needed this very minute"
"Jade King Carroll sharply directs an exceptional cast" – New York Stage Review
"Dexterously delivered and dowsed with hot sauce" – The Unforgettable Line
"Gut punch of a play"
"You are sure to be caught up in the tension that continually mounts throughout this truly gripping production" – Talkin' Broadway
"Jade King Carroll’s direction and the cast’s natural, raw performances, exploring bigotry, fear and hate in the name of the American Dream, make the story all the more unsettling." – The 100 Word Review
"Amerikin is a play that never takes itself too seriously, and yet the themes it explores are some of the most consequential: race, belonging, and the lengths one is willing to go to protect their family." – Observer
"Hutchinson overall has crafted an absorbing look at life in these United States." – OffOffOnline
"Visceral, thought-provoking theater that seethes with anger, confusion, and disillusionment"
"Efficiently directed by Jade King Carroll, who elicits some brace and powerful performances from her cast." – Interludes