Mosaic Theater Company Soars with “Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest” as an Epic History Lesson in Rap, Rhyme and Song
Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest
Mosaic Theater
Jordan Wright
April 5, 2026
 Michael Bahsil-Cook (Young John) and Christian Emmanuel (Emmett Till) in Mosaic Theater Company’s Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest. (Photo/Teresa Castracane Photography)
Mosaic’s premiere production of the life and times of former Congressman John Lewis has finally come to fruition. With music and lyrics by the brilliant award-winning composer, director and playwright Psalmayene 24 and music by Grammy-nominated composer Kokayi, this gripping, often funny, deeply emotional and beautifully performed musical is a history lesson in Rap, rhyme and song and one of my favorite productions this year. And, in light of the current state of affairs (we hear you Minnesota), and the groundswell of citizen activists’ support, this deep dive into Lewis’s legacy could hardly be more appropriate, or timely.
Directed brilliantly by Mosaic’s Artistic Director, Reginald L. Douglas, the story begins in 1955 in Pike County, Alabama with Lewis in his early teens living with his parents plus ten brothers and sisters. We see his visceral response to the news of the brutal lynching of Emmett Till at the hands of racist murderers and Lewis’s desire to fight back by joining the youth movement led by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). During that fraught period the South was mired in Jim Crow laws whose systemic apartheid was enforced by the KKK and ordinary White citizens, and Blacks were being actively, and illegally, restricted from voting. Black preachers took to the pulpits urging people to boycott the buses and Lewis joined up.
As a mentee of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and eager to follow King’s mission to bring about desegregation, young Lewis defies his parents’ wishes and joins the movement full throttle. We hear the call to action known by the powerful anthem, “God’s Gonna Trouble the Waters” and with that introductory song the mood is set for the Civil Rights Movement.
 Montel B. Butler (Jim Lawson) with the cast of Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest. (Photo/Teresa Castracane Photography)
A few of the actors vividly portray the racists’ roles, taunting the non-violent protesters at the famous lunch counter demonstrations and sending in police to crack heads. For Lewis’s first night in jail, we hear his emotions spill out with the song, “I’m Free”.
Soon he is to meet Black power revolutionary and firebrand anti-Capitalist, Stokely Carmichael who is working inside SNCC. It’s here we come to witness the inside squabbles of SNCC’s leaders depicted as a Rap battle between Lewis and Carmichael deciding whether it’s more important to march, fight Capitalism or register Blacks to vote. History smiled when they agreed to do both. This is the man who advocated for “good trouble” and lived it to his grave.
As this national movement evolves and CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) becomes a key player, other seminal players are depicted – from Bobby Kennedy and Medgar Evers to Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker and others – backgrounding Lewis’s rise to power and his legendary efforts to change the laws affecting African Americans with his contribution to the historic Voting Rights Act and, ultimately, his work on human rights during his 33-years as U.S. Congressman from Georgia. From Nashville to DC to Selma and Memphis, this musical leaves nothing out as it urges us to “say their names”.
Twenty-eight powerful numbers from Rap to Rock to Gospel inform the period’s struggles and celebrations. Stylishly choreographed by Tony Thomas with period costume design by Moyenda Kulemeka, a three-piece onstage band plus DJ keep the place rockin’.
 Michael Bahsil-Cook (Young John) and the cast of Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest. (Photo/Teresa Castracane Photography)
The perfect cast consists of Michael Bahsil-Cook as Young John; Montel Butler as Jim Lawson/A. Philip Randolph/Ensemble; Christian Emmanuel as Emmett Till/Ensemble; Jordan Essex as Stokely Carmichael/Bayard Ruskin/Ensemble; Kit Krull as Joan T. Mulholland/Waitress/Ensemble; Vaughan Ryan Midder as Medgar Evers/Eddie/Ensemble; Latrice Pace as Ella Baker/Willie Mae/Ensemble; Solomon Parker as Reverend Doctor/Hosea Williams/Ensemble; Nia Savoy-Dock as Diane Nash/Mamie Till/Ensemble; and Harrison Smith as Bobby Kennedy/Ensemble.
Highly recommended! See it and take everyone you know!!!
Mosaic Theater Company at the Atlas Performing Arts Center through May 3rd at 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information check hours for the box office and call 202.399.7993 ext. 501 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org
Dodi & Diana is a Role-Switching, Astrologist-Fueled Two-Hander from Mosaic Theater
Dodi & Diana
Mosaic Theater
Jordan Wright
September 8, 2025
 Dina Soltan (Samira) and Jake Loewenthal (Jason) in Mosaic Theater’s production of Dodi & Diana. (Photo/Chris Banks)
This two-hander imagines a couple whose lives are dictated by an unseen astrologist called Vincent. The disembodied Vincent has ordered them to follow a set of rules while they luxuriate in a five-star hotel in Paris. To wit, they cannot leave their bedroom for 72 hours, they must be honest with each other, and they cannot use electronic devices – phone or laptop – or watch TV. Vincent has told them they are the astrological doubles of Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana. It has been 25 years since the famous car crash that resulted in that couple’s deaths.
Jason (Jake Loewenthal) is a high-flying financial wiz. He’s White and that will matter to the story. He is co-dependent on his wife and an emotional wreck. Samira (Dina Soltan) is a successful TV actress whose star is rising. She’s Egyptian and Muslim. That too, will matter. The couple have been married for a decade.
Expect a great deal of hot and heavy romantic antics, dining on lavish room service, coupling on the satin-dressed bed and rage arguing á la Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”. Do they trust each other? Not for a minute. Samira checks her phone and makes secret calls to her agent as soon as Jason heads to the bathroom. Jason catches her and tries to hide her cell phone. “Have you stopped loving me?” he questions her. Telling the truth has consequences.
 Dina Soltan (Samira) and Jake Loewenthal (Jason). (Photos/Chris Banks)
Samira suggests a role-playing exercise which goes south when Jason struggles to remember their first date. And there are role-switching exercises in which Samira, the actress, comes out on top. No surprise there. You may find yourself wondering how this couple made it through 10 years of marriage, especially as we learn Jason desperately wants children to cement his legacy and Samira stuns him by admitting she won’t sacrifice her career to have children. This appears to be the first time they have discussed this. Hmmm. Last time I checked there are actresses with children. And we all know there is sexism, racism and homophobia in this world, but it’s hardly a thing in show biz, yet Samira claims she can’t get the roles she wants because she is Arab. Last time I checked there were quite a few well-known Arab actresses and actors in film and TV.
After a psychedelic drug- and booze-fueled evening of romance, bickering and nitpicking, the couple assume the personae of Dodi and Diana in a switcheroo with Jason as the entitled Arab billionaire and Samira as Princess Diana complete with an upper-crust British accent – a surprise reveal to explain the play’s title that comes near the end of this one-act play. I won’t spill the ending, or the story of Scotty, referred to by his wife as Jason’s lapse in their marriage. I will, however, mention the gorgeous set design, the perfectly curated props, and the intricate lighting changes with each shift in the action. The actors give it their all, but given this convoluted story, it all falls flat. After a while the lies and accusations, challenges, insults and revelations begin to seem like a telenovela.
 Dina Soltan (Samira) and Jake Loewenthal (Jason). (Photo/Chris Banks)
Playwright Kareem Fahmy; Directed by Reginald L. Douglas; Scenic Design by Shartoya R. Jn. Baptiste; Lighting Design by Sage Green; Costume Design by Jeannette Christensen; Sound Design by navi; Props Design by Luke Hartwood; Resident Intimacy and Violence Director, Sierra Young; Production Stage Manager, Jenna Keefer.
But stay tuned. I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming A Case for the Existence of God opening in November, and Young John Lewis, a musical to be presented by Mosaic in Spring 2026.
Through October 5th at Mosaic Theatre at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.399.7993 ext.501 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org.
Humor, Drama and Pathos Combine in Andy Warhol in Iran at Mosaic Theater
Andy Warhol in Iran
Mosaic Theater
Jordan Wright
June 2, 2025
 Nathan Mohebbi (Farhad) and Alex Mills (Andy Warhol) in Mosaic Theater’s Andy Warhol in Iran. (Photo/Iwan Bagus)
In our digital age, an artist with a Polaroid camera and a penchant for telephone chitchat, seems rather quaint, but that’s exactly how Warhol started before achieving his massive empire. An awkward Polish kid from Pittsburgh brings his artistic interests to New York City and whammo! Within a few years he’s moved into his film and recording studio, The Factory, managed the band Velvet Underground, and is hanging out with artists, celebrities, socialites, wealthy patrons and odd ducks.
I’d often see Andy in Max’s Kansas City, where artists from the Lower East Side would congregate. He was always with an entourage. Ghostlike he would swan in while his colorful followers would captivate the room flitting from table to table. Though his shock of white hair and sunglasses would make him instantly recognizable, he would shrink into a back booth to watch the effect. Andy was a voyeur, an archivist, an artist, and social catalyst.
Andy Warhol in Iran opens with a few small familiarizing scenes that touch on his early life and his penchant for the telephone. “I just love talking on the phone,” he coyly confesses. Video projections reveal the Pop Art pieces that brought him fame – the Campbell’s soup can and later, silk screen portraits of Elizabeth Taylor, the dress designer Diane Von Furstenburg, Chairman Mao, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, a politically insulting one of Richard Nixon that got him in trouble, and Jackie Kennedy, to name a few of his iconic silkscreen images. Fairly quickly, Warhol realized that these could be reproduced, and along with the business savvy of friend and confidant, Fred Hughes, the money and social influence rolled in.
 Alex Mills (Andy Warhol). (Photo/Chris Banks)
This one-act play imagines a moment in time when Warhol was summoned to Iran to do a photo shoot with Empress Farah Pahlavi who was married to the Shah of Iran. The royal couple were the darlings of American high society. although the Shah had built one of the most repressive police states in history – responsible for propping up British and American oil interests in Iran through the torture, arrest and murder of its citizens. All this is cleverly examined in the play and sets the stage for the planned kidnapping of Warhol from his Teheran hotel by a small radical group seeking international publicity for their cause.
The action really begins to ramp up when room service arrives to Andy’s hotel room. After cordial exchanges, the waiter points a gun at Warhol and tells him he is being kidnapped for political reasons. Warhol protests that he is apolitical, “I find politics really abstract,” he insists. But Farhad is wild-eyed and desperate and over the course of the play they fight about art, politics and humanity. I won’t go any further into the plot which expands and deepens their relationship in ways increasingly electrifying and suspenseful. And although the kidnapping or threat of it never happened, the story reveals the precariousness of human and political relationships
 Nathan Mohebbi as (Farhad) and Alex Mills (Andy Warhol). (Photo/Chris Banks)
Veteran actor Alex Mills inhabits the spirit of Warhol, segueing effortlessly from light-hearted, self-absorbed humor to a portrait of an artist with a tragic backstory and fierce sense of survival. He is evenly matched by Nathan Mohebbi’s dark and dangerous portrayal Farhad, a university student and Iranian revolutionary. When the two men eventually bond over their respective tragedies, emotions shift.
This is a fascinating play filled with drama, humor and pathos. Kudos to Playwright Brent Askari and Director Serge Seiden for bringing it to life.
Scenic Design by Andrew Cohen, Lighting Design by Alberto Segarra, Costume Design by Jeannette Christensen, Wig & Makeup Design by Larry Peterson, Sound Design by David Lamont Wilson, Projections Design by Mona Kasra, Assistant Director and Stage Manager Anahita Sepehri and Intimacy and Violence Director Sierra Young.
Through July 6th at Mosaic Theater at the Atlas, 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.399.7993 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org.
Marys Seacole
Mosaic Theater
Jordan Wright
May 10, 2022
Special to The Zebra
 Tina Fabrique as Duppy Mary and Kim Bey as Mary (Photo/Margot Schulman) Born in Jamaica to a Scottish seafaring father and Jamaican mother, Mary considered herself Creole but above all a daughter and defender of the British Empire. From a tradition of Jamaican nurses and caregivers, she was inspired by her mother a practitioner in the ancient healing arts of the Caribbean. Not commonly known is the extraordinary legacy of this Black female pioneer in the field of medicine. In a spellbinding tale, Pulitzer Prize and Obie-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury has cast a fierce eye on Seacole’s evolution as an inspirational figure in the history of Jamaican nurses and their struggle to be accepted in an age when racism was normative.
As the central character, Mary opens by delivering her narrative center stage. Played by Kim Bey in a tour de force performance, Mary is joined by a revolving group of representational female figures whose personal stories – some contemporary, some from the past – dovetail seamlessly into the tale Drury weaves. These women sometimes appear as muses, sometimes they present like The Furies, but they are wholly crafted to be believable. It is an important story that Drury draws from, one that we have been deprived of for far too long.
Born in 19th century Jamaica during a plague, Mary studied nursing. Driven by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a keen sense of adventure, young Mary “yearned for medical knowledge” and traveled to Crimea during the war to minister to the sick and dying as a tropical disease specialist. She was rebuffed initially, by Florence Nightingale herself, yet her ambition has her opening a hotel for White elites who stuck up their noses at her yet found they could not live without her kind and knowledgeable ministrations. As grim as those scenes of war are represented here, Drury finds a way to insert plenty of comedic relief. Especially hilarious is a scene wherein Mary offers shots of rum to the patrons of her fancy hotel claiming it will keep the cholera away. Drunkenness ensues.
 Tina Fabrique as Duppy Mary and Kim Bey as Mary Mary’s mother (Tina Fabrique) appears frequently as a phantom in elaborate Victorian dress urging Mary to respect the dark arts of traditional Jamaican healing. She is a specter from Mary’s past, a woman who abused Mary yet inspired her too. Other actors play a dizzying array of roles – each cleverly crafted and brilliantly performed. Mary’s daughter (Amanda Morris Hunt) also appears speaking in strong Jamaican patois, her performance is whip-smart. Another stellar performance is by Megan Graves playing a rebellious daughter anxiously awaiting her mother’s demise. In a later incarnation she plays a patient who throws herself on Mary’s not inconsiderable mercy. Drury is brilliant at creating multi-dimensional characters she imbues with both fire and ice.
Several dialects taught by Teisha Duncan and Jen Rabbitt Ring – from Irish and Scottish to Jamaican and British – are all quite effective in setting the mood for a production so cleverly devised, featuring a raised circular stage, a series of evocative video projections by Mona Kasra and enhanced with dramatic lighting by John D. Alexander.
 Amanda Morris Hunt, Tonya Beckman, Kim Bey, Claire
Schoonover, Megan Graves (Photo/Margot/Schulman) In this haunting and compelling drama, Drury has gifted us with powerfully relatable and deeply vulnerable characters. Speaking on the importance of healthcare workers, Mosaic’s Managing Director Serge Seiden said, “It became more urgent for us to present this play because of COVID.”
Highly recommended.
Imaginatively directed by Eric Ruffin, it includes terrific performances by Tonya Beckman as May; Tina Fabrique as Duppy Mary; Megan Graves as Miriam; Amanda Morris Hunt as Mamie; and Claire Schoonover as Merry.
Scenic Design by Emily Lotz; Costume and Wig Design by Moyenda Kulemeka; Sound Design by Cresent Haynes; Dramaturg Teisha Duncan.
Through May 29th at The Atlas Performing Arts Center 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information visit www.MosaicTheater.org or call the box office at 202 399-7993 from Monday – Friday 11am – 5pm. For COVID protocols visit the website. For further study read the autobiographical “Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands”.
Jordan Wright
February 4, 2020
Waitress Sheri doesn’t seem like the perfect match for a Muslim cab driver from Egypt. She’s a free-spirited Caucasian with a potty mouth and a string of lovers who dumped her, and he keeps the Koran beside his bed. And, though he claims to be casual about his faith, they discuss God on their first date. After a bit of whisky, she announces, “In a few minutes I’m gonna be a cinch to bang.” Musa eagerly takes her up on it.
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 Freddie Bennett ~ Photography by CHRISTOPHER BANKS There is a spirit figure in the story, around which themes of religion, gender roles and the complexities of modern life in America and the Middle East, are hung with reverence. Abdallah is Musa’s friend, a fixer for newly arrived immigrants to the U. S. Through his business he makes enough money to fulfill his dream to travel to Mecca to join other pilgrims to make the Hajj. While there, he takes a boat that capsizes, and he is lost at sea. But Sheri sees his ghost in Musa’s apartment, and he reappears at critical moments as a man whose deep faith guides his journey.
 Sanam L. Hashemi and Rachel Felstein ~ Photography by CHRISTOPHER BANKS Things go sideways when Musa’s fiancée unexpectedly returns a few days early after meeting with his parents in Egypt to plan their upcoming nuptials. Entering the apartment, Gamila finds Sheri in his bed. Blindsided by the knowledge that he is engaged, Sheri freaks out and all hell breaks loose between the two women. As an educated and devout Muslim American, Gamila, is shocked to find out that Musa is shacking up with a woman and the two have it out.
 Ahmad Kamal and Rachel Felstein ~ Photography by CHRISTOPHER BANKS The crux of this dilemma is if Musa will choose Sheri or Gamila? And will either woman forgive him? “I can be who I want with her,” he tells Gamila. When she protests that he is denying his faith and her love, he tells her, “I don’t want roots, customs, traditions and family. I don’t want the rest of my life to be what I know.”
 Ahmad Kamal and Rachel Felstein ~ Photography by CHRISTOPHER BANKS As the Production’s Dramaturg Salma S. Zohdi tells us, “Each character seeks pilgrimage, albeit in different ways. Both Musa and Sheri seek spiritual pilgrimage, yet Gamila seeks a homeward bound pilgrimage. A specific common thread connects all the Muslim characters’ emotional voyage, and that is overcoming the challenges of being a Muslim immigrant.”
 Ahmad Kamal and Sanam L. Hashemi ~ Photography by CHRISTOPHER BANKS A part of Mosaic’s “Voices from a Changing Middle East Festival”, the play is written by Yussef El Guini and directed by Shirley Serotsky. The story is a powerful and passionate glimpse into the perils of the Muslim experience in America. Like the region’s desert sands, that experience is not static, it is always shifting.
Hauntingly beautiful Egyptian music by singer Mohamed Mounir backgrounds the play.
Featuring Ahmad Kamal as Musa; Rachel Felstein as Sheri; Freddie Lee Bennett as Abdallah; Gerrad Alex Taylor as Tayyib; and Sanam Laila Hashemi as Gamila.
Set Design by Nephelie Andyonadis; Lighting Design by Brittany Shemuga; Costumes by Danielle Preston; Sound Design by Roc Lee.
Post-show discussions and talkbacks are free to the public. Visit the website for times and dates.
Through February 16th at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information visit www.MosaicTheatre.org or call the box office at 202.399.7993 extension 2.
Jordan Wright
December 12, 2019
Jonathan Spector’s comedy about a private, liberal grade school in Berkeley, California brings tons of laughs when its politically correct committee of five educators is faced with an outbreak of the mumps. Among the school’s decision-makers are Meiko, a shy Asian woman in an affair with Eli who is also married; Eli, the eternal organizer, “I think this might be a good moment for a community-activated discussion.”; Carina, an African American mom new to the committee and unafraid to speak out; Suzanne, the deeply passive-aggressive head of the committee, “We have a lot of neuro-diversity here.”; and Don, a Birkenstock-sporting, flow-chart specialist subservient to Suzanne, “I am only here to facilitate,” he defers. As a group, they are a hot mess – more concerned with heritage designations on enrollment forms and gender-optional pronouns.
 Eureka Day Ensemble – Photo credit Christopher Banks Needing universal consensus to institute an action plan, they vote to Skype in the parents. But all hell breaks loose when the parents’ divergent views devolve into a virtual live Tweet, scream-fest and medical facts become as disposable as eco-friendly bamboo plates. Yes, there’s a discussion about that too, when clueless Carina serves snacks on plastic plates.
 Eureka Day Ensemble – Photo Credit Christopher Banks The hot-button issue between those who believe in vaccinating their kids and the anti-vaxxers is utterly hilarious as the video-projected, live feed convos become a caustic maelstrom of name-calling, Pharma-blaming, climate change tirades, Creationism battles, and religious disagreements. No, wait. “Disagreement” is too soft a word to describe how the parents go into full-on, personal attack mode. Sound familiar? All too familiar in this issue-charged political climate. Played for laughs we can watch the turmoil from a safe distance while acknowledging how polarizing these issues have become. Artistic Director, Ari Roth, defines it as, “Progressives Behaving Badly.”
 Eureka Day Ensemble – Photo Credit Christopher Banks Not too long ago this was in the news when it was left to a court to decide. Should you protect children who are already vaccinated from attending school with those whose parents decide not to vaccinate? Do you place a quarantine on the school? For how long, and who decides? In this clever comedy, and as in real life, some don’t survive these irresponsible decisions.
Andrew Cohen’s set design is purposely innocent – a brightly-lit, colorful classroom lined bookshelves and children’s art – a perfectly neutral spot for adult mayhem especially in the hands of this wildly expressive ensemble.
 Eleanor Holmes Norton – Photo credit Christopher Banks On the night I saw it Eleanor Holmes Norton played a cameo role. More local notables are on schedule to appear during the run. Check the schedule.
Highly recommended. As soon as I left the theatre, I wanted to see it again.
Directed by Serge Seiden with Lighting Design by Brittany Shemuga; Original Projections by Teddy Hulsker; and Projections by Dylan Uremovich. Originally commissioned and produced by Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley, CA.
With Regina Aquino as Meiko; Lise Bruneau as Suzanne; Erica Chamblee as Carina; Sam Lunay as Don; Elan Zafir as Eli; and Mar Cox/Thomas Nagata as Winter.
Through January 5th at The Atlas Center for the Performing Arts – 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information call 202 399-7993 ext. 2 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org.
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