Mosaic Theatre Archives - Whisk + Quill

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

Special to The Zebra

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 3^rd 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

Special to The Zebra

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 5^th 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.