Our Dear Dead Drug Lord
EXTENDED AGAIN! NOW THRU JANUARY 5! World Premiere
Produced by WP Theater and Second Stage Theater
by special arrangement with Benjamin Simpson and Joseph Longthorne
written by Alexis Scheer
directed by Whitney White
New York Times – Critic’s Pick!
“Highly entertaining—equally funny and scary—the play starts off as a hoot and winds up a primal scream. They’re throwing quite a seance at the McGinn/Cazale Theater.” –Ben Brantley
Time Out – Four Stars!
“Just when you think you know where the play is heading, there’s a disorienting coup de théâtre that leaves you shaken. Our Dear Dead Drug Lord isn’t for the faint of heart, but neither is coming of age.” –Raven Snook
In this fierce and feverish world premiere comedy from WP Theater and Second Stage, a gang of teenage girls gathers in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other? A rollercoaster ride through the danger and damage of girlhood – the teenage wasteland has never been so much twisted fun.
Breakout playwright Alexis Scheer joins forces with Whitney White, who “expertly directed” (New York Times) last season’s acclaimed hit What to Send Up When It Goes Down. The cast includes Carmen Berkeley, Alyssa May Gold, Rebecca Jimenez, and Malika Samuel.
Please note: Our Dear Dead Drug Lord contains depictions of graphic physical and sexual violence. Recommended for ages 13+. As sensitivities vary from person to person, if you have specific questions regarding content, please call us at (212) 541-4516.
Fri, Nov 1
Wanna meet Zoom, Pipe, Kit and Squeeze?
Join us on Friday November 1st for a post show talkback with the cast of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord:
Carmen Berkeley, Alyssa May Gold, Rebecca Jimenez and Malika Samuel facilitated by WP Artistic Producer Rachel Karpf.
Join us in the treehouse and stay for a chat with the girl gang of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord!
Thu Oct 10
The American Play: A Conversation About Identity, Art-Making, and a Changing Country
Preshow happy hour drink specials and a post-show panel discussion following the 7pm performance, hosted by Latinx Theatre Commons, a national movement launched in 2012 to promote Latinx equity in American theater through convening, scholarship, advocacy, and art. LTC producer Armando Huipe will be joined by Our Dear Dead Drug Lord playwright, Alexis Scheer, Chantal Rodriguez, Associate Dean at the Yale School of Drama and scholar of Latinx Theater, and other special guests to address the question: What does the American play look like in the 21st century?
Thu Oct 3
The State of Play
Preshow happy hour drink specials and a post-show panel discussion following the 7pm performance will be co-hosted by The Sol Project and North Star Projects. Since its founding in 2016, The Sol Project has been working to fortify a national theater movement that brings Latinx playwrights and their stories to the forefront of the field. In this dynamic conversation, lead by one of The Sol Project founding members, Adriana Gaviria talks with Our Dead Dead Drug Lord playwright Alexis Scheer and other Latinx writers about where and how Latinx narratives are supported, produced, and presented.
Alexis Scheer
Alexis Scheer was named Rising Theatre Star by Improper Bostonian in the Boston’s Best Issue and is currently featured on the Kilroys’ List and Remezcla’s 8 Exciting Latinx Playwrights. Plays include Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (world premiere Off-Broadway WP Theater/Second Stage; developed at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Off the Grid Theatre, and McCarter Theatre Center; Kilroys’ List, featured finalist at HowlRound’s LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work, Relentless Award semi-finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival finalist, 50PP’s Best Unproduced Latinx Plays, 50PP’s Best Latinx Plays for College); Laughs in Spanish (developed at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and San Diego REP), Christina (developed at Cleveland Playhouse; Roe Green Award Winner) and Chosen (BCA She Said Festival, Sanguine Theatre’s Playwrights’ Week). She is a proud Miami native and New World School of the Arts alum, and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. She also moonlights as the Producing Artistic Director of award-winning fringe company, Off the Grid Theatre. www.alexisscheer.com
Whitney White
Whitney White is a director and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. Recent work: A HUMAN BEING, OF A SORT by Jonathan Payne (Williamstown Theatre Festival), WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN by Aleshea Harris (The Movement, NYT Critics’ Pick), JUMP by Charly Evon Simpson, (PlayMakers Rep, NNPN Rolling World Premiere), CANYON by Jonathan Caren (IAMA, LA Times Critics’ Choice), AN ILIAD (Long Wharf), RITA TAMBIEN RITA by Tony Meneses (Julliard), OTHELLO (Trinity Rep), and BR’ER COTTON by Tearrance Chisholm (Endstation). Her original musical DEFINITION will be part of the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab and is currently in development with The Bushwick Starr. Her musical look at Macbeth and black female ambition MACBETH IN STRIDE will premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Boston this spring. Associate Directing: MARVIN’S ROOM (Broadway), IF I FORGET (Roundabout), OTHELLO (NYTW), THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (Atlantic Theatre). Upcoming: OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD (WP Theater/Second Stage), FOR ALL THE WOMEN WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE MAD (Soho Rep). Whitney is an Associate Artist at The Roundabout Theatre, and the current recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing Award. Past fellowships include: 2050 New York Theatre Workshop, 2018 Ars Nova Makers Lab, 2018 Next Wave Residency, the Inaugural Roundabout Directing Fellowship, and Colt Coeur. Acting credits include OCEANS 8 opposite Anne Hathaway. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA: Northwestern University. www.whitney-white.com
Carmen Berkeley
Carmen Berkeley is thrilled to be making her New York theater debut in Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. She previously starred in OutCast Production’s solo-show, Scorch. Carmen graduated in 2019 with her BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Daniel Duque-Estrada
Daniel Duque-Estrada: Other theaters and plays include the NY premiere of Recent Alien Abductions at The Play Company; Multiple seasons with Trinity Rep in Providence, RI (Resident Acting Company Member); two seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; two seasons as a resident actor at the Dallas Theater Center; Commonwealth Shakespeare Company in Boston; CalShakes and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, among others. Television: “Second Chance.” He holds an MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep.
Alyssa May Gold
Broadway: Arcadia, NY Theater: Juliet + Romeo, Julius Caesar, The Maid’s Tragedy (Pocket Universe), Middle of the Night, Lemon Sky (Keen Company), Brilliant Traces (Art of Warr), Film/TV: Rebel in the Rye, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Taking Woodstock. Alyssa is the founder of Pocket Universe, a theater company dedicated to reconsidering and re-imagining classic stories and conventions. BA: NYU Gallatin, MA: LAMDA. Proud member: Team SMASH. Big thanks to CTG. alyssamaygold.com
Rebecca Jimenez
Rebecca Jimenez is honored to be making her Off-Broadway debut in Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. She is a recent BFA graduate from SUNY Purchase. Past credits: Leveling Up, A Chorus Line, Women Playing Hamlet, Henry 6, Bully, The Crucible, Earthquakes in London. Thank you to mi familia… Mami, Papi, Vero, Steph, Abuela, and to my friends. So proud to be doing work by fellow Miami native, Alexis Scheer.
Michaela Perez
Michaela is thrilled to be making her Off-Broadway debut bringing her closer to her “Broadway Goals”. Many thanks to the staff of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord and to Take3Talent for for giving her this amazing opportunity. And of course, many thanks to her parents and sister Miranda who are always proud of her!
Malika Samuel
WP/Second Stage debut! Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Original Cast), The Music Man. TV: Orange Is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, The Big C. Host of Nick Studio 10 and 2013 Kids’ Choice Awards Pre-Show. Film: Holiday Rush, Submission, Central Park. Graduate of NYU/Tisch. Love to Mom & Dad for literally everything. @likal0v3 @thebrooklyncellar
