Men on Boats
by Jaclyn Backhaus

Name: Men on Boats
Brand: Jaclyn Backhaus
SKU: 9780822236429
Rating: 3.71 (268 reviews)

Off-Broadway

Men on Boats Book Cover — Men on Boats Cover

Highlights

Female

105 mins 19th Century All Women Ensemble Cast Role(s) for Trans Actor(s) Role(s) for Non-Binary Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes Comedy

Synopsis

Ten explorers. Four boats.

One Grand Canyon.

Men on Boats is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.

With the adventurers being played by an ensemble of women and gender-expansive actors, Men On Boats reframes masculine arrogance as a farcical, thrilling exploration of everything that goes into, well, exploration.

Press Reviews

"Marvelously destabilizing both as history and theater. The stalwartness and selfishness of the adventurers – their cockiness and cluelessness – become biting satire when sent up by women."
— New York Magazine

"You will surely want to spend time with the hearty title characters of Men on Boats… [a] rollicking history pageant… 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."
— The New York Times

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
William Dunn Hunter and trapper	—	—	Hunter and trapper
John Colton Summer Former soldier, current explorer	—	—	Former soldier, current explorer
Old Shady Powell’s older brother, Civil War vet	male	—	Powell’s older brother, Civil War vet
Bradley Lieutenant, manic with youth	—	—	Lieutenant, manic with youth
O.G. Howland Printer and hunter	—	—	Printer and hunter
Seneca Howland O.G.’s quiet little brother	male	—	O.G.’s quiet little brother
Frank Goodman British, so excited	—	—	British, so excited
Hall Mapmaker, old soul	—	—	Mapmaker, old soul
Hawkins The Cook	—	—	The Cook
Johnson A farmer/tradesman (doubles with O.G. Howland)	—	—	A farmer/tradesman (doubles with O.G. Howland)
Just Jim A farmer/tradesman (doubles with Seneca Howland)	—	—	A farmer/tradesman (doubles with Seneca Howland)
Mr. Asa A desert settler (doubles with Goodman) Author’s note: The characters in Men on Boats were historically cisgender white males. The cast should be made up entirely of people who are not. I’m talking about racially diverse actors who are female-identifying, trans-identifying, genderfluid, and/or non-genderconforming.	female	—	A desert settler (doubles with Goodman) Author’s note: The characters in Men on Boats were historically cisgender white males. The cast should be made up entirely of people who are not. I’m talking about racially diverse actors who are female-identifying, trans-identifying, genderfluid, and/or non-genderconforming.
John Wesley Powell One-armed leader of the expedition	—	—	One-armed leader of the expedition