Overview
An acclaimed hit in New York and Los Angeles, FATHERLAND is the true story of the 18-year-old son who turned in the father he loves to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Fast-paced and powerful, this riveting drama erupts verbatim from official court transcripts, case evidence, and public statements from the explosive trial that ignited a media frenzy and grabbed headlines nationwide.
Casting & Production
Casting
FATHER – 50. Gun-carrying former Texan oil worker. Talks a big game and dreams of doing big things. Loud, boastful, bigger than life, he drinks and cusses too much. Can be playful, sometimes even tender. Despite their conflicts and differences, he deeply loves his son.
SON – 19. Sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength and determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned, angry, and brokenhearted by what his father has become.
U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY – Female, 50s. Prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice before moving to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Tough, intelligent, precise, driven by an unshakable sense of fairness, a respect for the law, and an untapped maternal instinct
DEFENSE ATTORNEY – Male, 50s-60s. Tenacious, tough-as-nails Baltimore criminal defense attorney, court-appointed to the case. A smart, articulate New England Republican, he quickly understands one thing: the only way to win this case is to eviscerate the son on the stand. He plays by his own rules–or no rules at all.
Setting
PLACE
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, and other places in time.
TIME
March, 2022, and other places in time.
Reviews
“Best Theater of 2024. Electrifying … A powerful new documentary play executed to perfection … Fatherland will leave you shaken.”
–Los Angeles Times
“A finely calibrated, surprisingly affecting new work of verbatim theater … as primal as any parent-child conflict from ancient Greek drama or Shakespeare”
–New York Times
“A must-see play. If you see one play in New York, this is it. Fatherland is brilliant. See it… A brilliant, powerful, riveting, and moving new play.”
–Lawrence O’Donnell, The Last Word, MSNBC
“Extraordinary drama.”
–Morning Joe, MSNBC
“Powerful. Strong. Ferocious. This is real theater that sears the soul. The single most dramatically important play of this or many seasons.”
—WBAI, New York
