Special readings of ‘Hoodwinked’ explore questions of violence and extremism

“It’s all about the conversation,” McCarter Theatre Center says about a special workshop presentation of artistic director Emily Mann’s Hoodwinked, coming up at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre January 28-31.

A documentary-style drama meant to be “a catalyst for discussion and political action,” according to McCarter, Hoodwinked explores Islamist extremism through the lens of the 2009 mass shooting at the Fort Hood, Texas Army base, tackling the “questions, confusion, and misinformation” that steep in the issues of global Jihadism.

McCarter says this Lab Spotlight reading of Mann’s play will continue the show’s development, after workshops including a reading in November 2012’s McCarter New Play Festival. David Morse and Bill Pullman appeared in a Princeton University workshop of the performance in April 2014. The full cast for the latest performance, directed by Mann, is TBD, but it currently includes Ramsey Faragallah, Zainab Jah, Mahira Kakkar, Melissa Miller, and Ryan Shams.

The play weaves its story from interviews, transcripts, and other primary sources, looking at the dangers of the real-world narrative’s extremist ideology “not only to western nations but also to moderate/traditional Muslims around the world.”

A moderated discussion with Mann and a range of experts will begin immediately following each presentation to examine themes like cultural shifts in the Middle East, Europe, and the US, and current public policy, as well as tackling audience questions.

Each night invites a different panelist, including Princeton Professor of Politics Dr. Amaney A. Jamal (also director of the Workshop on Arab Political Development and president of the Association of Middle East Women’s Studies); Muslim and American pop culture expert and media commentator Dr. Hussein Rashid; and ISIS expert Graeme Wood, the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (a writer for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and many others, with a forthcoming book on ISIS). For the full lineup of scheduled speakers, visit McCarter online.

A workshop reading of Emily Mann’s Hoodwinked, paired with expert discussion, is coming to McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ, January 28-31. Tickets ($15) are available in advance online, by calling 609-258-2787, or at the McCarter box office.