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Photos by Hunter Canning, IRT Theater (3B Residency), 2018
From 2018 to today...
our 'Tasters' have been all over the world.
H*tler’s Tasters, written by Michelle Kholos Brooks, directed by Sarah Norris, and featuring an all-female team, is a unique theatrical event that is a fictional retelling of a largely unknown story of the young German women conscripted to taste Adolf Hitler’s food for poison. This dark comedy explores the way girls navigate sexuality, friendship, and patriotism during the Third Reich. Using an anachronistic retelling of an historical footnote, H*tler’s Tasters considers what girls discuss as they wait to see if they will survive another meal.
The 90-minute piece is enhanced by dance and a captivating soundtrack.
Production History:
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Fall of 2018, premiered at IRT Theater in the West Village / NYC.
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Summer of 2019, ran at the North Shore Performing Arts Center in Chicago.
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Summer of 2019, played a SOLD OUT run for audiences at the East to Edinburgh Festival at 59E59 Theaters (NYC).
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Summer of 2019, the play made its' international debut, boasting a SOLD OUT run for audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Greenside Venues @ Infirmary Street).
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In March 2020, the production was invited for a month-long run at the Electric Lodge in Los Angeles. After only three performances, the show was obliged to close prematurely due to Covid-19.
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During the shutdown of 2020, the show was featured in multiple digital events including: Moment Magazine (along with prominent Holocaust historian Gavriel Rosenfeld), the Teatron Jewish Theatre Festival and The Kilroys List.
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Summer of 2021, the celebrated production was invited back for a digital return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Pleasance Theatre).
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Summer of 2021, ran at Guild Hall of East Hamptons, NY.
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Summer of 2021, ran at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY.
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Spring of 2022, ran at Calliope Stage in Sylva, North Carolina.
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Spring of 2022, ran for an off-Broadway limited engagement at Theatre Row on 42nd Street.
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Fall of 2022, published by TRW Plays! Check it out and produce it today.
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Winter of 2023, will be presented by the Bunbury-ShPIeL Identity Theatre Project in Louisville, KY
Featuring (left to right): Hannah Mae Sturges, Hallie Griffin, MaryKathryn Kopp, & Kaitlin Paige Longoria
select features:
Learn more of the history of H*tler's food tasters from this BBC article:
'The women who tasted Hitler's food' by Holly Williams, featuring our playwright, Michelle Kholos Brooks
Check out H*tler's Tasters in the LA Times:
'Age 28, going on 12: How adult actors pull off playing children onstage' by Stuart Miller, featuring interviews from Michelle Kholos Brooks, Sarah Norris, & Hallie Griffin
Check out our cast in the Chicago Tribune:
'Survival is Complicated for H*tler's Tasters' by Myrna Petlicki, featuring interviews from Hallie Griffin, MaryKathryn Kopp, Kaitlin Paige Longoria, & Hannah Mae Sturges
Our playwright, Michelle Kholos Brooks, is on Broadway Radio, having a conversation with Matt Tammanini about the young women of “H*tler’s Tasters.”
Soundtrack
Click image above for bios and links.
"One of the best soundtracks compiled for a play I have ever heard."
Holli Harms
Front Row Center
Sir Babygirl, Spud Cannon, Pretty Polly, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Ellen Winter,
and Amy Leon
...maybe a little Madonna
talkback series
In the spring of 2022, New Light curated 7 distinguished panels of guest speakers
to compliment our production.
Click on any of the titles below to view:
Thursday, April 7: Art 'Attacks' Tyranny
Friday, April 15: Misinformation from H*tler to Putin
Saturday, April 16: Working w/ Women: A Fully Female Cast & Creative Team
Thursday, April 28: Female-led Theater and the Path to Parity
Thursday, May 5: Is it Jewish or Jew-ish? Defining Contemporary Jewish Theater
Sunday, May 8: Marginalized Women on the Page and Stage
Thursday, May 12: Fact/Fiction: Hitler in Art and Media
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
in partnership with the City Council.
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