1. Wolf Play
2. Artists and Crew
3. Gallery
4. Behind the Scenes
5. Reviews
6. Accessibility Options

About the Play

In an interview with the New York Times playwright Hansol Jung shared that she was inspired to write Wolf Play after reading an article about online groups American couples use to find new parents for their adopted children – usually from other countries – “as casually as if they were discarding unwanted furniture.” With Wolf Play, we meet a young boy, Jeenu, who feels more connection to wolves than people: “The wolf knows that he is alone, that all he has is his paws and cunning to survive in the ever-changing environment.” First he is adopted by Peter and Katie who are unable to connect with him, so they arrange for a private adoption via the internet to Robin, who gives her partner, Ash, very little notice about the adoption. Complications arise when Peter brings the boy to his new home and realizes that Robin and Ash are a queer couple. When he attempts to take the boy back. Ash, an aspiring boxer, intervenes, and orders Pete to leave. So the journey begins for Jeenu and his new caregivers to confront their own loneliness and find a path to family. What ultimately makes a family?

Notes from the Director

This play is a gut punch. Ten rounds of a boxing match. It is also a ray of hope in dark times. As a queer parent I feel this play in my soul. When I read about the very real phenomenon of “re-homing“ adopted children over the internet, some our most vulnerable humans, the trauma seemed unimaginable. Our systems fail our children. By nature as humans we adapt, we survive. This is not the fairytale we’ve been sold. The lone Wolf looking for its pack.

This play is also about how we create family. Blood. Chosen. Should we have to choose? As legislation is increasingly targeting LGBTQIA+ people, families are losing. How do we choose each other? Who we pull close even when they seem broken and who we discard because they can no longer treat us with care. Who allows us to BE who we are: queer, trans, longing, misled, fierce robins, or vulnerable wolves. Who hears us when we say nothing? Who sees us when we are “not what you think you see”?

And who will you fight for?

Who will YOU fight for?

I will champion the Wolf everytime.

— Elizabeth Carter, Director