'Walt Whitman’s American Dream' to Be Read at Seton Hall
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Walt Whitman’s American Dream, a new play by Sarah Vander Schaaff, will enjoy a staged reading at Seton Hall, at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, at the University Theatre on campus in the Bishop
Doughty University Center. Running time is 90 minutes. Doors open at 6 p.m. The reading is free and open to
the public first come first serve.
As we mark the 250th Anniversary of our country, Whitman sits right in the middle, a bridge to our struggles and our recommitment. A biopic of Walt Whitman (buried in Camden, NJ), the new play stirs up the bigger questions still at the heart of our experience. The public is invited to see this new play as it makes its way around the country, with Seton Hall being the first stop.
Many public readings of the play will follow in 2026, including in the states of Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with plans underway to travel out West. The cast reading Walt Whitman’s American Dream will include Seton Hall University students to round out the cast of professionals coming from New York.
Playwright Sarah Vander Schaaff said,
As Walt Whitman’s American Dream is in development, the Seton Hall student community is perfect for this staged reading. I can’t think of a generation more attuned to Whitman. They are the future he dreamed of.
Seton Hall English professor Mary Balkun, Ph.D. and Andrew Rimby, Whitman scholar and adjunct professor of English, have been instrumental partners in making this event possible.
Balkun said,
Whitman believed deeply in the moral and imaginative power of the next generation, and that belief resonates strongly with our students today. Bringing Walt Whitman’s American Dream to Seton Hall is an opportunity to encourage students to see themselves as active participants in the ongoing American story.
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Categories: Arts and Culture
