A SIMPLE HERSTORY Returns in a Special Live Radio Play Presentation in Conjunction with the 2026 Tribeca Festival
Kate MacCluggage and Cecil Baldwin star in the production, directed by Meghan Finn at The Tank.
A Simple Herstory, the acclaimed podcast and genre-blurring performance project created by Jocelyn Kuritsky and written by Jonathan A. Goldberg about the women who have run for President of the United States, will be presented for one afternoon only as a live radio play on Sunday, June 7 at 3:00 PM at The Tank, the award-winning New York arts presenter and incubator known for developing boundary-pushing work by emerging and established artists alike.
The event is presented within the curated event landscape of the Tribeca Festival. Founded in 2002, Tribeca Festival is a major New York cultural event celebrating storytelling across film, audio, television, immersive media, games, and live performance, and this year marks its 25th anniversary.
Originally workshopped at Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College in 2025, this presentation marks a continued evolution of the piece's immersive, interdisciplinary form, translating its richly produced podcast storytelling into a dynamic live radio play.
A Simple Herstory brings together a standout ensemble including Kate MacCluggage (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Broadway's Left on Tenth), Cecil Baldwin (the voice of Welcome to Night Vale), Jake Hart (Big George), Colleen Werthmann (Emmy Award-winning writer and frequent collaborator with Elevator Repair Service), and Jocelyn Kuritsky (Woodshed Collective). The production is directed by Meghan Finn and co-directed by Donya K. Washington, with project consultation and additional conception by Jenny Turner Hall, a Peabody Award Winner for The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel.
This special presentation features a segment from Season 2 of the podcast centered on Margaret Chase Smith, highlighting her historic stand against Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare and the climate of fear and censorship it fostered. While it is an audio drama, Season 2 borrows from 20th-century film styles to create a complex portrait of the Senator from Maine, challenging preconceived notions, historical facts, and perceptions of American culture. Blending archival research, contemporary storytelling, and sonic world-building, A Simple Herstory illuminates the ambitions, barriers, and cultural impact of these candidates, asking not only who gets remembered, but why and how. At once incisive and irreverent, the piece delivers a raucously funny and thought-provoking evening.
A Simple Herstory has received wide recognition for its innovative storytelling across mediums, including recognition as a Webby Award Honoree, a two-time Anthem Award Winner, The Tank Artists of the Year (2022), and a Telly Award Winner in collaboration with Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
A post-show gathering will follow at Torn Page, the former home of legendary actors Rip Torn and Geraldine Page-the venue now serves as a performance space and archive dedicated to their lives and work. Both towering figures of American stage and screen, Torn and Page built expansive careers across theater, film, and television, and the space preserves their artistic legacy. Now overseen by their son, Tony Torn, a beloved downtown theater mainstay, the venue offers a particularly resonant setting for this event: as Tribeca Festival began (and continues) as a major film festival that has evolved into a multidisciplinary celebration of storytelling across mediums, the space itself has similarly transformed from a private home into a dynamic venue for live performance, poetry, and interdisciplinary work. Together, they create a convergence of past and present, where form and legacy intersect. The gathering will feature a conversation with Carl Raymond, creator of the hit history podcast The Gilded Gentleman, offering audiences an opportunity to learn more about the world of A Simple Herstory and its blend of performance, storytelling, and historical inquiry. Additional details forthcoming.
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