MULEHEADED, OR ZORA AND LANGSTON WRITE A PLAY By David Robson to Premiere at Passage Theatre Company
The new play explores the tumultuous collaboration between Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.
At the end of this month, Passage Theatre, the only professional theatre company in Trenton, will open David Robson's Muleheaded, or Zora and Langston Write a Play, a world premiere based on a seldom told true story between literary giants Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Robson had previously written Passage Theatre's fall 2022 production of Blues in My Soul. This production stars Constance Thompson as ZORA, Anthony Vaughn Merchant as LANGSTON, and Unissa Cruse as LOUISE and will be directed by Passage Theatre Executive Artistic Director Brishen Miller, with Passage's season 41 artist-in-residence Ozzie Jones serving as the production's dramaturg.
In Muleheaded, Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes team up to write a Broadway play-but artistic dreams give way to betrayal, ego, and heartbreak. Set during the Harlem Renaissance and inspired by true events, this sharp, soulful drama explores the fragility of friendship, the weight of ambition, and what happens when the dream is deferred.
"It's both an artists' love story and a cautionary tale to all who create," shares Miller. "This play challenges us to consider how we heal after the dream is deferred and the history is rewritten."
Muleheaded will run for three weekends, Wednesday through Sunday, January 29 through February 16, 2026. Due to some sensuality and coarse language, this play is recommended for audiences 14 and up.
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