WALT WHITMAN’S AMERICAN DREAM-New Play by Sarah Vander Schaaff

Editor's Note:  It's a pleasure to inform our readers about Sarah Vander Schaaff's new play.  In years past, Sarah was a contributor to Broadwayworld New Jersey and her articles were always excellent.  We are excited about the evolution of her writing career and are certain that she will enjoy great success.

Walt Whitman's American Dream, a new play by Sarah Vander Schaaff, will enjoy a staged reading at Seton Hall, 400 S Orange Ave, South Orange Village on Tuesday, March 24th at 6:30pm at the University Theatre on campus in the Bishop Doughty University Center. Running time is 90-minutes. Doors will open at 6pm. The reading is FREE and open to the public on a first come first serve basis.

Playwright, Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff has explored story-telling as a playwright, journalist, blogger, and performer.  She has a particular interest in telling stories inspired by history and real events.  Her play, APARTMENT 3F was selected for Centenary Stage Company’s Women Playwrights Series and finalist in the Susan Glaspell play competition. SUSTAIN ME, a two-person comedy probing the broken promises of kale and yoga was performed at the Ground and Field Festival in Davis, California. As a journalist, her writing has appeared in The Washington Post and New York Times, among other outlets. She lives in Maine.

As we mark the 250th Anniversary of our country, Whitman sits right in the middle, a bridge to our struggles and our recommitment. A juicy biopic of Walt Whitman, buried in Camden NJ, the new play stirs up the bigger questions still at the heart of our experience.  Seton Hall is the first stop as Walt Whitman's American Dream  makes its way around the country.

Many public readings of the play will follow in 2026, including in the US States; Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Wisconsin, with plans in the making 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 to the campus from New York.

“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”, Playwright Sarah Vander Schaaff said.

Seton Hall English professor, Dr. Mary Balkun,  and Andrew Rimby, Whitman scholar and adjunct professor of English, have been instrumental partners in making this event possible.

“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,” said Balkun.

For more information about Walt Whitman’s American Dream , please visit whitmancrossing.com. 

Photo Credit: Kapu Patel