BIG DAWG PRODUCTIONS
presents
Men on Boats
Ruth and Bucky Stein Theatre
May 14-24 · 2026
THU-SAT 7:30 PM · SUN 3:00 PM
Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus is a wildly inventive, razor-sharp comedy that reimagines the 1869 expedition of John Wesley Powell and his crew as they chart the uncharted canyons of the American West. Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon—and no men. In this daring, hilarious retelling, an ensemble of women and female-presenting performers take on the roles of rugged adventurers, flipping the script on history and exploring who gets to tell the story of discovery. Filled with humor, heart, and breathtaking theatricality, Men on Boats is a thrilling journey through uncharted territory—past and present.
“…off-the-canyon-walls funny…”
- Variety
“[MEN ON BOATS] is marvelously destabilizing both as history and theater. The stalwartness and selfishness of the adventurers—their cockiness and cluelessness—become biting satire when sent up by women.”
- New York Magazine.
“…you will surely want to spend time with the hearty title characters of MEN ON BOATS…[a] rollicking history pageant…MEN ON BOATS makes canny use of the obvious distance between performers and their roles to help bridge the distance between then and now…The tone is comic, but never cute or camp. And ultimately, you feel, the play respects its bold if fallible pioneers, in all their natural bravery and fearfulness.”
- The New York Times.
