Wanderers

Esther and Schmuli are Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldn’t be more different. But Anna Ziegler’s funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama explores the hidden connections between seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.This edition was published to coincide with the New York premiere at Roundabout Theatre Company in February 2023, starring Katie Holmes.

The Wanderers is that rare play worth seeing twice, with a plot to ruminate on for a lifetime., The thoughtful, excellent The Wanderers, Anna Ziegler’s accomplished, tightly knit Chinese puzzle box of a play, is a treat for the eyes and the heart., Cunningly devised, The Wanderers provides plenty to relish, then ponder. [Ziegler is] a fearless storyteller.

Anna Ziegler has written the plays Actually (produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse, Trafalgar Studios and others; L.A. Ovation Award winner for Playwriting for an Original Play), the widely produced Photograph 51 (directed on the West End by Michael Grandage and starring Nicole Kidman; WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play; named the number one play of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune and in other years selected as a “Best of the Year” play by The Washington Post and The Telegraph), Boy (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award nominee), The Wanderers (The Old Globe; upcoming at The Roundabout Theatre Company; Craig Noel Award winner for Outstanding New Play), The Last Match (Roundabout Theatre Company; The Old Globe; upcoming: Writers’ Theatre, Chicago), and A Delicate Ship (New York Times Critic’s Pick; The Playwrights Realm; Cincinnati Playhouse). Recent notable: Photograph 51 at Melbourne Theatre Company (Australia); The Great Moment at Seattle Rep (world premiere) and Antigones at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. She is developing television and movie projects at HBO Max and Scott Free Productions. More at annabziegler.net.