Readings and Workshops
Tradwife Play Trad Finds Cast
The new work from writer-actor Kelly Pekar is holding an NYC industry presentation next month.
April 07, 2026 By Logan Culwell-Block
The upcoming NYC industry reading of Kelly Pekar's new play Trad—about the incendiary tradwife movement—has found full casting. The performance is set for May 8, with Hannah Ryan at the helm.
Starring will be Erin Bradford (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), David Gregory (The Good Fight), Lily Lester (Love Story), and Margery Lowe (The Belle of Amherst). Ellyn Heald (The Hills of California) will read stage directions.
Tradwife is the word created around mostly social media content that is glorifying 1950s-style gender roles, eschewing modern feminism and financial independence to encourage women to become homemakers. Many women have found fame as tradwife influencers with endless content of them cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children, usually in a rustic, bucolic setting.
Pekar's play will be set in 2052, following a tradwife TikTok influencer suddenly faced with new challenges after the sudden death of her husband. Tia Levings, author of A Well-Trained Wife and featured in the documentary Shiny Happy People, is serving as a special cultural consultant on the project.
Jampel Productions is producing. The creative team also includes associate director and stage manager Ellie Handel, fiscal dramaturg Brooke Tyler Benson of Not Starving Artists, and production assistant Caroline Howard.
Industry members wishing to attend the May reading can email [email protected].
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