‘Vagina Monologues’ Playwright Tackles Climate Crisis In Show Coming To Miami Beach

The company of “Dear Everything” on stage at a sold-out performance at New York City’s Terminal 5. The show comes to the Miami Beach Bandshell for one performance on Sunday, Sept. 28. (Photo by Jenny Anderson)

Every day, our actions affect Mother Earth and influence the global climate. Dwelling on the future can oftentimes be bleak, making one want to scream. Or, in the case of author, activist, and Tony Award-winner V (formerly Eve Ensler), it makes her write empowering prose (and also scream).

V’s latest play about climate change is not a typical musical, it’s a musical uprising, according to the author.

“Dear Everything” is told in a somewhat folksy style with a narrator guiding the audience — as a cast of characters sings in between the narration. The show embarks on a North American tour this month with stops in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Miami.

V (who changed her name in 2019 to the mononym) will step into the role of narrator for the Miami performance on Sunday, Sept. 28 at the Miami Beach Bandshell.

Although “Dear Everything” premiered earlier this year at the Terminal 5 performance venue in New York City, the play itself has been in development for over five years. The year was 2020, “I was working on a bunch of stuff,” says V, “and (actress-singer) Idina Menzel and (songwriter) Justin Tranter approached me. They were thinking of writing something, but they didn’t even know what they wanted to do together. They were maybe doing an album, maybe a podcast, maybe a podcast story, and (they asked me if I) was interested in writing.”

Playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler) will take the stage of the narrator when the her show comes to Miami Beach. (Photo by Jenny Anderson)

She told them only if it would be about climate change.

“Because that’s all I want to think about right now,” says V.

The collaborative process involved lots of working sessions between V and her musical counterparts. “We’d just start jamming words and lyrics,” says V. “They would just create music and songs… I had never worked on anything like that before in my life.”

To bring the production to life, V also worked with Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus; singer and songwriter Caroline Pennell; songwriter and music producer Eren Cannata; and orchestrator Daniel Crean.

What eventually resulted after many working sessions was a show titled “Wild” that premiered as a concert production at American Repertory Theater in 2021. After that performance, V took the story and reimagined it ever-so-slightly. Years later, it became “Dear Everything.”

While standard adjustments were made for “Wild” to become “Dear Everything, such as scene cuts and dialogue changes, the biggest evolution was its structure. It went from something traditional to something more disruptive, according Ensler.

“I love what it is now, because it’s not a musical, it’s a musical uprising,” V says with a mischievous smile speaking to Artburst via Zoom. “It’s like a narrated concert in a way.”

A successful writer and playwright, V explains that every piece of writing flows from her once she has a structure in place. Once she knows the form of what she’s trying to say, it all falls into place.

Actor Luke Ferrari with other members of the cast of  “Dear Everything” during a performance in New York City. (Photo by Jenny Anderson)

“How you tell stories is reflective of the story you’re telling,” she adds. “And when the show was a musical, it felt like we were doing a musical, but it wasn’t in line with the political dynamic we’re addressing in the show.”

Told through narration and pop rock/folk songs, “Dear Everything” follows a group of adults who are willing to tear down their town’s forest for money. The town’s young people, led by the character of Sophia, work to save the forest and change the hearts of the adults.

V adds how “Dear Everything” highlights the current struggles society faces today being in between “what we know to be true about the future and how people are going to survive in the now.” This conflict is what drives the storyline along.

Atlanta-based Maya Penn, climate activist and poster designer for “Dear Everything,” sees a lot of herself in the main character of Sophia. V and Penn first crossed paths nearly a decade ago in Atlanta while the author was on a book tour. The then 11-year-old Penn was in attendance for the book signing and was already an eager young changemaker.

“She was just so awake,” recalls V about meeting Penn, her eyes lighting up at the memory. “Awake to issues, awake to the earth, awake to sustainability… I just wanted to know her. I wanted to be her friend.”

“We were instantly kindred spirits,” Penn adds.

Since their fateful first meeting, Penn has been involved with V’s non-profit movement V-Day and now she serves as the youngest board member for the organization.

Penn explains how the various characters on stage all have their own micro storylines that intersect in some way — much like in real life. “These characters are still people going through their own struggles and have their own hopes and dreams, all in the midst of all of this crazy stuff happening to their community… ‘Dear Everything’ really shows how the bravest thing that you can do is care and feel deeply,” adds Penn.

Actor Paravi plays Sophia, a Gen-Z who fights to save her local forest, in “Dear Everything.” (Photo by Jenny Anderson)

The show is very youth-driven, according to the creator as the young characters on stage step into their power as activists. The show’s creators hope that what audiences see on stage will inspire them to also get involved in their community. As part of each performance on the tour, the Dear Everything Youth Council will have an information table for those wanting to learn how to get started in being a catalyst for climate change.

“Speaking from a Gen-Z perspective, something I see a lot is how a side effect of caring too much is that we all shut down because of trauma and exhaustion. But art is that tool that can reawaken people’s emotions in a way that they can help their community and give back to the earth,” the 25-year-old Penn continues.

“One of the best things about this whole ‘Dear Everything’ experience has been that it’s felt like there are all these miracles happening around it,” says V.

The writer recalls a wintertime rehearsal in a closed theater where one of her characters was on stage singing about extinction. In that moment, a swallowtail butterfly flew into the scene and landed on the actor’s shoulder. That same butterfly appeared every day during rehearsal.

“I said to my friend that the day we open, that butterfly is going to die,” recalls V. On opening night, the butterfly flew down for the last time. V took the insect home and framed it as a reminder of the miracle that is Mother Earth.

The playwright’s hope for “Dear Everything” is simple: “I hope people fall in love with the Earth,” says V. “I hope they come to understand that the Mother gives us everything… and if people wake to her, and wake to serve her, everything will change.”

WHAT: “Dear Everything” written by V (formerly Eve Ensler)

WHERE: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28.

COST: $35 general admission, $25 for students.

INFORMATION: (786) 453-2897 or deareverythingonstage.org.

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