New Work Preview at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park: "Baldwin et Lucien"

Experience the Broadway-bound original play (with music) Baldwin et Lucien by playwright and actor R. Jahan. Set in the winter of 1952 in a secluded chalet in Loeche-les-Bains, Switzerland, Baldwin et Lucien is a surrealist drama that imagines an intimate chapter in the life of a young James Baldwin and his one true love, Lucien Happersberger. Moving fluidly between memory, fantasy, and emotional confrontation, the play explores race, exile, queer love, language barriers, artistic creation, and the haunting presence of the past.

A reception for audience members and the cast and crew of the production will happen at 6 p.m. in the Lobby Gallery. A talkback with production members and audience will follow the showing.

R. Jahan is a multi-hyphenate artist — actor, playwright, and model — known for excavating bold, emotionally charged narratives that center queer identity, racial complexity, and the pursuit of truth in art. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), Jahan trained in both stage and film performance before expanding into playwriting, where their work merges poetic intensity with deep psychological, magical surrealism.

Click here to learn more and reserve your ticket.