American Theater, the provocative documentary directed by Nicholas Clark and Dylan Frederick, offers a behind-the-scenes look at an ambitious theatrical production fueled by political tensions and personal grudges.
Executive-produced by playwright Jeremy O. Harris, the 83-minute film follows former theater director Brian Clowdus as he gathers a group of conservative performers in an abandoned Georgia cabin to create a musical inspired by the 1692 Salem witch trials.
What begins as an attempt to reclaim his place in the theater world quickly becomes an unpredictable production filled with theatrical chaos, political divisions, and plenty of unexpected moments.
American Theater made its world premiere at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature. Following its festival run, it is reaching audiences through a nationwide theatrical roadshow starting November 14-16 at Low Cinema in Queens, NY, followed by other cities including Houston, Salem, Chicago, St. Paul, and Seattle. The film is also available to rent through the Letterboxd Video Store.
Here is the synopsis: Once nationally celebrated for his ambitious outdoor productions at Serenbe Playhouse — including Titanic, staged on an actual sinking ship, and Miss Saigon, featuring a real helicopter landing — director Brian Clowdus saw his career come to a halt in 2020 amid public allegations of unsafe working conditions, racism, and harassment. In the aftermath, he reinvented himself as a MAGA Republican. American Theater meets Clowdus and his newly assembled cast of canceled conservatives attempting to bring their politically charged musical to life, capturing the creative tensions, backstage drama, and unpredictable process of making a site-specific musical, The Salem Experience, loosely based on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
Watch the official trailer for American Theater above.
Theatrical roadshow date
November 14-16 | Queens, NY | Low Cinema
November 16 | Houston, TX | River Oaks Theater
November 19 | Salem, MA | Cinema Salem
November 22 | Atlantic Highlands, NJ | Smodcastle Cinemas
November 23 | Chicago, IL | Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
November 30 | St. Paul, MN | The Heights
December 5 | Seattle, WA | The Egyptian
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