March 8-March 29, 2025

Dance Loft on 14

Written By & Starring: David S. Kessler
Directed by: Lynn Sharp Spears
A co-production between Nu Sass Productions and Uncle Funsy Productions

David S. Kessler is “A Joy to Watch” - DC Theatre Scene

K, a quirky zookeeper with infectious enthusiasm and a penchant for storytelling, has just got to tell you about Wombats, lovely Wombats. And Red Pandas. And silent German movies. And Tortoise poop. And a sleeping Siamang Gibbon. And vertigo. And Moonrat vaginas. And sex education movies. And Wombats! Join K in his digressions and diversions as he exalts the remarkably unremarkable. 

Drawn from David S. Kessler’s almost forty years of experience at the National Zoo (and from his fevered imagination), Wombat Drool is the fictional and amusing rants of a man more comfortable with animals than people, a man who spent his life behind bars with a compulsion to share what he knows and feels about his fellow cagemates and the humans on the outside. K celebrates small mammals, the forsaken and forgotten of the animal world, the misfits, the weird, the smelly. Get small with K and discover that Small Matters.

Team Wombat has crafted an entertainment for those who love animals, for those who don’t love animals, and for those who fall somewhere in between. Join K and be stuck up a tree with a Red Panda, harassed in the Tortoise yard, pelted by the space Chimp, cuddled by the Siamang, and the Wombat? The Wombat Drool? You’ll just have to find out for yourself.

Wombat Drool is a work of fiction. Resemblance to any animals – human or otherwise – is pure coincidence. No animals were harmed in the making of this production.

This play is for ages 14 and up due to explicit language and scenes not suitable for younger children.

Wombat Drool is supported in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

A version of Act II was originally presented at the 2015 Capital Fringe Festival.

WHILE OUR LIVE PRODUCTION OF WOMBAT DROOL MAY HAVE CLOSED, YOU CAN STILL BUY TICKETS TO WATCH VIA
VIDEO ON DEMAND!

Video on Demand of Wombat Drool is only available March 29 - April 12, 2025.

TICKETS

  • $25 - General Admission

  • $60 - Date Night (2 tickets, 2 drinks, 2 snacks)

  • $15 - Students/Teachers/Essential Workers

  • $10 - Industry

  • $0 - Pay What You Will (Available at all performances)

LOCATION

  • The Dance Loft
    4618 14th St NW, Washington, DC

  • Free street parking is available evenings and Sunday.

  • We regret to inform that this venue is not ADA accessible.

SHOW DATES & TIMES

Saturday, March 8th, 7:30 pm

  • Sunday, March 9th, 2:00 pm

  • Friday, March 14th, 7:30 pm

  • Saturday, March 15th, 7:30 pm

  • Sunday, March 16th, 2:00 pm

  • Sunday, March 16th, 7:30 pm

  • Friday, March 21st, 7:30 pm

  • Saturday, March 22nd, 3:00 pm

  • Saturday, March 22nd, 7:30 pm

  • Sunday, March 23rd, 2:00 pm

  • Friday, March 28th, 7:30 pm

  • Saturday, March 29th, 7:30 pm

The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission

 
 

CAST & CREW

WRITTEN BY David S. Kessler

DIRECTED BY Lynn Sharp Spears

PRODUCTION MANAGER Ileana Blustein

SOUND & PROJECTION DESIGN Neil McFadden

SET & PROPS DESIGN Aubri O’Connor

GRAPHIC DESIGN DRAWINGS Adelaide Waldrop

STARRING David S. Kessler

PRODUCERS Aubri O’Connor & David S. Kessler

STAGE MANAGER Lisa Blythe

LIGHT DESIGN Liv Jin

PAINTING & SCULPTURE Patricia Powell Kessler

MARKETING Hannah Wing-Bonica

 

CURRENT REVIEWS FOR WOMBAT DROOL

"The stories come to life in ways that make you rethink what it is we see when we look into the enclosures at the National Zoo. A deeply thoughtful foray into a subject about which not many people may know, Wombat Drool delightfully entertains and informs."
- MD Theatre Guide

“Think of David S. Kessler’s K as a zookeeper who is a combination of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Garrison Keillor. His subject (animals in a zoo and their keepers) is simultaneously commonplace and strange to us. But he guides us through it in a way that makes it accessible and wonderful.”
- DC Theatre Arts

"Wombat Drool is comedic and light, but not unserious. K’s off-track storytelling habit often tells the audience as much about the humans involved as the animals. Occasionally, his stories reveal more about himself, our reliable but emotionally complex narrator."
- Broadway World

PAST REVIEWS FOR WOMBAT DROOL

Washington City Paper: "Kessler delivers a vigorous and confident performance that, combined with compelling anecdotes, lulls the audience into a constant state of charm." 

DC Theatre Scene: "Wombat Drool may just be the quintessential Fringe show. It's personal, quirky, produced with nary but one actor, one slideshow, and a couple of stuffed animals." 5 Stars

The Washington Post: "Kessler's cheerily infectious wit and energy are well guided by director Jane Beard."

DC Metro Theater Arts: "Storytelling is definitely an art form only few master, and Kessler is certainly one of them."  5 Stars

The New York Times: Read all about Adelaide Waldrop's incredible Wombat Drool artwork.