The World of The Grippe

In 1918, America was at war. Soldiers moved through crowded training camps and across the Atlantic. Cities held parades and public gatherings. Newspapers reported, officials hesitated, and a deadly influenza virus spread faster than the country could understand.

The pandemic infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide — about one-third of the global population — and killed at least 50 million people, including about 675,000 in the United States. There was no vaccine, no antibiotics for secondary infections, and public-health measures such as isolation, quarantine, masks, hygiene, and restrictions on public gatherings were applied unevenly.

This is the world of The Grippe: war and illness, truth and denial, public duty and private grief, civic celebration and civic silence.

What does it cost to tell the truth while the world keeps dancing?

Public Life Under Pressure
Seattle police officers wear protective masks during the 1918 influenza pandemic. (CDC Archive)

Red Cross workers make anti-influenza masks for soldiers in Boston, Massachusetts, during the 1918 flu pandemic. (National Archives)

Two children lie sick in bed during the Spanish flu epidemic in Madison, Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Historical Society)

Front page, The Seattle Times, October 5, 1918

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The Journey: Phase by Phase

The Origin: Isolation & Research

The idea for the play was inspired by an article in the New York Times, written by David Brooks in March of 2020 which implored readers not to think that the recent health crisis would end any time soon. As evidence, Brooks cited the Great Influenza of 1918 which claimed over 50 million lives worldwide and 600,000 deaths in the United States alone. The article also went on to explain that this catastrophe was largely forgotten by 1920 and that no play, musical or other literary product had chronicled that occurrence. It was this one sentence that sent the author into the first stages of research which resulted in the first versions of the play. When a working copy was ready a series of ZOOM readings were conducted in 2020-2021.

New York Development at Open Jar Studios

In the summer of 2021, early supporter Xan Johnson introduced James P. Mirrione to Jeff Whiting at Open Jar Studios, the professional rehearsal complex overlooking Times Square at Broadway and 48th Street.

From 2021 through 2023, The Grippe was explored through a series of table readings at Open Jar with rotating ensembles of New York actors. That development culminated in an April 2024 staged reading with music featuring Equity performers. The presentation also marked the beginning of the play’s collaboration with music director, arranger, and pianist Eugene Gwozdz.

Visit Open Jar Studios →

Main Street Theater

The play then came to the attention of Becky Udden, the artistic director of Main Street Theater in Houston, Texas in March of 2025. This event culminated in a more developed staged reading with music, again under the direction of Eugene Gwozdz, at Main Street Theater on October 5th and 6th, 2025.

Main Street Theater Reading:
https://mainstreettheater.com/the-grippe/

Broadway World Interview with James P. Mirrione:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/houston/article/Interview-James-Mirrione-of-THE-GRIPPE-at-Main-Street-Theater-20250922

Student Workshop Production

In early 2027 that process continues by placing The Grippe in the hands of a larger student ensemble. This workshop gives young performers the opportunity to work inside a new American play with music while it is still being shaped. Students will help explore the scale, movement, music, storytelling, and emotional life of the piece, working alongside the creative team in a rehearsal process that values curiosity, discipline, generosity, and discovery.
The student workshop is both a performance opportunity and a vital part of the play’s development. It allows the creative team to hear new voices, encounter new possibilities, and understand how the work lives when a full community of young artists gathers around it.

Professional Production

Following the student reading, The Grippe will continue toward a production featuring a primarily professional cast, with a select number of student performers invited to participate alongside experienced theatre artists.

This next stage will expand the play’s theatrical vocabulary and bring its full ambition into sharper focus. The production will offer an opportunity to deepen the musical arrangements, refine the staging, strengthen the ensemble relationships, and test the work in front of an audience as a fully realized theatrical event.

For the students involved, this will be a rare chance to step into a professional production environment—not as observers, but as contributing members of the company. For the play, it will be another essential passage from page to stage.

New York Production

The long-term development of The Grippe points toward a major New York production: a production with the scale, artistry, and theatrical force to introduce this story to a wider audience and place its questions in a national conversation.

For Students

Deepen your craft through challenging scenes and ensemble work. The Grippe offers a unique opportunity to work on a new play development, gaining professional-level experience and mentorship that bridges the gap between educational theatre and industry standards.

Student Engagement Topics & Themes

The 1918 Pandemic & Global War
Collective Memory & Public Silence
The Responsibility of the Outsider

Truth, Denial & Reconstruction
Historical Drama as Social Commentary
Intergenerational Storytelling

For Educators

Provide your students with a professional field experience. The Grippe serves as a living laboratory for historical context and dramatic structure, offering educators a template for how contemporary theatre can engage with complex themes of memory and denial.