The Chosen Program

March 8–27, 2011A funny, moving portrait of the unrequited life of Rosalind Franklin, one of the great female scientists of the 20th Century, and her fervid drive to map the contours of the DNA molecule. A chorus of physicists relives the chase, revealing the unsung achievments of this trail-blazing woman whose stunning discover-ies included the beating of her own romantic heart.

March 23–April 24

PHOTOGRAPH 51

By Anna ZieglerDirected by Daniella Topol

Featuring Elizabeth RichWith Clinton Brandhagen, James Flanagan,

Tim Getman, Michael Glenn and Alexander Strain

A play that glows with intelligence

and humanity”- Backstage

Developed and produced by The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. This production funded in part through the EST/Sloan Project Mainstage Initiative.

Next Up At Theater J...

(800) 494-TIXS • theaterj.org • 16th & Q Streets NW

March 8–27, 2011

THE CHOSEN

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater Welcomes its firstGuest Company-In-Residence


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It’s an honor to be asked to share our work, our heritage, our mis-sion, and our spirit with this extraordinary theater company. Arena Stage has always been a model theater citizen, helping to raise the game, and extend a hand, to smaller companies all over town. Now, in this glistening new jewel box, Arena is reaching out as never be-fore to companies across the country and throughout the city, to help broaden and deepen the range of work that’s to be shared with its audience. And in reaching out to us, Arena has invited in the Theater J au-dience as well, a nucleus of some 1,400 subscribers and 36,000 ticket buyers this past calendar year, to add a Jewish Voice and Pres-ence to Arena’s most significant inaugural relaunch. We are proud to be that Jewish voice, bringing a universal message of what it means to be an immigrant in America; what it means to be of faith in America—and to have that faith challenged by the forces of modernism, intellectual freedom, and even—lurking around the corner—the dreaded (though frequently inevitable and often seductive) assimilation. Aaron Posner’s wonderful adaptation of Chaim Potok’s masterpiece plays to multiple generations at one and the same time, speaking to teenagers who’ve judged a book by its cover, so to speak, only to be startled to find that underneath the façade—the stereotype—lurks something surprising, inspiring, and utterly identifiable. For a non-Jew to find himself or herself in Danny Saunders is not only miraculous; it’s a testament to the persuasiveness of Chaim Potok’s creation. And yet adults as well may very well approach these characters—the Hasidic, Orthodox Jews—and assume a difference; a lack of familiarity that breeds contempt; and so many of us, in our humanism, assume that same secular snobbery; a superiority banked on our own liberation from tradition and its yoke of adherence to ritual, to dress code, to diet. And so this play—this elegant force of literature—comes at the apikoris in all of us (which is to say the skeptic, the slacker, the “bad Jew”) like one of the more provocative subversions our thought-provoking theater has ever offered. Because this work quietly, unassumingly, soulfully binds us each to the other, breaking down preconceptions—linking secular to religious; orthodox to liberal; right-wing to left—each of us finding, like Danny and Reuven, something to admire and to envy in the other, even as we are made to appreciate who we are by the generosity of spirit which pervades this novel, which our adapter has shaped so lovingly for the stage. Our theater seeks to build bridges in the dramas we present, but frequently there is the assumption that those bridges only span the distance between our community and our neighbors. The Chosen reminds us today, as it did 10 years ago, that there are equally critical bridges to traverse within our own circles, our own schools, our own families, within our own hearts. We are all as divided as Revuen and Danny, as Reb Saunders and David Malter, stamped by our heritage, yet set free in this great land. We are trans-ported by the love that’s transmitted in this work, and hope to hold onto this grace for a long while—after this brief three-week residency on the Fichandler Stage comes to an end, we’ll remember how we were touched by this magical place, this magical book, this magic called theater. Come back and see us over on 16th and Q! We’ve got great art and ideas mixing it up on a nightly and daily basis in one of the most vibrant JCC’s in the world. Like Arena, it’s a special place.

- Ari Roth

From the Artistic Director

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So, I’ve directed well over 100 plays during my 20+ years as a professional director, and adapted more than a dozen works of lit-erature for the stage. I have loved some, liked more, and enjoyed most. But I have never felt more proud—or that I have been doing something more worthwhile—than I have while working on bring-ing Chaim Potok’s masterful novel of friendship, family and faith, The Chosen, to the stage.

I had the honor of working closely with Chaim on this adapta-tion. The conversations we had were meaningful to me not only in the work, but in my life as well. He was a wise and passionate artist and teacher, and he believed deeply in the power of what he would call, with full and careful emphasis, “serious literature.” He did not write to simply entertain, but rather to illuminate, to explore, to celebrate and to connect.

I hope you will find this simple, hu-man story of two fathers and two sons as compelling as I do. While it takes place in a very Jewish world, I know a huge part of Chaim’s suc-cess as a novelist was his ability to cross boundaries of all kinds. You do not have to be Jewish to under-stand or connect deeply to his work. He took special pride, in fact, in let-ters he would receive from readers all over the world—many of whom had never met a Jew—who felt that he was telling their story, too.

I am grateful to be immersed in his world once again here in Washing-ton, DC with this exceptional group of artists and these two exceptional theater companies. Theater J was the first to produce THE CHOSEN after its inaugural production in 1999, and Ari Roth helped spread the word about the script that has

lead to over 50 professional productions nationwide over the last decade. I am equally pleased to be part of Arena’s inaugural season in this sparkling new facility. Both com-panies have been wonderfully supportive of this project and a joy to work with.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this production to my wondeful parents, and to my once and future walking partner and fellow secular spiritual explorer, Clarke.

Thanks for coming. I hope you enjoy THE CHOSEN. And I hope you will be compelled to read more of Chaim’s “serious literature.” It is wonderfully worthwhile.

Warmly,

Aaron Posner

It’s an honor to be asked to share our work, our heritage, our mis-sion, and our spirit with this extraordinary theater company. Arena Stage has always been a model theater citizen, helping to raise the game, and extend a hand, to smaller companies all over town. Now, in this glistening new jewel box, Arena is reaching out as never be-fore to companies across the country and throughout the city, to help broaden and deepen the range of work that’s to be shared with its audience. And in reaching out to us, Arena has invited in the Theater J au-dience as well, a nucleus of some 1,400 subscribers and 36,000 ticket buyers this past calendar year, to add a Jewish Voice and Pres-ence to Arena’s most significant inaugural relaunch. We are proud to be that Jewish voice, bringing a universal message of what it means to be an immigrant in America; what it means to be of faith in America—and to have that faith challenged by the forces of modernism, intellectual freedom, and even—lurking around the corner—the dreaded (though frequently inevitable and often seductive) assimilation. Aaron Posner’s wonderful adaptation of Chaim Potok’s masterpiece plays to multiple generations at one and the same time, speaking to teenagers who’ve judged a book by its cover, so to speak, only to be startled to find that underneath the façade—the stereotype—lurks something surprising, inspiring, and utterly identifiable. For a non-Jew to find himself or herself in Danny Saunders is not only miraculous; it’s a testament to the persuasiveness of Chaim Potok’s creation. And yet adults as well may very well approach these characters—the Hasidic, Orthodox Jews—and assume a difference; a lack of familiarity that breeds contempt; and so many of us, in our humanism, assume that same secular snobbery; a superiority banked on our own liberation from tradition and its yoke of adherence to ritual, to dress code, to diet. And so this play—this elegant force of literature—comes at the apikoris in all of us (which is to say the skeptic, the slacker, the “bad Jew”) like one of the more provocative subversions our thought-provoking theater has ever offered. Because this work quietly, unassumingly, soulfully binds us each to the other, breaking down preconceptions—linking secular to religious; orthodox to liberal; right-wing to left—each of us finding, like Danny and Reuven, something to admire and to envy in the other, even as we are made to appreciate who we are by the generosity of spirit which pervades this novel, which our adapter has shaped so lovingly for the stage. Our theater seeks to build bridges in the dramas we present, but frequently there is the assumption that those bridges only span the distance between our community and our neighbors. The Chosen reminds us today, as it did 10 years ago, that there are equally critical bridges to traverse within our own circles, our own schools, our own families, within our own hearts. We are all as divided as Revuen and Danny, as Reb Saunders and David Malter, stamped by our heritage, yet set free in this great land. We are trans-ported by the love that’s transmitted in this work, and hope to hold onto this grace for a long while—after this brief three-week residency on the Fichandler Stage comes to an end, we’ll remember how we were touched by this magical place, this magical book, this magic called theater. Come back and see us over on 16th and Q! We’ve got great art and ideas mixing it up on a nightly and daily basis in one of the most vibrant JCC’s in the world. Like Arena, it’s a special place.

- Ari Roth

From the Director

Chaim Potok

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Theater J Council

Washington DCJCC Leadership

President Mindy Strelitz Chief Executive Officer Arna Meyer MickelsonChief Operating Officer Margaret Hahn Stern

Chief Financial Officer Judith IanualeChief Development Officer Mark SpiraChief Programming Officer Joshua Ford

Marion Ein Lewin Co-ChairPaul Mason Co-ChairLois Fingerhut Vice-ChairCarolyn Kaplan Vice-ChairMara Bralove Treasurer Ellen Malasky Secretary

Natalie Abrams Patty AbramsonMichele G. BermanDeborah CarlinerMimi ConwayMyrna FawcettAnn Gilbert Cheryl GorelickYoav LurieJack MoskowitzElaine ReubenEvelyn Sandground

Hank SchlosbergMita SchafferAndy ShallalPatti SowalskyStephen SternManny StraussBarbara TempchinTrish VradenburgJoan WesselRosa WienerIrene WurtzelBernard YoungMargot Zimmerman

Theater J’s Passports Educational Program The Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation

The Arlene and Robert Kogod New Play Development Program Arlene & Robert Kogod

The Fisher Family Visiting Artists Program Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation

Theater J’s Angels

This select group has provided generous support for THE CHOSENEsthy & Jim AdlerAndrew AmmermanMichele & Allan BermanCheryl Gorelick

Judy & Peter KovlerFaye & Jack MoskowitzDiane & Arnold PolingerCharlotte & Hank Schlosberg

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CastReb Saunders Rick Foucheux*David Malter Edward Gero*Older Reuven Aaron Davidman*Danny Joshua MorganYoung Reuven Derek Kahn Thompson

Artistic & Production Team Scenic Designer James Kronzer**Lighting Designer Nancy Schertler**Costume Designer Kate Turner-Walker**Stage Manager Susan R. White*Sound Designer James SuggProperties Designer Michelle ElwynProduction Dramaturg Stephen SpotswoodDialect Coach Shelley Herman GillonAssistant Directors Alvin Ford Jr., Christina HalliganStage Management Assistant Michael D. WardAssistant to Set Designer Sean UrbantkeAssistant to Lighting Designer Andrew CissnaShow Carpenter Sean Malarkey Light Board Operator Scott FolsomSound Engineer Brian BurchettProps Marion Hampton DubéWardrobe Alice Hawfield

The Arlene and Robert Kogod New Play Development Program Arlene & Robert Kogod

THE CHOSENMarch 8–27, 2011

Fichandler Stage/Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

Patrons are requested to turn off pagers, cellular phones and signal watches, and to refrain from tak-ing photographs, text messaging, or making a recording of any aspect of this performance.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

** Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829

Theater J and Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater would like to extend Special Thanks to: Stephanie Friedman Deb Thomas of The Studio TheatreRabbi Ethan Seidel of Tifereth Israel CongregationRabbi James Michaels of Hebrew Home for the AgedRena Fruchter of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presentsTheater J’s Production of

THE CHOSENAdapted and Directed by Aaron PosnerBased on the novel by Chaim Potok

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(adapted from The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, aish.com, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Study Guide)Apikorsim: Literally: unbeliever or heretic. A derogatory term referring to secular or less obser-vant Jews—usually used by Orthodox Jews. Eretz Yisroel: Literally: The Land of Israel. Area which Jews believe God promised them in the Torah.

Gematriya: A method of interpreting a biblical word based on the numerical value of its letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This discipline of Jewish mysticism seeks to find hidden meanings of words through numerology. Goyim or Goy: [Yiddish] Non-Jews; Gentiles.Haganah: A militia founded in Palestine in the 1920s to protect Jew-ish settlements from attack by Arab Palestinians. At times the Haga-nah cooperated with the British Army (which controlled Palestine at the time); other times they acted against British policies. After 1948, Haganah became the Israel Defense Force (IDF)—the Israeli army.Hasidism: A Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jewish religious movment that promotes strict observance of Jewish laws and rituals, and has a connection to Jewish mysticism. Hasidism traces its roots to 18th Century Eastern Europe, where Jews had lived for nearly 500 years. In the mid-1600s a rebellion by the Cossacks and Orthodox Christian classes targeted the Jews for their religious beliefs and their con-nections to the gentry. Many Jewish communities in the area were destroyed. Seeking spiritual relief, some Jews turned to Israel ben Eliezer, a spiritual master and guide sometimes referred to as Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Name). He taught that service to God did not consist solely of religious scholarship but also a sincere love of God and a willingness to devote one’s life to Him. This belief put Ha-

sidic Jews, as the followers of ben Eliezer would eventually be called, at odds with the Rabbini-cal establishment, who opposed a sect that seemed to represent a departure from reason and scholarship. Upon ben Eliezer’s death, his circle of followers split Eastern Europe, each moving to a different area. Over the next century, Hasidic dynastic courts spread across Europe, each one named after the shtetl of its origin. Leadership of each court was passed down the family line. The majority of Hasidic Jews in America arrived shortly after World War II. Most of the ap-proximately 165,000 Hasidim in the New York City area live in three neighborhoods in Brook-lyn: there are approximately 45,000 Satmar Hasidim in Williamsburg, over 50,000 Bobover Hasidim in Boro Park, and at least 15,000 Lubavitch in Crown Heights. Irgun: A Zionist rebel group that operated between 1931 and 1948, considered by some to be a terrorist organization; others regarded them as freedom fighters. Kosher or Kasher: Literally: fit, proper. Ceremonially clean according to Jewish law. Often refers to food, but can also be used to designate the ritual fitness of any object.Macher: [Yiddish] An important person; a big shot.Meshugunah: [Yiddish] Crazy.Mishnah: The documented version of Jewish oral law. Religious Jews believe the Jewish people received the written Torah and the Oral Torah at Mount Sinai. The oral Torah was the explana-tion of how the written laws should be followed, and was passed from one generation to the next but never written down. But during the second century, oppression by Rome—reflected in the destruction of the Temple and the defeat of the Bar Kokhba rebellion—was causing the oral Torah to be lost. As a consequence, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi collected and edited these halak-hot (Jewish laws) so that they would continue to be passed on. The end result was a definitive, yet cryptic (a teacher was still required to explain the material) version of the entire Oral Law called the Mishnah. (Literally: repetition, because it was studied by repeating). The Mishnah is divided into six basic segments and further subdivided into 63 tractates with a total of 525 chapters.

Glossary of Terms

Gematriya Table

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(adapted from The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, aish.com, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Study Guide)Apikorsim: Literally: unbeliever or heretic. A derogatory term referring to secular or less obser-vant Jews—usually used by Orthodox Jews. Eretz Yisroel: Literally: The Land of Israel. Area which Jews believe God promised them in the Torah.

Gematriya: A method of interpreting a biblical word based on the numerical value of its letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This discipline of Jewish mysticism seeks to find hidden meanings of words through numerology. Goyim or Goy: [Yiddish] Non-Jews; Gentiles.Haganah: A militia founded in Palestine in the 1920s to protect Jew-ish settlements from attack by Arab Palestinians. At times the Haga-nah cooperated with the British Army (which controlled Palestine at the time); other times they acted against British policies. After 1948, Haganah became the Israel Defense Force (IDF)—the Israeli army.Hasidism: A Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jewish religious movment that promotes strict observance of Jewish laws and rituals, and has a connection to Jewish mysticism. Hasidism traces its roots to 18th Century Eastern Europe, where Jews had lived for nearly 500 years. In the mid-1600s a rebellion by the Cossacks and Orthodox Christian classes targeted the Jews for their religious beliefs and their con-nections to the gentry. Many Jewish communities in the area were destroyed. Seeking spiritual relief, some Jews turned to Israel ben Eliezer, a spiritual master and guide sometimes referred to as Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Name). He taught that service to God did not consist solely of religious scholarship but also a sincere love of God and a willingness to devote one’s life to Him. This belief put Ha-

sidic Jews, as the followers of ben Eliezer would eventually be called, at odds with the Rabbini-cal establishment, who opposed a sect that seemed to represent a departure from reason and scholarship. Upon ben Eliezer’s death, his circle of followers split Eastern Europe, each moving to a different area. Over the next century, Hasidic dynastic courts spread across Europe, each one named after the shtetl of its origin. Leadership of each court was passed down the family line. The majority of Hasidic Jews in America arrived shortly after World War II. Most of the ap-proximately 165,000 Hasidim in the New York City area live in three neighborhoods in Brook-lyn: there are approximately 45,000 Satmar Hasidim in Williamsburg, over 50,000 Bobover Hasidim in Boro Park, and at least 15,000 Lubavitch in Crown Heights. Irgun: A Zionist rebel group that operated between 1931 and 1948, considered by some to be a terrorist organization; others regarded them as freedom fighters. Kosher or Kasher: Literally: fit, proper. Ceremonially clean according to Jewish law. Often refers to food, but can also be used to designate the ritual fitness of any object.Macher: [Yiddish] An important person; a big shot.Meshugunah: [Yiddish] Crazy.Mishnah: The documented version of Jewish oral law. Religious Jews believe the Jewish people received the written Torah and the Oral Torah at Mount Sinai. The oral Torah was the explana-tion of how the written laws should be followed, and was passed from one generation to the next but never written down. But during the second century, oppression by Rome—reflected in the destruction of the Temple and the defeat of the Bar Kokhba rebellion—was causing the oral Torah to be lost. As a consequence, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi collected and edited these halak-hot (Jewish laws) so that they would continue to be passed on. The end result was a definitive, yet cryptic (a teacher was still required to explain the material) version of the entire Oral Law called the Mishnah. (Literally: repetition, because it was studied by repeating). The Mishnah is divided into six basic segments and further subdivided into 63 tractates with a total of 525 chapters.

Glossary of TermsModern Orthodox: A philosophy that attempts to adapt Or-thodox Judaism and interaction with the surrounding modern world. The Modern Orthodox movement developed in the mid-18th Century as a middle ground between the Ultra-Orthodox movement and the liberal Reform movement, and was led by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. He took a literalist approach to the biblical narrative and divine revelation, insisting that the written and oral law are authoritative for all Jews. However he differed from traditionalist Orthodox leaders in his readiness to harmonize traditional Judaism with modern life in dress, speech and forms of worship.“Observer of the Commandments”: Refers to the 613 mitzvot (commandments) to which Jews are expected to adhere. Ac-cording to traditional Judaism, God gave Noah and his family seven commandments to observe when he saved them from the flood. These commandments are: 1) to establish courts of justice; 2) not to commit blasphemy; 3) not to commit idolatry; 4) not to commit incest and adultery; 5) not to commit blood-shed; 6) not to commit robbery; and 7) not to eat flesh cut from a living animal. Observant Jews believe these seven command-ments are binding to all people—Jews and Non-Jews alike—because all people are descended from Noah. The 613 mitzvot, on the other hand, are only binding to the descendants of those who accepted the commandments at Sinai (those of Jewish descent) and to those who have converted to Judaism.Payos: Earlocks or sidecurls. Many strictly observant Jewish men wear their earlocks long in accordance with a passage in the Torah.Rabbi: Literally: teacher. A rabbi is a scholar and an expert in Jewish law. Rabbis serve as the spiritual and religious leader of their congregation.

Satmar Hasidism: A Hasidic sect whose followers initially adhered to the late Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), Satmar Rebbe in the town of Szatmárnémeti (now Satu Mare, Romania). While the sect of Hasidism to which Danny Saunders and his father adhere is not named in THE CHOSEN, many of its characteristics seem to resemble the Satmar community.Shabbat: The day of rest and contemplation; the holy day of the Jewish week, commemorating God’s day of rest after creating the world in six days. Shabbat lasts from sundown on Friday night until sundown on Saturday. Observant Jews believe that no work should be done on Shabbat—including driving, preparing food, or lighting a fire or stove.Shul: A common term for synagogue. Literally: school.Synagogue: A Jewish house of worship.Talmud: Literally: teaching. The book of Jewish law and commentaries on the Torah by learned rabbis. The name applies to each of the two great compilations, the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jeru-salem Talmud) and the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud). The Talmud includes the Mishnah (The Laws) followed by the Gemara (The Commentaries). The Talmud also includes ethical guidance, medical advice and historical information.Torah: A term applied to both the entire corpus of sacred literature and to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament)Tzaddik: A righteous man often considered to possess spiritual power. Not all tzaddiks are rabbis, but the leading rabbi of some Hasidic communities is deemed a tzaddik. According to Hasidism, the tzaddik is the intermediary between God and man, the “soul of the world.”Tzitzit: The fringes of the tallit, a shawl that Orthodox and Hasidic men and boys wear beneath their clothes. The fringes remind the wearer of the commandments.Yeshiva: A school where students study sacred texts, particularly the Talmud.Yeshiva Bocher: [Yiddish] A student at a Talmudic academy. Literally: young man.The Zohar: A mystical commentary on the Torah.

A Page of Talmud

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Adapted from the Brooklyn Public Library and Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Study Guide

In 1792 real estate speculator Richard M. Woodhull pur-chased land surrounding North 2nd Street, Brooklyn; had it surveyed, and divided it into city lots. His aim was to attract urban New Yorkers to what was then “the suburbs.” He established a horse ferry, opened a tavern, and named the area Williamsburgh. But by 1811 Woodhull had suffered financial failure. Subsequent ventures also failed, until roads were built in the early 1800s that connected the coast to the interior. By 1827, Williamsburgh was incorporated as a village. In 1852 Williamsburgh received a city charter, but three years later it was consolidated into the City of Brooklyn. At the time of consolidation the “h” was dropped from the neighborhood’s name.

The first synagogues in Williamsburg were built in the 19th Century, but the Jewish population did not flourish until 1903,

when the Williamsburg Bridge linked the neighborhood to Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The influx was so notable that the bridge was often called “The Jews’ Highway.” After World War II, the Hasidic population of Williamsburg grew as survivors of the Holocaust came to the US.

You can see many signs of the Hasidic commu-nity when you walk through Williamsburg today: men in black hats speaking Yiddish; dishes on shop countertops to allow for the exchange of money without touching hands (the only person of the opposite sex adult Hasidic Jews touch are their own spouses); and many adaptations to accommodate the restrictions of Shabbat. The Torah forbids carrying objects outside the home on the Sabbath, so many buildings in the area have combination locks which allow residents to come and go without keys. Some buildings have “Shabbes elevators” which stop automati-cally at all floors on Saturday, since the pushing of an elevator button closes a circuit, which also constitutes a violation of the Sabbath.

Williamsburg is historically an ethnically mixed area, and the different groups living there have sometimes clashed. Until recently, the major tension has been between Hasidic Jews and Latin American immigrants. In recent years, however, many artists and “hipsters” have moved to Williamsburg, attracted by relatively low rents and its proximity to Manhattan. This has caused rents to climb—an issue of special concern to the Hasidim, whose closed communities tend to keep them earning little money with which to support their large families. In 2004, a rally was held in Williamsburg to protest the change and organizers distributed a printed prayer entitled “For the Protection of Our City…From the Plague of the Artists.” More recently, in 2009, there was a conflict surrounding bike lanes that were painted through the center of the neighbor-hood. Religious residents were troubled that women wearing shorts and sleeveless tops were now biking through the area, both of which violate the strict dress code of Orthodox Jews.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the Jewish Community

Williamsburg Bridge, 1937

Williamsburg Brooklyn in the 1940s

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Adapted from the Brooklyn Public Library and Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Study Guide

In 1792 real estate speculator Richard M. Woodhull pur-chased land surrounding North 2nd Street, Brooklyn; had it surveyed, and divided it into city lots. His aim was to attract urban New Yorkers to what was then “the suburbs.” He established a horse ferry, opened a tavern, and named the area Williamsburgh. But by 1811 Woodhull had suffered financial failure. Subsequent ventures also failed, until roads were built in the early 1800s that connected the coast to the interior. By 1827, Williamsburgh was incorporated as a village. In 1852 Williamsburgh received a city charter, but three years later it was consolidated into the City of Brooklyn. At the time of consolidation the “h” was dropped from the neighborhood’s name.

The first synagogues in Williamsburg were built in the 19th Century, but the Jewish population did not flourish until 1903,

when the Williamsburg Bridge linked the neighborhood to Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The influx was so notable that the bridge was often called “The Jews’ Highway.” After World War II, the Hasidic population of Williamsburg grew as survivors of the Holocaust came to the US.

You can see many signs of the Hasidic commu-nity when you walk through Williamsburg today: men in black hats speaking Yiddish; dishes on shop countertops to allow for the exchange of money without touching hands (the only person of the opposite sex adult Hasidic Jews touch are their own spouses); and many adaptations to accommodate the restrictions of Shabbat. The Torah forbids carrying objects outside the home on the Sabbath, so many buildings in the area have combination locks which allow residents to come and go without keys. Some buildings have “Shabbes elevators” which stop automati-cally at all floors on Saturday, since the pushing of an elevator button closes a circuit, which also constitutes a violation of the Sabbath.

Williamsburg is historically an ethnically mixed area, and the different groups living there have sometimes clashed. Until recently, the major tension has been between Hasidic Jews and Latin American immigrants. In recent years, however, many artists and “hipsters” have moved to Williamsburg, attracted by relatively low rents and its proximity to Manhattan. This has caused rents to climb—an issue of special concern to the Hasidim, whose closed communities tend to keep them earning little money with which to support their large families. In 2004, a rally was held in Williamsburg to protest the change and organizers distributed a printed prayer entitled “For the Protection of Our City…From the Plague of the Artists.” More recently, in 2009, there was a conflict surrounding bike lanes that were painted through the center of the neighbor-hood. Religious residents were troubled that women wearing shorts and sleeveless tops were now biking through the area, both of which violate the strict dress code of Orthodox Jews.

The Foundations of ZionismAdapted from Zionism by Prof. Binyamin Neuberger; and Ultra-Orthodox & Anti-Zionistby Dr. Aviezer RavitzkyThe idea of Zionism is based on the connection between the Jewish people and its land, a link which began almost 4,000 years ago when Abraham settled in Canaan, later known as the Land of Israel. Central to Zionist thought is the concept of the Land of Israel as the historical birthplace of the Jew-ish people and the belief that Jewish life elsewhere is a life of exile. Over centuries in the Diaspora (scattered communi-ties of Jews outside of Israel) Jews maintained a relationship with their historical homeland, manifesting this connection through rituals and literature.

Modern Zionism in part owes its success as an active national movement to anti-Semitism and persecution. Over the centuries, Jews were expelled from almost every European country--a cu-mulative experience that had a profound impact, birthing influential Jewish leaders who turned to Zionism as a result of the anti-Semitism in their respective societies. Thus Moses Hess, shak-en by the blood libel of Damascus (1844), founded Zionist socialism; Leon Pinsker, shocked by the pogroms (1881–1882) which followed the assassination of Czar Alexander II, lead the Hib-bat Zion movement; and Theodor Herzl, who experienced the venomous anti-Semitic campaign of the Dreyfus case in Paris (1896), organized Zionism into a political movement.

Rise of Political ZionismPolitical Zionism emerged in the 19th Century within the context of the liberal nationalism then sweeping through Europe. Although Zionism was basically a political movement aspiring to a return to the Jewish homeland, it also promoted a reassertion of Jewish culture. An important element in this reawakening was the revival of Hebrew, long restricted to liturgy and literature, as a living national language.

Most of the founders of Zionism knew that Palestine had an Arab population (though some spoke naively of “a land without a people for a people without a land”). Still, only a few regarded the Arab presence as a real obstacle to the fulfillment of Zionism. Many Zionist leaders believed that since the local community was relatively small, friction between it and the returning Jews could be avoided. However, these hopes were not fulfilled.

During the years 1936–1947, the struggle over the Land of Israel grew intense. Arab opposition became more extreme with the increased growth of the Jewish community. At the same time, the Zionist movement felt it necessary to increase immigration and develop the country’s eco-nomic infrastructure in efforts to save as many Jews as possible from Nazi-dominated Europe.The clash between the Jews and the Arabs brought the UN to recommend, on November 29, 1947, the establishment of two states in the area west of the Jordan River—one Jewish and one Arab. The Jews accepted the resolution; Arabs rejected it. On May 14, 1948, in accordance with the UN resolution of November 1947, the State of Israel was established.

Orthodox Opposition to the State of IsraelMany Ultra-Orthodox Jews are anti-Zionist because they believe that the redemption of the Jews must come through the agency of the Messiah rather than through any actions of the Jews,

and more so, that it cannot come about as a result of a secular (non-religious) political organization such as Zionism. Therefore, these groups perceive the estab-lishment of the State of Israel as an anti-messianic act. In the words of the Midrash, the Jewish people were ad-jured not to return collectively to the Land of Israel by the exertion of physical force, nor to “rebel against the nations of the world,” nor to “hasten the End;” rather they were required to wait for the heavenly, complete, and miraculous redemption that is distinct from the realm of human endeavor. According to this logic, any Jewish state prior to the messianic age undermines and denies the Torah and takes a stand against hal-akhah (Jewish law).

Flag of Israel

Williamsburg Brooklyn in the 1940s

Anti-Zionist, Ultra Orthodox Jews march in Jerusalem

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Rick Foucheux (Reb Saunders) returns to Theater J with much excite-ment as an Associate Artist-in-Residence. He began Theater J’s season as Eugene Biddle in Something You Did and then appeared as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple. Rick has been performing in Washing-ton’s vibrant theatre scene for 27 years. His previous appearances with Theater J include Ari Roth’s Born Guilty and Peter and the Wolf as well as Talley’s Folly, for which he received a Helen Hayes Award nomi-nation. He also performed in Theater J’s co-production of Homebody/Kabul with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, where he is a company member. In 2008, Rick appeared as Willy Loman in Arena Stage’s

revival of Death of A Salesman and was featured here last season in R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (And Mystery) of the Universe. Previously, he appeared here in Shakespeare in Hollywood, Born Yesterday and The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? Other credits include the Shake-speare Theatre’s Twelfth Night, Folger Theatre’s I Henry IV, and last season’s The Rivalry at Ford’s Theatre. He also appeared at New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre in their hit revival of The Emperor Jones. Rick received the Helen Hayes Outstanding Lead Actor Award in 2000 for Edmond at Source Theatre and in 2006 for Take Me Out at The Studio Theatre. He is a 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, a national program of the Ten Chimney’s Foundation supporting the continuing development of actors in the theater.

Edward Gero (David Malter) played Pablo Christiani in The Disputation and Lyman Felt in Ride Down Mt. Morgan at Theater J; Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre; Donny in American Buffalo, Andre Prozorov in Afterplay, Tom Sargeant in Skylight (Helen Hayes Award), Vershinin in Uncle Vanya, Charlie in Conversations with My Fa-ther, man in bash at The Studio Theatre; Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre; Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet at Folger Theatre; Richard Nixon in Nixon’s Nixon at Roundhouse Theatre; Philip Gelberg in Broken Glass at Olney Theatre Center and Sargent in What the Butler Saw at Arena Stage. In his 28 seasons with the Shakespeare Theatre

Company, he has played Hotspur in Henry IV (Helen Hayes Award), Bolingbroke in Richard II (Helen Hayes Award) and Macduff in Macbeth (Helen Hayes Award). Regional credits include Gloucester in King Lear at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago and Horace Vandergelder in The Matchmaker at Center Stage in Baltimore, where he is an Artistic Associate. In New York, he has performed at South Street Theatre and Classic Stage Company. His film and television credits include Die Hard II, Striking Distance, and voice work for The Discovery Channel and PBS. He is an Associate Professor of Theater at George Mason University. He also teaches for the Academy for Classical Acting, GWU and Shakespeare for the Opera, Maryland Opera Stu-dio, University of Maryland. He is a thirteen-time Helen Hayes nominee and four-time recipient. Upcoming productions include Amadeus at Round House Theatre, where he will play Salieri.

Aaron Davidman (Older Reuven) is an actor, playwright and director. He has been a company member of The Jewish Theatre San Francisco (formerly Traveling Jewish Theatre) since 2000 and served as its artis-tic director for the past 9 years. Among many works at TJT he co-wrote and directed the international collaboration Blood Relative about the Israeli-Palestinian story and directed TJT’s critically acclaimed produc-tion of Death of a Salesman. He directed Golda’s Balcony and The Chosen at Theatreworks and the world premiere of This World In a Woman’s Hands by Marcus Gardley at Shotgun Players. He also di-rected the world premiere of Gardley’s Love is a Dream House In Lorin

at Shotgun for which he was named Best Director of 2007 by the East Bay Express. Among many roles at TJT Aaron originated the role of Momik Neuman in Corey Fischer’s Kennedy Cen-ter Award-winning play See Under: Love, based on the David Grossman novel. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received his formal theatrical training at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a recipient of the New Generations Fellowship from Theatre Communications Group and is currently an MFA candidate in playwriting at San Francisco State University. Learn more about his work at aarondavidman.com.

About the Artists

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Joshua Morgan (Danny) Joshua graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Judith Blazer’s 2005/2007 company of the Artist’s Crossing. Performance credits include roles in The Trojan Women, Godspell, Burn This, Comedy of Errors, Children of Eden, Othello, Show Boat, Sunday in the Park with George, The Good Doctor, Sweeney Todd, The Laramie Project, and Les Miserables to name a few. Joshua has worked as a Musical Director/Rehearsal Pianist for many shows within the NY/NJ/DC area and coaches a handful of select students. The musical play, Definition of a Housewife, conceived and written

by himself and Jeffery Self had a workshop production in the summer of 2006 at Columbia University. Joshua is the Co-Artistic Director of No Rules Theatre Company based out of Wash-ington, DC and Winston-Salem, NC (NoRulesTheatre.org) and sits on the boards of the Actors Center in Washington, DC and the Artists Crossing in NY. You can find out more information about Joshua at JoshuaMorgan.net.

Derek Kahn Thompson (Young Reuven) last appeared in Sabrina Fair at Ford’s Theater. His Washington, D.C., credits include King John at the Shakespeare Theater Company and The Pirates of Penzance, Great Expectations, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales at Folger The-atre. Mr. Kahn Thompson holds a BS in Journalism from Northwestern University.

Aaron Posner (Director, Adapter) is a nationally recognized award-winning director, playwright and teacher. He has been the Artistic Director of two LORT theatres and directed at major regional theatres across the country including The Arden, The Alliance, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Arizona Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Roundhouse Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and many others. His adaptations of literature—which include Chaim Potok’s novels The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev, Ken Kesey’s

Sometimes A Great Notion, and a musical of A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage by Mark Twain (with music by James Sugg)—have been produced by more than 40 professional theaters from coast to coast (including many of those listed above as well as Steppenwolf Theatre, Writers Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Florida Stage and many others) as well as major professional theaters in Canada, Israel, and South Africa. Three are published by Dramatists Play Service. Aaron is the founder and former Artistic Director of the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia. He won two Barrymore Awards for playwrighting and two Helen Hayes Awards for directing, is an Eisenhower Fellow, and is originally from Eugene, Oregon.

Chaim Potok (Novelist) is one of the most prolific and honored Jewish American authors. He was born and raised in New York City. He studied English Literature and earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. An ordained rabbi, he served as an army chap-lain in Korea for sixteen months. The Chosen, Potok’s first novel, was first published in 1967, and was on The New York Times Bestseller List for ten months. Other works by Potok include The Promise, In The Beginning, The Book of Lights, Davita’s Harp, I Am The Clay, Old Men at Midnight, The Gates of November, Wanderings, The Book of Lights, My Name is Asher Lev and The Gift of Asher Lev. He has received The National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, The National Foundation for Jewish Culture’s 1997 Jewish Cultural Achievement Award, the O’Henry Award and many others.

About the Artists cont.

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James Kronzer (Scenic Designer) Most recently designed Honey Brown Eyes for Theater J. He has also designed shows for Washington Ballet, The Shakespeare Theatre, The Kennedy Cen-ter, Signature Theater, Woolly Mammoth and Studio Theatre among others. His work has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally in Philadelphia, San Diego, Atlanta, Denver, Florida, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Boston, Vermont and Knoxville. His numerous national tours include The Wizard of Oz, Thomas Live!, Backyardigans and Barbie Live! as well as a new musical for Disney called Twice Charmed. He has also designed numerous shows for Nor-wegian Cruise Lines and has done several specials for Comedy Central. He began his career as a Design Assistant for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theater in London. He has received eight Helen Hayes Awards (DC) and two Barrymores (Philadelphia). He is a member of United Scenic Artists. More of his work can be seen at jameskronzer.com.

Nancy Schertler (Lighting Designer) has designed the Broadway productions of Bill Irwin’s Fool Moon and Largely New York (Tony nom.) and off-Broadway productions of Hilda, Texts for Nothing, A Flea in Her Ear, The Regard Evening and Falsettoland. Regional theater designs include over 60 productions for Arena Stage; Scapin, directed and staring Bill Irwin, Boleros for the Disenchanted, and After the War among others for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco; Suessical for The Children’s Theatre Company.; A Christmas Story for Portland Center Stage; A Christmas Carol, at Milwaukee Repertory Theater; The Three Musketeers and The Sisters Matsumoto at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Opera credits include the world premieres of The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Shadowboxer, and Later the Same Evening, an opera inspired by the work of Edward Hopper, commissioned by the University of Maryland and the National Gallery of Art.

Kate Turner-Walker (Costume Designer) is delighted to join Theater J in this exciting collabo-ration with Arena Stage. Recent work includes The Comedy of Errors at Folger Theatre; Snow White, Rose Red and Fred and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences; Superior Donuts at The Studio Theatre and The Talented Mr. Ripley at Round House Theatre. For the second season of TLC’s “DC Cupcakes” (airing this spring), she acted as a creative consultant for projects combining cupcakes and fashion. Kate has received two Helen Hayes Award nominations. She is an adjunct professor of Costume Design at George Washington University.

James Sugg (Sound Designer) James Sugg is a member of Pig Iron Theatre Company with whom he has created 10 original pieces. He has also worked with the Wilma, The Arden The-ater, Seattle Rep, Actors Theater of Louisville, Folger Theater, Headlong Dance Theater, Rain-pan 43 and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. He is the composer of the musicals A Murder, A Mystery And A Marriage, James Joyce is Dead and So Is Paris (Pig Iron), The Sea (a one man electric chamber opera) and Cherry Bomb (1812 Productions). His work has been recognized with two Obies, four Barrymores for Outstanding Sound Design, the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theater Artist and a Pew Fellowship.

Susan R. White (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be a part of Theater J’s production of Aaron Posner’s The Chosen and to be working, once again, with Artistic Director Ari Roth. Susan is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Michelle Elwyn (Properties Designer) has most recently collaborated on properties with The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv for Return to Haifa. For Theater J, she has designed properties for The Odd Couple, Lost in Yonkers, Something You Did, Mikveh, Pangs of the Messiah, Accident, Seagull on 16th Street, Honey Brown Eyes, David, Speed the Plow, Either Or, Sleeping Arrange-ments, Picasso’s Closet and The Disputation. Other props design projects include: A Prayer for Owen Meany at Round House Theatre; Hamlet, Arcadia, A Winter’s Tale, Henry IV Part I, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure at Folger Theatre; Two-Bit Taj Mahal at Theater of the First Amendment; Meet John Doe and Jitney at Ford’s Theatre; Assassins at Signature Theatre; The Shape of Things, Privates on Parade and Hambone at Studio Theatre. Her work includes costume crafts at Washington National Opera and Asolo Theatre in Sara-sota, FL, as well as scenic painting and sculpture at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Theater of the First Amendment, Folger Theatre Group, Arena Stage, Asolo Theatre, Playwrights’ Horizons, NYC, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT And Opera Theatre of Rochester. She has also co-designed stage sets for Marsha Norman’s Getting Out at Florida Studio Theatre and the Ringling Museum of Art’s Medieval Fair.


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Stephen Spotswood (Production Dramaturg) is a playwright, journalist and, thanks to Theater J, occasional dramaturg. Co-founder of Bright Alchemy Theatre, a company of artists devoted to the creation of devised work, he is also a teaching artist at Imagination Stage, working with middle and high school students on devised theatre and new play development. His newest play, The Resurrectionist King, produced by Active Cultures Theatre, opens at Joe’s Movement Emporium on March 30.

Shelley Herman Gillon (Dialect Coach) is a playwright who coaches actors in Irish, Puerto Rican, German, Russian and Yiddish dialects and those from regions of the US and UK. Ms Gillon works with non-native speakers on writing skills and accent reduction. Her Tennessee Williams biographical musical, Tom to Tenn, co-written with Harriet McFaul Pilger and Paul D. Leavitt, will be performed on March 25th as part of Georgetown’s Tenn Cent Fest. Recent works include Bulletins from Fatland, Raised by the Radio and Crawling from the Ashes, an ad-aptation of Julia Caswell Daitch’s 9/11 Memoir. Ms. Gillon is a graduate of Tulane University, Loyola University School of Law and The Neighborhood Playhouse, where she studied with the legendary Sandford Meisner.

Ari Roth (Artistic Director) is enjoying his 14th season as Artistic Director at Theater J where, together with a dedicated staff, he has produced 96 full productions, including 33 English language world premieres, and many more workshop presentations. Also a playwright, Mr. Roth has seen his work produced across the country, as well as at Theater J, where produc-tions include Goodnight Irene, Life In Refusal, Love & Yearning in the Not-for-Profits, Oh, The Innocents, and a repertory production of Born Guilty, originally commissioned and produced by Arena Stage, directed in this space by Zelda Fichandler, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky, together with its sequel, The Wolf in Peter (recently presented as The Born Guilty Cycle by the Epic Theatre Ensemble). His plays have been nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards, includ-ing Best Resident Production, and two Charles A. MacArthur Awards. He is a 1998 and 2003 recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts playwriting grant, three-time winner of the Helen Eisner Award, two-time winner of the Avery Hopwood, four-time recipient of commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and recipient of the Mertyl Wreath Award from Hadassah. He was recently named one of The Forward 50, a recognition from The Forward newspaper honoring fifty nationally prominent “men and women who are leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.” He has taught for the University of Michigan for 15 years, currently for their “Michigan in DC” program, as well as for Brandeis, NYU and Carnegie Mellon Universities.

Sarah Rayer (Managing Director) is thrilled to be the newest member of the Theater J team. She comes to Theater J with an MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a decade of work in prominent New York Theaters including Playwrights Horizons and The Public Theater. At the Public, she served as assistant to the Artistic Producer, Rosemarie Tichler and Admin-istrative Director of The Shakespeare Lab. Prior to her work in producing, Sarah worked for four years in casting on projects such as “Law & Order,” The Lion King, and many of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park (Initiative and readings). She’s worked as an Associate Producer for Eve Ensler’s V-Day (a social awareness and engagement initiative of The Vagina Monologues) at Madison Square Garden; Sarah also Associate Produced for “A Net of Souls: A Borrowed Light - Voices from Women in Prison.” In addition to her theater work, Ms. Rayer has a consulting company S. Rayer Associates.


Theater J StaffArtistic Director Ari RothManaging Director Sarah RayerAssociate Producer Delia TaylorDirector of Marketing & Communications Grace OverbekeDirector of Community Outreach & New Media Becky PetersDirector of Literary & Public Programs Shirley SerotskyDirector of Patron Services Tara BradyDevelopment Associate Gavi YoungCasting Director Naomi RobinTechnical Director and Master Carpenter Tom HowleyMCCA Operations Director Daniel Risner For a full list of Theater J staff bios, visit theaterj.org and click on “About Us”

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Meet theother

FoundingFather.

music by Michael Weiner; lyrics by Adam Abraham; book by Marc Madnick, Eric R. Cohen and Adam Abraham; based on an Original Story by Marc Madnick

and Eric R. Cohen; choreographed by Denis Jones; directed by Matt August

Lead Sponsor: United Technologies; Sponsors: Raytheon Company; Altria Group; Qualcomm Incorporated; Shell Oil Company

Ford’s Theatre stages Built by The Home Depot | Chevron, a 2010-2011 Season Sponsor

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music by Michael Weiner; lyrics by Adam Abraham; book by Marc Madnick, Eric R. Cohen and Adam Abraham; based on an Original Story by Marc Madnick

and Eric R. Cohen; choreographed by Denis Jones; directed by Matt August

Lead Sponsor: United Technologies; Sponsors: Raytheon Company; Altria Group; Qualcomm Incorporated; Shell Oil Company

Ford’s Theatre stages Built by The Home Depot | Chevron, a 2010-2011 Season Sponsor

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16

Friends Of Theater JTheater J is, at its core, a playwrights’ theater and as such, we have named our giving levels in honor of Jewish playwrights and two of their director/producers. We gratefully acknowledge our current donors who have support-ed us for the 2010–2011 season to date. We ask our many long-time supporters and new friends of the theater to join them in underwriting this exciting season. (This list is current as of February 2, 2011.)

Executive Producing Show Sponsor($25,000 and above)The Robert M. Fisher Memorial FoundationThe Jewish Federation of Greater WashingtonNational Endowment for the ArtsThe Shubert Foundation

Wendy Wasserstein Grand Angel($15,000 - $24,999)Charlotte & Hank SchlosbergPatti & Jerry SowalskyThe George Wasserman Family Foundation

Harold Clurman Champion Angel($10,000 - $14,999)Carolyn & Warren KaplanThe Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman FoundationTrish & George VradenburgIrene & Alan WurtzelEllen & Bernard Young Tony Kushner Collaborating Angel($7,500 - $9,999)Esthy & James AdlerDeborah Carliner & Robert RemesThe Max & Victoria Dreyfus FoundationMarion & Larry LewinEvelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins

Joseph Papp Producing Angel($5,000 - $7,499)Patty Abramson & Les SilvermanAnne & Ronald AbramsonJoan& Peter AndrewsMichele & Allan BermanNaomi & Nehemiah Cohen FoundationLouie & Ralph DweckLois & Richard EnglandKovler Foundation-Judy & Peter KovlerZena & Paul MasonJudith Morris & Marvin WeissbergFaye & Jack MoskowitzThe Omega FoundationElaine ReubenMargaret Hahn Stern & Stephen SternNatalie Wexler & James FeldmanRosa D. WienerJudy & Leo Zickler

Lillian Hellman Supporting Angel($3,000 - $4,999)The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman & Andrew AmmermanNatalie & Paul AbramsThe DC Commission on the Arts and HumanitiesLois & Michael FingerhutDr. Kenneth & Cheryl Gorelick FundAl Munzer & Joel WindDiane & Arnold Polinger

Loretta RosenthalThe Abe & Kathryn Selsky FoundationJoan Wessel Arthur Miller Mentor($1,500 - $2,999)Susan & Dixon ButlerAnn & Frank GilbertMimi Conway & Dennis HoulihanLisa Fuentes & Thomas CohenSandra & Arnold LeibowitzMid Atlantic Arts FoundationMarjan & Andy ShallalMargot & Paul Zimmerman

David Mamet Muse($1,000 - $1,499)Elizabeth BerryMara Bralove & Ari FisherThe Center for Cultural Judaism, Inc.Myrna FawcettMarjory GoldmanLaine & Norton KatzVictor ShargaiBetsy Karmin & Manny StraussRona & Allan MendelsohnJanet Solinger

Neil Simon Stage Benefactor($500 - $999)Babs & Rabbi A.N. AbramowitzCarolyn Small AlperMichele & Alan BermanSteven des JardinsMarlin & David Feldman Ina GinsburgGayle & David GreeneIra Hillman & Jeremy BarberLinda & Steven HirschEstelle & Dr. Irving JacobsRachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen In Memory of MJ BearElizabeth Karmin & Emanuel StraussUndine & Carl NashTrudy & Gary PetersonSteven M. Rosenberg & Stewart C. Low IIIAnne & Richard SolomonBarbara & Stanley TempchinAnnie & Sami Totah Betty L. UstunBeverly WalcoffJulie & David Zalkind

Sholom Asch Admirer($350 - $499)Shoshana & Peter GroveIris & Michael LavYoav Lurie Ellen & Gary Malasky Linda Segal Sandra & Dale Stein

Paddy Chayefsky Champion($175 - $349)Anonymous (2)Ronald Bleeker Goldie BlumenstykSusan & Steven BraloveMady ChalkRosalind & Donald CohenMiriam J. Cutler & Paul SalditPeter & Shelly DreifussBarbara & Samuel DyerSusan & Michael FriedmanPaula Seigle GoldmanJack GolodnerEdith & Arthur HesselFaye & Aaron HillmanJoy Lerner & Stephen KelinWilliam KreisbergNeal KrucoffDianne & Herbert LernerArthur Le VanTina Martin & Mita SchafferSue MorssVivian L. PollockToby Port & Jeffrey AhlBarbara RappaportErica & Douglas RosenthalLoretta RosenthalLeona & Jerrold SchecterLois & Basil SchiffMs. Terry SchubachSylvia Shenk & Yori AharoniBeverly & Harlan SherwatLynnette SpiraDeborah Tannen & Michael MacovskiSusan Tannenbaum & David OsterhoutMarjorie & Allan WeingoldT. Michael WightDebbie & Steven Young

Ben Hecht Booster($75 - $174)Susan & Alan ApterAnonymousDeborah Berkowitz & Geoffrey GarinSharon BernierEdith BraloveDr. Lloyd BrodskyKaren & John BurgessSusan & Marshall BykofskyWallace ChandlerEsther Coopersmith Helen Darling & Brad GrayRabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb & Ms. Minna Scherlinder MorseLeona & Donald DrazinDr. & Mrs. Burton EpsteinStuart FischerAnne & Al FishmanKit Gage & Steven Metalitz

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$100,000 +Ann Loeb BronfmanThe Robert M. Fisher Memorial FoundationThe Jewish Federation of Greater Washington

$50,000 - $99,999The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationDC Office on AgingMelanie Franco Nussdorf & Lawrence NussdorfHoward & Geraldine Polinger Family FoundationServeDC - The Mayor’s Office on VolunteerismDavid Bruce SmithUnited Jewish Endowment Fund

$25,000 - $49,999Jamie & Joseph A. Baldinger Diane & Norman BernsteinDC Commission on the Arts & HumanitiesLouie & Ralph DweckBrenda Gruss & Daniel HirschTamara & Harry HandelsmanStuart KurlanderNational Endowment for the ArtsThe Shubert Foundation, Inc.Robert H Smith* Family FoundationPatti & Jerry Sowalsky

$15,000 - $24,999Lisa & Josh BernsteinRyna, Melvin, Marcella & Neil CohenGinny & Irwin EdlavitchSusan & Michael GelmanAlexander GreenbaumMartha Winter Gross & Robert TracyCarolyn & Warren KaplanBarbara & Jack KayArlene & Robert KogodJacob & Charlotte Lehrman FoundationCharlotte & Hank SchlosbergSchoenbaum Family FoundationGeorge Wasserman Family Foundation, Inc.

Washington DCJCC Donors

$10,000 - $14,999Patty Abramson & Les SilvermanEsthy & Jim AdlerMichele & Allan BermanSusie & Kenton CampbellDeborah Carliner & Robert RemesDebra Lerner Cohen & Edward CohenLois & Richard England Family FoundationRena & Michael GordonSusy & Thomas KahnJudy & Peter KovlerThelma & Melvin LenkinMarion & Larry LewinFaye & Jack MoskowitzDiane & Arnold PolingerDeborah & Michael SalzbergRhea Schwartz & Paul WolffThe Abe & Kathryn Selsky FoundationFrancine Zorn Trachtenberg & Stephen Joel TrachtenbergTrish & George VradenburgNatalie Wexler & James FeldmanCarolyn & William WolfeIrene & Alan WurtzelJudy & Leo Zickler

$5,000 - $9,999Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAmerican Jewish World ServiceThe Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman & Andrew AmmermanMelinda Bieber & Norman PozezMax N. BerryAnn & Donald BrownNaomi & Nehemiah Cohen FoundationSara Cohen & Norman RichRose & Robert CohenCrossCurrents FoundationThe Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.Embassy of IsraelLois & Richard England

Federal Emergency Management AgencyMarilyn & Michael GlossermanCheryl GorelickDeborah Harmon & Robert SederG. Scott HongHumanities Council of Washington,DCWilliam KreisbergJacqueline & Marc LelandJoy Lerner & Stephen KelinElyse & Jeffrey LinowesLinda Lipsett & Jules BernsteinMAZON: A Jewish Response to HungerLinda & Sid MoskowitzKathy & Thomas RaffaRenay & William RegardieElaine ReubenRae Ringel & Amos HochsteinBeth Rubenstein & Evan MarkiewiczLynn & John SachsEvelyn Sandground & Bill PerkinsEmily SchoenbaumTina & Albert Small Jr.Barbara & Michael SmilowMindy Strelitz & Andrew CornblattLori & Les UlanowJoan WesselRosa D. WienerEllen & Bernard YoungRory & Shelton Zuckerman $2,500 - $4,999AnonymousBabs & Rabbi A.N. AbramowitzNatalie & Paul AbramsAmy & Stephen AltmanLarry AxelrodJoan & Alan BermanElizabeth BerryRita & David BrickmanNicholas ChocasCyna & Paul CohenMargery Doppelt & Larry RothmanExxon Mobil Corporation

The Washington DCJCC wishes to thank all those who made contributions to the 16th Street J to help support our programs during the 2010 fiscal year (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). Your support has been invaluable in allowing us to create and sustain programs of excellence throughout the year.

Renee GierMorton GorenJack HahnMorton HalperinCarol & Robert HausmanPeggy HellerRachel Jacobson & Eric OlsenBetty-Chia Karro & Henry GassnerHelene & Allan KahanDana & Ray KochAdrienne Kohn & Garry GrossmanBeth Kramer

Martin KrubitMichael LewisFaiga G. LevineMary & Edward LevyHannah & Tim LipmanSusan & Donald LubickRosalie LurieMadeline & Gerald MalovanyNoreen Marcus & Jay SushelskyThomas MerrickJolynne MillerNancy & Richard Millstein

Caroline & Michael MindelMona & Leonard MitnickTena Nauheim & David HarrisonJoan & Ludwig RudelFroma & Jerome SandlerAnne & Barry SchenofMargaret Sohn & Harvey CohenHelen & Jonathan SunshineVirginia & James VitarelloMindy & Sheldon WeiselStephen Werner

Friends Of Theater J cont.

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Washington DCJCC Donors cont.Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen JCC AssociationSally KaplanLaine & Norton KatzAviva KempnerCeceile KleinLinda KleinBette & William KramerLisa Landmeier & Hugo RoellSandra & Stephen LachterDianne & Herbert Lerner The Samuel Levy Family FoundationSteven LockshinSteven LustigEllen & Gary MalaskyPeter MancollCathryn & Scot McCullochRona & Allan MendelsohnMid Atlantic Arts FoundationLindsay & Aaron MillerPatrice & Herbert MillerShirlee OrnsteinGlenna & David OsnosPeggy ParsonsRuth & Stephen PollakToby PortRavsak: The Jewish Community Day SchoolHillary & Jonathan ReinisCarol Risher

Paula & Bruce RobinsonJoan & Barry RosenthalChaya & Walter RothJane Nathan RothschildSharon Russ & David RubinVictor ShargaiMichael SingerAnn SislenRichard SollowayJane & Daniel SolomonMargaret Hahn Stern & Stephen SternMarsha E. Swiss & Ronald M. CostellEmbassy of SwitzerlandTabard CorporationTikkun Olam Women’s Foundation of Greater WashingtonRita & David TrachtenbergUnited Way of the National Capital AreaMarion & Michael UsherLise Van Susteren & Jonathan KempnerCynthia Wolloch & Joseph ReidMargot & Paul Zimmerman

Due to space limitations, only donors of $1,000 or more are listed. The Washington DCJCC would like to thank all of our many donors for the important impact they have on our work.

* of blessed memory

Myrna FawcettLois & Michael FingerhutJoanne FungaroliMarsha Gentner & Joe BermanDebra Goldberg & Seth WaxmanThe Aaron & Cecile Goldman FoundationRoberta HantganHorning Brothers CorporationBetsy Karmin & Manny StraussConnie & Jay KrupinBarbara KurshanSusan & Samuel LehrmanSandra & Arnold LeibowitzEdward LenkinGeoffrey MacklerZena & Paul J. MasonAlfred Munzer & Joel WindPNC BankPoints of Light InstitutePosner-Wallace FoundationToni RitzenbergLoretta RosenthalDebra & Jonathan RutenbergSandra & Ivan SabelCharles & Lynn Schusterman Family FoundationSanford SchwartzSprint FoundationSaul I. Stern*Katherine & Thomas Sullivan

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“Spellbinding.”–New York Times

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order today!202-488-3300 | www.arenastage.org

Steppenwolf theatre Company’s production of

edward albee’Swho’S afraid of Virginia woolf?directed by Pam macKinnonstarring tony award winner tracy Letts and amy mortonwith carrie coon and madison dirKs

february 25 – april 10

“Wholly faScinating.”– Chicago Tribune

Molly Smith Artistic Director edgar dobie Managing Director

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Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center for the production, presentation, devel-opment and study of American theater. Under the leadership of Artistic Direc-tor Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Found-ed in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena

Stage is one of the nation’s original resident theaters and has a dis-tinguished record of leadership and advancement in the field. Arena Stage produces huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, pro-found, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents di-verse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country.

Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays, including the first, second and third productions of new works, in ad-dition to the creation and testing of best practices for new play devel-opment through the American Voices New Play Institute. Arena Stage impacts the lives of more than 20,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. arenastage.org.

About Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

Molly Smith

Edgar Dobie

ORDER TODAY!202-488-3300 | www.arenastage.org1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC 20024

by Lynn nottage | directed by charLes randoLph-Wrightwinner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

aPril 22 – June 5

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“remarKaBle.”“eXPloSiVe.”“remarKaBle.”– Chicago Tribune

“eXPloSiVe.”– Chicago Sun-Times

Doors Open 6:30 pm – Performance 7:45 pm$25 General Admission / VIP Preferred Seating and Reception $35 (First 76 tickets)

Program funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011

Graphic by [email protected]

The Historic Lincoln Theatre1215 U Street, NW, Washington, DCwww.lovethelincoln.com

**Seating Limited: This is an exclusive Lincoln Theatre Event**

BACKSTAGE at the LINCOLN PLAY READING SERIES In association with Theater J

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ORDER TODAY!202-488-3300 | www.arenastage.org1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC 20024

by Lynn nottage | directed by charLes randoLph-Wrightwinner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

aPril 22 – June 5

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“remarKaBle.”“eXPloSiVe.”“remarKaBle.”– Chicago Tribune

“eXPloSiVe.”– Chicago Sun-Times

Doors Open 6:30 pm – Performance 7:45 pm$25 General Admission / VIP Preferred Seating and Reception $35 (First 76 tickets)

Program funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

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For the Moscow family, a summer weekend in Nantucket brings brisket, booze and a blowout confrontation be-tween competing brothers who have avoided each other for years. A fast-paced new American comedy with its heart in Chekhov country.

By the Helen HayesNominated Playwright of The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall

By Sam FormanDirected by Shirley SerotskyFeaturing James Flanagan, Heather Haney, Bob Rogerson, Susan Rome and Amal Saade


(Dupont Circle Metro)

THE MOSCOWS OF NANTUCKET

May 11–June 12

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About Theater J

Washington DCJCC1529 Sixteenth Street NWWashington, DC 20036Info: (202) 777-3210 [email protected]

Photos by Stan Barouh

Josh Lefkowitz and Maureen Rohn in The Rise and Fall of Annie HallRobert Prosky in The PriceAlexander Strain and Michael Tolaydo in New JerusalemHolly Twyford in Lost in Yonkers

Hailed by The New York Times as “The Premier Theater for Premieres,” and nominated for over forty Helen Hayes awards, Theater J has emerged as one of the most distinctive, progressive and respected Jewish theaters on the national and international scene. A program of the Washington DCJCC, the theater works in collaboration with other components of the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts: the Washington Jewish Film Festival, the Ann Loeb Bron-fman Gallery, and the Literary, Music and Dance Department.

Theater J produces thought-provoking, publicly engaged, personal, pas-sionate and entertaining plays and musicals that celebrate the distinctive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural legacy. Acclaimed as one of the nation’s premiere playwrights’ theaters, Theater J presents cutting edge contemporary work alongside spirited revivals and is a nurturing home for the development and production of new work by major writers and emerging artists exploring many of the pressing moral and political issues of our time. Dedicated above all to a pursuit of artistic excellence, Theater J takes its dialogues beyond the stage, offering an ar-ray of innovative public discussion forums and outreach programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social elements of our art. We frequently partner with those of other faiths and communities, stressing the importance of interchange among a great variety of people wishing to take part in frank, humane conversations about conflict and culture.

Performing in the 240-seat Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, Theater J works with some of the world’s most distinguished authors for the stage. It has produced world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Thomas Keneally, Robert Brustein, Joyce Carol Oates and Ariel Dorfman, with many debuts from emerging writers like Stefanie Zadravec and Sam Forman. The late Wendy Wasserstein’s play Third, which began at Theater J, received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center Theatre, while Neena Beber received an OBIE for her New York production of Jump/Cut. Theater J’s diverse body of work features thematically linked festivals including its ongoing “Voices From a Changing Middle East” series. In 2009 Theater J received a special citation in The Washington Post recognizing Theater J’s Israel-related programming. With hit productions ranging from Talley’s Folly and The Disputation to Pangs of the Messiah, The Price, Honey Brown Eyes (Winner of the 2009 Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play), Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears, The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, Zero Hour (for which Jim Brochu won the 2010 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a non-resident production) In Dar-fur, Mikveh and New Jerusalem, it’s no surprise that Washingtonian Maga-zine notes, “Theater J productions keep going from strength to strength.”

Winner of the 2008 Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Disci-pline, Theater J offers a number of additional programs including Artistic Director’s Roundtables, Peace Cafés, Tea at 2 (a monthly reading series) and the Passports Educational Program. Theater J has garnered sup-port from the National Endowment for the Arts, Theatre Communica-tions Group (TCG) and The Shubert Foundation. Theater J is a member of the Cultural Alliance, the League of Washington Theatres, TCG and the Association for Jewish Theatre.

(800) 494-TIXS • theaterj.org • 16th & Q Streets NW (Dupont Circle Metro)

THE MOSCOWS OF NANTUCKET

May 11–June 12

The Chosen Program

Documents

Transcript of The Chosen Program