33 minute read
Theater J Program: Becoming Dr. Ruth by Mark St. Germain. September 30-October 24, 2021
Becoming Dr. Ruth by Mark St. Germain
SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 24, 2021
FROM THEATER J’S LEADERS
Dear Friends,
This has been a year like no other, one full of isolation, grief and loss, reckonings, divisiveness, and upheaval. What do we do at the end of a year like that? The Jewish tradition is to celebrate. Existential danger is what every Jewish holiday is about—not the danger itself, of course, but the surviving and the overcoming, the partnerships and community that made overcoming possible, and the ability to see a shared, healthy future.
Jewish milestones are marked with a prayer: the shehechiyanu. It’s the prayer that lets us recognize the magnitude of the moment. In this case, we celebrate that our theater doors are open, and we are on the stage creating art for you.
With joy in our hearts let’s kick off this season by simply recognizing the miracle of being here in this room. We can’t imagine a better way to re-open our doors than with Becoming Dr. Ruth. It is the true story of how family, connection, and love triumphs over adversity and celebrates the indominable optimism of the human spirit.
From here, we have programmed a season to focus our attention on the nature of second chances, resilience, community, and healing. Tuesdays with Morrie, based on the bestselling memoir by Mitch Albom; Rinne B. Groff’s Compulsion or the House Behind, loosely based on the story of how Anne Frank’s diary came to be published; a new adaptation of the famed 18th-century German play Nathan the Wise; and the tour-de-force Fires in the Mirror about the Crown Heights riots that shook '90s Brooklyn. We hope you will consider subscribing for the remainder of the season—you can even turn in your ticket for Dr. Ruth toward a full subscription. Call our ticket office at (202) 777-3210 or visit us at theaterj.org for more information.
On behalf of the artists and staff of Theater J, let us finally thank all of you —our friends, our audience, our supporters, our community—for sustaining us and allowing us to arrive at this moment.
Together may we go from strength to strength.Yours,
Adam Immerwahr,Artistic Director and David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director
THANK YOU TO OUR 2021–2022 SEASON SPONSORS
Leading Producers
The Bridge Fund, The Government of the District of Columbia Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
Sponsoring Producers
National Endowment for the Arts DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation Sari R. Hornstein Revada Foundation of the Logan Family Share Fund The Shubert Foundation Amy Weinberg and Norbert Hornstein
Supporting Producers
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman Bruce A. Cohen Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind Nussdorf Family Foundation Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan Helene and Robert Schlossberg Patti and Jerry Sowalsky
THANK YOU TO OUR PRODUCTION ANGELS
Sponsoring Angel
Judy and Leo Zickler
This production is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
THEATER J
Adam Immerwahr Artistic Director
David Lloyd Olson Managing Director
THE TRISH VRADENBURG STAGE • AARON & CECILE GOLDMAN THEATER MORRIS CAFRITZ CENTER FOR THE ARTS
BECOMING DR. RUTH
By Mark St. Germain September 30 – October 24, 2021
Cast
Dr. uth K. Westheimer.........................................................Naomi Jacobson*
Time and Place: June 9, 1997, Washington Heights, New York
Artistic & Production Team
Director Holly Twyford
Scenic Designer Paige Hathaway+
Costume Designer Robert Croghan
Lighting Designer Colin K. Bills+
Sound Designer Kenny Neal
Projection Designer Sarah Tundermann+
Props Designer Mollie Singer
Production Stage Manager Madison Bahr*
Assistant Stage Manager Margaret Warner
Covid Safety Manager Rebecca Talisman
Photography, video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
World Premiere, June 30, 2013 at Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA Julianne Boyd (Artistic Director); Tristan Wilson (Managing Director) Originally Produced Off-Broadway by Michael Alden, Stefany Bergson, Rodger Hess, Jamie deRoy, Pat Flicker Addiss, Beam Reach Entertainment/Elyse Mirto, LFI Group. Associate Producers: Matt Jared, Lawrence D. Poster/Merrill A. Stone Original projection design by Brian Prather and Daniel Brodie.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Naomi Jacobson (Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer) has an association with Theater J that spans 16 years and includes: Another Way Home; The Disputation (with Theodore Bikel); the rabbi in Mad Dancers; and premieres of G-D’s Honest Truth; Life Sucks; and Seagull on 16th Street. She is honored to return with the inimitable Dr. Ruth, for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Naomi is a Woolly Mammoth Theatre company member and an Affiliated Artist at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Selected DC area credits include Arena Stage (Mary T & Lizzy K), The Kennedy Center (The Guardsman), Signature Theatre (Cabaret), Studio Theatre (The Children), Ford’s Theatre (Born Yesterday), Folger Theatre (The Winter's Tale), Round House Theatre (The Lyons), Olney Theatre Center (Bad Dog), and regionally: Center Stage (Shakespeare In Love), Guthrie Theatre (The Critic/Real Inspector Hound), Goodman Theatre (Pericles), Milwaukee Rep (Good Night Desdemona…), Cincinnati Playhouse (A Prayer for Owen Meany), Arizona Theatre Company (Ten Chimneys – premiere), Delaware Theatre Co (Taking Steps), the Berkshire Theatre Festival (Sunrise At Campobello) and Wolf Trap Opera (The Inspector – premiere). TV/Film work includes Homicide (NBC), Her Father’s Eyes (A&E) and narration for PBS, NPR, Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian. Naomi teaches at University of Maryland, The Theatre Lab, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and coaches Active Communication workshops for government agencies and business leaders. She’s received three Helen Hayes Awards (one for ensemble), the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Anderson-Hopkins Award for Excellence in Theatre, and a DC Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant.
Mark St. Germain (Playwright) has written the plays Freud’s Last Session (Off-Broadway Alliance Best Play), Becoming Dr. Ruth, Camping With Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award), Out of Gas on Lover’s Leap, Best of Enemies, Forgiving Typhoid Mary (Time Magazine’s “Year’s Ten Best”), Ears on a Beatle, The G-d Committee, Dancing Lessons, and Relativity. Mark co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard’s Warner Brothers film Duma. He directed and co-produced the documentary, My Dog, An Unconditional Love Story. My Dog features Richard Gere, Lynn Redgrave and Glenn Close among many others. Television credits include Writer and Creative Consultant for The Cosby Show, Life Stories and Dick Wolf’s Crime and Punishment. With Randy Courts, he has written the musicals The Gifts of the Magi, Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller (winner of an AT&T “New Plays for the Nineties Award”), and Jack’s Holiday at Playwrights Horizons. His musical, Stand by Your Man, The Tammy Wynette Story was created for Nashville’s Ryman Theater and has toured nationally. He co-wrote the libretto for Charles Strouse’s American Tragedy. Mark wrote the children’s book Three Cups, illustrated by April Willy, published by Thomas Crown. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists, where he was given the Joe A. Callaway Award, a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writer’s Guild East and an Associate Artist of the Barrington Stage Company. He was awarded the “New Voices in American Theatre” award at the William Inge Theatre Festival.
Holly Twyford (Director) is thrilled to be back at Theater J as a director and excited to once again be collaborating with her amazing Dr. Ruth team. Ms. Twyford’s directing career began with Stop Kiss (No Rules Theatre Company) and includes Escaped Alone (Signature Theatre), A Lump of Coal for Christmas (Adventure Theatre MTC), and Edgar and Annabel and Mary Kate Olsen is in Love (Studio Theatre 2ndStage). For her production of The Amish Project (Factory 449), she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Director. Recent virtual credits via Zoom include Steel Magnolias for Ford's Theatre and a workshop production of The Upstairs Department, a new play by Chelsea Mercantel which will be fully produced at Signature Theatre in the spring of '22. As an actor, she has performed in close to 80 productions in many of the highly acclaimed theaters in and around the DC Metropolitan area, most recently at Ford’s Theatre in Silent Sky. Ms. Twyford is a proud resident of Washington, DC.
Paige Hathaway (Scenic Designer) is based in the Washington, DC area. At Theater J, her favorite designs include Sheltered, Talley's Folly, and Everything is Illuminated. Her DC-area credits include The Curious Incident…, School Girls…, How I Learned to Drive, The Book of Will, and Or, at Round House Theatre; Escaped Alone, Ain't Misbehavin', John, and The Gulf at Signature Theatre; Familiar at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; South Pacific and Godspell at Olney Theatre Center. Her regional credits include Matilda, Cinderella, and A Chorus Line at The Muny; Sweat at Asolo Rep; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Arden Theatre. Instagram: @paigehathawaydesign. Website: paigehathawaydesign.com
Robert Croghan (Costume Designer) is a New York based costume designer. Robert's DC area credits include National Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Folger Theatre, Arena Stage, Imagination Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Adventure Theatre MTC, and more. Some of Robert's NY credits include The King’s Speech (Pre-Broadway Tour, assistant), Scotland PA (Roundabout Theatre Company, assistant), Anastasia (Broadway & National Tour, assistant), Machinal (Broadway, assistant), Godspell (Broadway, assistant), Shrek the Musical (Broadway, intern). Robert has a Helen Hayes Award for his design of In The Heights - en Español in 2018. Robert holds his MFA from the University of Maryland – College Park.
Colin K. Bills (Lighting Designer) returns to Theater J, where his most recent designs have been Sheltered, The Jewish Queen Lear, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. He is a Board Member and Company Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company where he has designed over fifty productions and is the Producing Director for the Washington Revels. Colin has won three Helen Hayes Awards and is a recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship in Theater. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Kenny Neal (Sound Designer) is a Helen Hayes Award recipient (The Royale at Olney Theatre Center/1st Stage) and seven-time nominated sound designer, composer and arranger. His work has been heard at Olney Theatre Center (The Royale, Oil), The Kennedy Center (She a Gem, Digging Up Dessa), Signature Theatre (Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes, Heisenberg, John, The Gulf), Studio Theatre (Straight White Men, Jumpers for Goalposts, Choir Boy), Prologue Theatre (Recent Tragic Events), Constellation Theatre Company (The Master and Margarita), Theater Alliance (Klytemnestra), Factory 449 (Agnes of God), Taffety Punk (Pramkicker, Mom Baby God), 1st Stage (Airness, columbinus, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, Well, Floyd Collins, Old Wicked Songs, Bat Boy), as well as production for NextStop Theatre, WSC Avant Bard, The Welders, Rorschach Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Adventure Theatre MTC.
Sarah Tundermann (Projection Designer) Recent regional projection and multimedia design credits include E2 (World Premiere) Twilight Los Angeles: 1992, All She Must Possess, The Other Place, and Antigone Project (Rep Stage); Queens Girl in the World and Queens Girl in Africa (Everyman); Escape from Peligros Island (Imagination Stage); Watsons Go to Birmingham and All the Way LIVE (The Kennedy Center); Elf The Musical (Olney Theatre Center), Paper Dolls and Queens Girl in Africa (Mosaic Theater Company). Sarah holds an MFA in lighting design from the University of Maryland and resides in Baltimore. Website: sarahtundermann.com
Mollie Singer (Props Designer) Recent credits include: Subject to Change (University of Maryland, Scenic Design), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed…(Imagination Stage, Scenic Design, Cancelled due to Covid), She Kills Monsters (University of Maryland, Scenic Design, Digital Production) Souvenir (Rep Stage, Scenic Design), Julius Caesar (Chesapeake Shakespeare Co., Properties) True West (Rep Stage, Properties) Lady Day at Emerson’s… (Rep Stage, Scenic Design), The Heidi Chronicles (Rep Stage, Properties), Dorian’s Closet (Rep Stage, Properties), What Every Girl Should Know in Rep with Dry Land (Forum Theatre, Properties), H2O (Rep Stage, Properties), Richard III (Chesapeake Shakespeare Co., Properties), American Hero (Rep Stage, Properties), Hunting and Gathering (Rep Stage, Scenic Design), The 25th Annual... Spelling Bee (HCC Art’s Collective, Scenic Design/Properties), Sunset Baby (Rep Stage, Properties, Asst. Costume Design).
Madison Bahr (Production Stage Manager) is excited to be back at Theater J. Previous productions include: Our Suburb, The Admission. DC AREA: Signature Theatre: Gun & Powder, Billy Elliot; Studio Theatre: White Pearl, Queen of Basel, The Remains, Three Sisters, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Bad Jews, The Torch Song Trilogies; Olney Theatre Center: Cabaret; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Kiss, Guards at the Taj; Imagination Stage: Charlotte’s Web, Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, The BFG; Round House Theatre: Seminar, Glengarry Glen Ross, Next Fall, ReEntry, Amadeus; OTHER: Anti-Defamation League: Concert Against Hate, The Helen Hayes Awards (2011-2014). EDUCATION: University of Maryland (Stage Management).
THEATER J LEADERSHIP
Adam Immerwahr (Theater J Artistic Director) has served as the Artistic Director of Theater J since 2015. He is the former Associate Artistic Director at McCarter Theatre Center, a Tony Award-winning theater in Princeton NJ, where his directing credits include Sleuth, The Understudy, The Mousetrap, and a now-annual production of A Christmas Carol, and his producing credits include world premieres by Edward Albee, John Guare, Will Power, Christopher Durang, Marina Carr, Danai Gurira, and many more. He was the Resident Director at Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ, and the Artistic Director of OnStage, a company of New Jersey senior citizens who collected and performed the stories of their community. Adam has directed at some of the top theaters in the country, including The Public and Theater Row (both for Summer Play Festival), Ensemble Studio Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, McCarter Theater, Cleveland Play House, Theater J, Passage Theater, Luna Stage, Hangar Theater, Bristol Riverside, and many others. Internationally, he directed the African premiere of The Convert (nominated for Zimbabwe’s National Arts Medal). He was the recipient of 2010 NJ Theatre Alliance “Applause Award” and 2014 Emerging Nonprofit Leader Award presented by Fairleigh Dickinson University. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Alliance for Jewish Theater, and is an inaugural member of the Drama League Director's Council. Adam is a graduate of Brown University, where he studied both Theater and Renaissance/Early Modern Studies.
David Lloyd Olson (Theater J Managing Director) has spent over a decade managing nonprofit theaters, most recently serving as managing director of Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia where he oversaw the organization’s largest ever fundraising campaign and the doubling of their annual foundation support. He was manager of the executive office and board engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company where he supported the transition of the theatre’s artistic directorship from Michael Kahn to Simon Godwin. He was a founding company member of Pointless Theatre in Washington DC where he served for ten years as managing director, during which time the company was awarded the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the Helen Hayes Awards. He was an Allen Lee Hughes management fellow at Arena Stage and served as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Valmiera, Latvia. He has twice been the recipient of a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities fellowship program grant and was on the host committee of the 2016 Theatre Communications Group national conference. He attended the University of Maryland where he received a B.A. in theatre from the College of Arts and Humanities and a B.A. in government and politics from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. He is a member of Adas Israel Congregation.
Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit actorsequity.org.
BEYOND THE STAGE
Theater J is dedicated to taking its dialogues beyond the stage, offering public discussion forums which explore the theatrical, cultural and social elements of our art throughout the year. Below are the events planned during the run of Becoming Dr. Ruth. All events are free and open to everyone. All events and times subject to change. Please theaterj.org for up-to-date announcements.
Sunday, October 10 following the 2:00 PM performance
CREATIVE CONVERSATION: "A Directors Approach" with Director Holly Twyford and moderated by Johanna Gruenhut.
Wednesday, October 13 following the 7:30 PM performance
CAST TALK BACK: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an actor or to perform on stage at Theater J? Well, here’s your chance! Join members of the cast to ask your burning questions about each production and their artistic practice. With Naomi Jacobson and moderated by Kevin Place.
Sunday, October 17 following the 2:00 PM performance
SUNDAY SYMPOSIUM: “Talking About Sex: An Evolving Conversation” with Rachel S. Rubin MD, Urologist and Sexual Medicine Specialist & Kristen Conklin Flank, Counselor, PhD, LCPC.
DEEPEN YOUR IMPACT
As we kick off an unforgettable season, we need you as a partner. Less than half of Theater J’s budget comes from ticket revenue. We are reliant on generous gifts from audience members like you, who see the value of having a thriving Jewish cultural center in the heart of the city.
We invite you to join your friends and neighbors in supporting our work. With your gift, you’ll be recognizing the vital role Theater J plays in our community – a place where the stories of immigrants are proudly told, where we ask that theater engage both the head and the heart, and where we produce art that reminds you of who you are.
WAYS TO GIVE
Theater J accepts contributions by mail, phone, online, or through stock donation. Checks can be made payable to Theater J and mailed to 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. For more information or to make a donation contact david@theaterj.org or call (202) 777-3225.
Why I Agreed to Play Dr. Ruth
By Naomi Jacobson
Naomi Jacobson played the title role in Becoming Dr. Ruth for Theater J in 2018, earning a Helen Hayes Award nomination in the process. She reflects on returning to the role this season for a remounted production, and what the role has meant to her.
When Theater J Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr first spoke to me about performing in Becoming Dr. Ruth, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a one-woman show. But a one-woman show is risky. I knew that I could only embark on this new experience in an artistic environment I trusted, and one where I felt safe. (Fortunately, Theater J—and Adam in particular—provided both for me.) I hoped to love the script. And it was important to me to find a reason to become the channel for this amazing woman’s life story. I know very little about my relatives from Hungary and Lithuania, apart from the fact that few survived the Holocaust. Even though we’re of different origins (Dr. Ruth is German), I felt I had the bones to tell this survivor’s story. I don’t know enough to tell my own story, but I could tell this story. That was the emotional kernel, a seed of understanding that would grow into a connection with her character. I agreed to take on the part.
I had a few conditions. I didn’t want to do the play on a realistic set—I wanted the story to reflect an inward journey. I didn’t want to be confined to an imitation; it was more important for me to channel her essence. Dr. Ruth is alive and well, and much beloved; I can never be her. I read quite a few of her books, watched her TV shows, and listened to her radio broadcasts. I identified the ways that our lives intersected in order to find a portal to allow me to step in, and then expanded to embody her enormous personality. The biggest challenge is her giggle … I’m still working on sourcing that startling sound! And finally, Adam and I discussed directors for the project, and it was a wonderful day when Holly Twyford signed on to guide the production.
I often seek a way to expand my humanity through a role in order to heal some part of my psyche. I never know what it’s going to be until I’m deep into rehearsals. For instance, I played Margaret in Richard III. The role requires an extraordinary amount of cursing, blame, and accusation. Creating that bile in Margaret every night exhausted my soul. So, I counteracted it with forgiving people in my own life instead.
During the run of the play, I forgave everyone for any imagined slight, resentment, or wrong. I released them, and in the process released that poison from my being. Margaret helped me realize that I didn’t want any shred of vindictive energy in my life. Theatre can be a healing art, for the audience and the actor.
Dr. Ruth has an outlook of optimism, of moving forward, of not dwelling on what’s wrong. She believes in creating new opportunities and a new reality in the present. She’s a bit of a stoic. Stoics teach that the only thing you can control is your response to circumstances, so why not create a reality and a response mechanism that is positive and resilient, trusting that fulfillment is not contingent on circumstances.
That philosophy is how she accomplished so much with her life. In playing Dr. Ruth, I healed a part of my own cynicism, skepticism, and pessimism about life. I used the role to train myself to respond to my own circumstances in a new way. It was an incredible opportunity.
Since performing the role, I’ve had the great pleasure of spending time with Dr. Ruth. She attended the original production in 2018, I shared a meal with her when she spoke at Theater J’s benefit, we shared an evening at a mutual colleague’s home, and I connected with her at the screening of the documentary Ask Dr. Ruth. After experiencing her dynamic and thoughtful presence first-hand, I’m even more excited to grow in my portrayal of her, and to grow from my portrayal of her. All the things the audience appreciated about the performance the first time will still be there. But hopefully I’ll find some new emotional depths, re-explore certain moments, and reveal a deeper, more nuanced journey.
TRADITION!: LOOKING AT A PLAY THROUGH JUDAISM’S LENS
By Theater J Associate Artistic Director, Johanna Gruenhut
I was in my teens in the 90s, and I remember Dr. Ruth was everywhere, letting everyone know that desire is normal, and that good sex is an entitlement. Where did she get these crazy ideas? Where did this accented, diminutive woman get the moxie to go on TV, and everywhere else, to tell buttoned-up America that they should be having great sex, lots of it?
Turns out, what she preached is very Jewish. I found this out as a Junior in a sex-ed course that the students in my modernorthodox NYC-day-school lovingly called ‘sex with the Rabbi.’ What we learned there was, I must acknowledge, extremely heteronormative—nowadays there’s brilliant rabbinic insight and Jewish thought on sexual orientations and gender expressions. But back then, to a 16-year-old young woman, the Rabbi’s class was eye opening, even progressive, and although strangely text based —halachic i sounding even— the message was pure ‘Dr. Ruth.’
Halacha #1: Women have a right to regular sex. In the Talmud ii , the rabbis argue about how a woman may compel her husband to have sex (that she can is assumed). The Talmud goes so far as to offer a schedule for men to follow depending on their work: “for men of independent means, every day; for laborers, twice per week; for donkey drivers, once per week; for camel drivers, once in thirty days; for sailors, once in six months” (Ketubot 61). (My husband is a professor: I guess someplace between a man of independent means and a donkey driver?)
Today the idea of anyone demanding sex from a partner, even inside a marriage, is problematic, but the rabbis of the 4th century were so sure that sex is a right that they concluded that a woman could even demand a divorce—otherwise a husband’s prerogative—from an inattentive partner.
Halacha #2: Make sure it’s fun; it should bring pleasure. Sure, procreation is mentioned, but even when it’s not the goal (during pregnancy, for example), sex is enthusiastically expected and encouraged. Pleasure was all the rage in the Talmud and commentaries, which share loads of advice on how to get there. From Ketubot 48a, “There must be close bodily contact during sex. This means that a husband must not treat his wife in the manner of the Persians, who perform their marital duties in their clothes.” In fact, nudity is a persistent theme. the Babylonian sage Rav Yosef pounded his fists about the importance of skin-on-skin action (Ketubah 48b).
Halacha #3: The path to Nirvana should include seduction and foreplay. Rav Yaakov Emden, also known as the Ya'avetz, put it like this: “One should ease his wife's mind and make her happy, prepare her and nurture her with words… so that she feels passionate towards him.” Maimonides advised that a husband should “kiss any organ of her body he wishes.”
The bottom line is this: Sex is kosher when it delivers pleasure, especially for the missus. And bonus points if you do it on Shabbat! iii Dr. Ruth through and through.
i Halachic / Halacha: Commonly translated as "Jewish law". A more literal translation is "the way of walking". The two translations combine to mean a code of conduct, a guiding principle of Jewish religious ritual, practice, law, jurisprudence, belief, and day to day activities, based on the Talmud. ii Talmud. The Jewish Talmud is a dense compilation of oral laws, annotated with rabbinical discussions that form the primary source of Jewish religious law. iii The Sabbath is the holiest time of the week; our actions and behaviors on this day take on added levels of specialness. Sex and intimacy are sacred and therefore encouraged on Shabbat, as discussed in the Mishnah Torah.
Finding Love at the JCC
Nearly a century ago, Jewish singles danced and found love on the roof of the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (EDCJCC). The rooftop dances are long gone, but romance is still in the building. Today, couples are meeting through the programs of EntryPointDC, a program of the EDCJCC that helps Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s build and maintain a Jewish identity and a community connection.
“Forty years ago, your mother might have introduced you to someone,” says Stacy Miller, the Director of EntryPointDC. “In this area, people are transient now; we don’t know each other in the neighborhood like we used to. I like connecting people: to find a roommate, a friend, a job, to develop their Jewish identity. If I’m helping someone find their life partner, it’s the icing on the cake.”
EntryPointDC’s dating-related programs are numerous and varied. “Lox Meets Bagel” is the largest speed-dating event in the DMV for Jewish young professionals. “The State of the Jewish Date” features dating experts and an interactive smartphone app where people have their dating questions answered in real time (followed by a mix and mingle, of course).
During “Date my Jew Crew,” people create presentations about their (willing) single friends, and matches are facilitated by JCC staff. From “Falling for Foodies” to “The Dating Game,” there’s every style of matchmaking. And for the LGBTQ+ community, the EDCJCC’s GLOE program serves all ages with a vast range of activities.
Connections are also made in EntryPointDC’s other programs. Shabbat clusters create new relationships and lifelong friendships in organized small groups at regular Shabbat dinners. Jaclyn Freesman and Ben Breslerman met fortuitously as EntryPointDC volunteers at the EDJCC’s annual “Everything But the Turkey” Thanksgiving community-service event. Several years later they returned together and surprised everyone with an EntryPointDC proposal. (She said yes!)
“In this online world, I sense a hunger for actual face-to-face connections,” says Miller.
“We’re creating an intentional community through events that bring people together. People are hesitant to say, ‘I want to meet someone,’ but almost everyone wants to meet their someone. It’s the number one thing.”
For more about EntryPointDC, sign up for the e-news at edcjcc.org/EPDC or contact Stacy Miller at stacym@edcjcc.org.
Tuesdays with Morrie: The Book and Beyond
By Chad Kinsman, Theater J Director of Patron Experience
To commit the sin of judging a book by its cover, Tuesdays with Morrie looks unassuming—its tan, flecked cover bordered in red, its title and author listed in a simple serif font, its 200 pages contained in a slim 5-by-8-inch jacket. Only its subtitle, written in humble lowercase, claims its import: “an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson.” Today, almost 25 years after its release, finding an inapplicable superlative—best, most, highest—is nearly impossible.
After stumbling on an episode of Nightline on a March evening in 1995, Mitch Albom, an acclaimed sportswriter, learned that his college mentor Morrie Schwartz—who had always counseled Albom to follow his passion over profit— was dying of ALS, a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease. Albom knew he had to reconnect as soon as possible. As Albom has since shared, one guiltinduced phone call turned into one visit, then one visit became sixteen, always the day after his ESPN Monday night show filmed in northern Connecticut. When Schwartz confided that his biggest fear was leaving behind medical bills, Albom offered to write the story of their visits as a fundraiser.
After numerous publishers passed on the book—many blaming its subject matter or doubting Albom’s youth or abilities— Doubleday accepted Tuesdays with Morrie in October 1995. Although the two friends rejoiced at the news, their initial hopes were modest. The company had ordered around 20,000 copies, a very small print run. Schwartz died three weeks later, on November 4.
Published in September 1997, the book received generally strong reviews and was selling well at independent bookshops around the country.
Everything changed, however, after Albom briefly promoted the memoir on The Oprah Winfrey Show late that year. The book rocketed to number one on The New York Times’ bestseller list and soon appeared on syllabi, must-read lists, and book club selections all over the country. Among the best-selling memoirs of all time, it has since sold 17 million copies in 40 languages in hardcover, paperback, audiobook, e-book, and reissued versions.
On December 7, 1999, a primetime television adaptation of the book premiered on ABC to high ratings and positive reviews. Among its accolades the adaptation would nab four Emmy nominations and three wins, including two for its stars Hank Azaria and Jack Lemmon. Lemmon also won a Screen Actors Guild award for what would poignantly be his final role. That same year, Letting Go, Schwartz’s own book originally published in 1996, got reissued under the title Morrie: In His Own Words with an initial print run of 30,000.
Three years later, the beloved New York actor and director Alvin Epstein played the title role in an Off-Broadway production, with a script by Albom and the playwright Jeffrey Hatcher. Much like its source material, the play has traveled and found success all over the country.
More recently, Albom developed a podcast from his beloved book. Launched in 2019, “Tuesday People” invites guests and listeners to continue to discover ‘life’s great lesson’ through interactive discussions. New episodes premiere on, what else, Tuesdays.
As historian Henry Adams, himself a prized memoirist, said, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” Though Morrie never got to hold a copy of the book that carries his name or see an actor portray him or hear Albom’s podcast, his lessons about how to live and love as fully as possible will continue to affect readers, audiences, and listeners alike, for years to come, and any day of the week.
BECOMING DR. RUTH STAFF
Wig Designer: Anne Nesmith,
Head Electrician: Garth Dolan,
Electrics crew: Alex Monsell, Logan Duvall, and Daniel Smeriglio,
Costume Manager: Andrew Landon Cutler,
Light Board Programmer: Cody Whitfield,
Sound Board Operator: Megan Holden,
Set Construction: Meaghan Toohey,
Load-in Crew: Matty Griffiths, Jonathan Dahm Robertson, David Higgins, Stephen Indrisano
Special Thanks: Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College, Jack Novak, Sophie Schulman, Carolyn Kashner, Tamieka Chavis, Will Cooke, Sam Lunay, Rebecca Ballinger.
EDLAVITCH DCJCC LEADERSHIP & THEATER J STAFF
EDLAVITCH DCJCC
Chief Executive Officer: Dava Schub Chief Financial Officer: Craig Mintz Chief Operating Officer: Bini W. Silver
THEATER J STAFF
Artistic Director: Adam Immerwahr
Managing Director: David Lloyd Olson
Associate Producer: Kevin Place
Associate Artistic Director: Johanna Gruenhut
Resident Casting Director: Jenna Place
Commissioned Writers: Lila Rose Kaplan, Drew Lichtenberg, and Aaron Posner
Director of Marketing and Community Engagement: Stephanie Deutchman
Creative Director, Edlavitch DCJCC: Molly Winston
Director of Patron Experience: Chad Kinsman Ticket Office Manager: Jasmine Jones
Technical Director: Tom Howley
Production Coordinator: Danny Debner
Resident Production Stage Manager: Anthony O. Bullock
Head Electrician: Garth Dolan
Lead Shop Associate: Ellen Houseknecht
Charge Artist: Carolyn Hampton
Arts Ticket Office Associates: Charlie Aube, Willette Coleman, Rayna Cook, Carol Jones, Zenia Laws, KJ Moran, Hadiya Rice, Sam Rollin, Jill Roos, and Mary-Margaret Walsh.
Founding Artistic Director: Martin Blank
KEEPING YOU SAFE
As we welcome patrons and staff back to our theater, be assured that Theater J is committed to the health and safety of our patrons, our artists, our technicians, and our staff. All activity at Theater J and within the Edlavitch DCJCC will continue to be in accordance with regulations from the DC government and CDC.
We will continue to incorporate the newest guidance, research, and regulations into our planning, and will update you as guidelines change. Please visit our website for regular updates about safety protocols as set by the CDC and the DC Government.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
Theater J and the Edlavitch DCJCC commit to being an inclusive, safe, and welcoming space for all. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations from either patrons or staff.
Please visit our website at theaterj.org to learn more about our policies and procedures.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Our building sits on the traditional homeland of the Nacotchtank (Anacostan), farmers and traders who lived along the banks of the Anacostia River. Beginning in 1608, European settlers decimated the Nacotchtank with disease, warfare, and forced removal. By the 1700s, the survivors fled to join other tribes to the north, south, and west, including the Piscataway Peoples, who continue to steward these lands from generation to generation. We know this acknowledgement is only a small step towards justice, and we ask that all of us learn about the past and present, and invest in the future of our country’s Indigenous communities wherever we are.
About Theater J
Theater J is a nationally-renowned, professional theater that celebrates, explores, and struggles with the complexities and nuances of both the Jewish experience and the universal human condition. Our work illuminates and examines ethical questions of our time, intercultural experiences that parallel our own, and the changing landscape of Jewish identities.
As the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, we aim to preserve and expand a rich Jewish theatrical tradition and to create community and commonality through theater-going experiences.
The Edlavitch DCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.
CLASSES FOR THEATER LOVERS
Deepen your knowledge or explore a new aspect of theater with our award-winning artists alongside fellow theater lovers. And, subscribers receive a significant discount on classes! All classes are taught by Theater J staff and theater professionals from the DC area.
CLASSES THIS FALL INCLUDE:
FROM SCRIPT TO STAGE Taught by Adam Immerwahr and Kevin Place October 5 to November 2, 2021 | Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00 PM ET Do you wonder how a production team takes the words on the page and turns them into a production? Join Theater J Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr and Associate Producer Kevin Place as we read scripts and then watch them in filmed productions. Learn about theater as literature, drama as a performance blueprint, and how the components that surround the words shape the meaning of what we see on stage. From theater novices to aficionados, everyone will take away new insights about how to encounter scripts and performances in this discussion-based course.
FUNNY BUSINESS: HOW COMEDY WORKS Taught by Holly Twyford October 14 to November 18, 2021 | Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 PM ET Comedies on stage poke fun, provide relief, and make us roar with laughter. What makes comedy work, in dramatic text and on stage? How does an actor give a hilarious performance? In this fun and funny class with DC star Holly Twyford, we will explore what about a theatrical text makes for good comedy and the approaches actors use to land jokes. Gain insight into the techniques that sidesplitting plays use to create humor and learn how an actor analyzes their character to find the humor and humanity inside every jester and fool. Under the expert tutelage of one of DC’s finest and most acclaimed performers, you’ll gain a new appreciation for comedy and the art of the comedic actor— and you’ll laugh lots along the way!
HOW I BECAME DR. RUTH Taught by Naomi Jacobson October 27 to November 17, 2021 | Wednesdays, 7:00-8:30 PM ET Join award-winning actress Naomi Jacobson in this deep dive into her creation of the character of Dr. Ruth in Theater J’s Becoming Dr. Ruth. Jacobson will demystify the actor’s process of turning the words on the page into a fully realized, deeply complex, emotionally connected character. Along the way, you’ll learn the techniques an actor uses to interpret a script, personalize language, and illuminate the character’s thought process—and get a lot of stories about the approaches Jacobson used the two times she played this iconic role, with lots of time to answer all of your questions.
INSIDE THE REHEARSAL ROOM: CHESAPEAKE BY LEE BLESSING Taught by José Carrasquillo November 1 to December 6, 2021 | Mondays, 7:00-9:00 PM ET Have you ever wondered what happens inside a professional rehearsal room? How does a director interact with actors, and how do actors take a text and interpret it to make strong and compelling choices? Get inside access like never before as you join master teacher José Carrasquillo, Director of Artistic Programming at Ford’s Theatre, and a professional actor in rehearsal for Lee Blessing’s quirky and funny Chesapeake. Each session will feature a presentation on an aspect of the rehearsal process, followed by a rehearsal for you to observe, with time for your questions as the team unpacks the play. Get a true “behind the scenes” view of theater-making in this raw, unfiltered, and one-of-a-kind class for all theater lovers. In the words of a former participant, this class is, “an unforgettable experience, beautifully executed!”
Register now at theaterj.org/classes
