HOW TO BE A KOREAN WOMAN
PERFORMED AND WRITTEN BY SUN
MEE CHOMET
DIRECTION AND DRAMATURGY BY ZARAAWAR MISTRY
SEPTEMBER 12–22, 2024
Dear Friends of Theater J,
Welcome back to the theater! I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are ready for an exciting theater season. We’re starting this season by welcoming back an extraordinary artist, Sun Mee Chomet.
After the sold-out run of How To Be a Korean Woman in January, we knew we had to bring Sun Mee back so more people could experience her powerful story and tour de force performance. (And those who wanted to return could bring a friend!)
Last year, we partnered with some incredible local organizations, such as KAMA DC and the LUNAR Collective. We are grateful to continue these partnerships while also widening our reach to partner with more communities of adoptees and their families. Stories of adoption from a transnational adoptee perspective are rarely told on stages, and we are particularly thankful to Sun Mee for sharing this deeply personal narrative.
As we all know, theater also allows us to experience stories that are not our own and open our hearts and understanding in deep and meaningful ways by experiencing another person’s journey. That is why I love the play. It has given me a different understanding of experience that I did not have. And at the same time, there are aspects of the story that resonate as familiar. It is ultimately a piece about longing, what family means, and the transformative experiences that require us to reshape who we are in relationship to ourselves and our loved ones.
After last year’s run, we learned how important it was to hold space for conversation after the play. We have collaborated with Sun Mee and are offering post-show discussions after most of the performances. If you are here at a time when there isn’t a conversation, you are welcome to come back after any show to join a discussion.
This show's run falls during the Korean holiday of Chuseok. For those who are celebrating, I wish you a beautiful holiday. And for those preparing for Rosh Hashanah, I wish you a sweet New Year. Thank you for being here today, and I hope you enjoy the season ahead!
Sincerely,
Hayley Finn, Artistic Director
Dear Friends of Theater J,
Welcome to Theater J's 2024-2025 season! Hayley has programmed an extraordinary line-up of plays that delve into the complexities of the human spirit and highlight the diversity, resilience, and joy of the Jewish experience, and we hope to see you back again and again over the next ten months to experience each of the productions.
Thank you to the many subscribers who have purchased their packages this season. Your support for our work is instrumental in ensuring that we can continue to bring artists and productions of the highest-quality to Theater J. We hope you will enjoy all the benefits of being a subscriber today and all season long like discounts on concessions and merchandise, fee-free exchanges if your plans change and you need to come to a different performance, and the free guest ticket, which I hope you will use to introduce a friend or neighbor to Theater J.
If you have not yet purchased a subscription to our 2024-2025 season, it is not too late. Pick up a form on your way out of the theater, visit TheaterJ.org, or call the ticket office at 202-777-3210, Monday-Friday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Through the generous support of the Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation Theatre For Youth Fund, the Shapiro Family Foundation, and the Share Fund, Theater J will be offering hundreds of subsidized tickets to schools in DC, Maryland, and Virginia through our 2024-2025 student matinees. If you know an educator who would like to bring a classroom to Theater J, please have them email Hester@TheaterJ.org so that we can make arrangements. Thank you for helping us enhance educational opportunities for the youth in our region and for inspiring the next generation of theater-goers.
Wishing you a sweet and healthy new year full of theater!
Yours, David
David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director
THANK YOU TO OUR 2024/2025 SEASON SPONSORS
LEADING PRODUCER
Covenant Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation Theater for Youth Fund
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
SPONSORING PRODUCER
Cathy Bernard
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Sari R. Hornstein
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Nussdorf Family Foundation
Patricia Payne
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan
Hank Schlosberg*
Share Fund
The Shubert Foundation
SUPPORTING PRODUCER
Bruce Cohen Fund
Patti and Mitchell Herman
Dianne and Herb Lerner
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind
Helene and Robert Schlossberg
Barney Shapiro and Susan Walker
PRODUCTION ANGEL
Bunny Dwin
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 gratefully ackowledges these donors who have supported Theater J since July 2023 through July 2024.
Hayley Finn, Artistic Director
David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director
HOW TO BE A KOREAN WOMAN
Performed and Written by Sun Mee Chomet*
Direction and Dramaturgy by Zaraawar Mistry
September 12 – 22, 2024
Director
Zaraawar Mistry
Production Stage Manager
Anthony O. Bullock*
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Sun Mee Chomet as herself.
Scenic Designer
Nephelie Andonyadis+
Assistant Stage Manager
Shee Shee Jin
Lighting Designer Jesse Belsky+
How to Be a Korean Woman runs approximately 85 minutes with no intermission. The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater, Theater J, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
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 www.actorsequity.org.
AUDIENCE RESOURCE GUIDE:
Take a fun, informative deep dive into How To Be a Korean Woman with interviews, recipes, and other resources. To view, scan the QR code with your mobile device.
This was not an easy piece to write. Before I wrote How To Be a Korean Woman twelve years ago, I was at a standstill. I had to stop acting in other plays because I no longer knew who I was inside. As an actor, I find it is essential to know yourself deeply in order to serve other characters. After I searched for my birth family, my world turned upside down.
I recently heard an interview with a Holocaust survivor who said, “When we were forced out and came to the United States, we held tightly to our identity because it was all we had left.” This resonated deeply with me as an adoptee. Understanding oneself and knowing where one’s people have come from shape one’s core and ground one’s soul. I am grateful to have been adopted by a Jewish family where it was understood what it meant to be discriminated against and to persevere. When my own identity was shaken after my search for my birth family, I existed in a family that held compassion and care for my own unique life journey.
Performing How To Be a Korean Woman has been a healing experience. Not only because it has helped integrate my identity into wholeness again, but because it has been instrumental in the life journeys of many other adoptees. For example, I’ve met next generation Chinese adoptees who have written their own one-person plays, I’ve been interviewed by PhD candidates writing dissertations about transracial adoptee performances, and I’ve created community with adoptees far and wide who wrestle with the same questions. The load is lighter when carried together.
I am grateful to Hayley and David for inviting me back to Theater J for this encore performance. I have often felt like an outsider regarding my Jewish identity. People question whether I belong, regardless of my own internal compass. Thank you for embracing this story and expanding the world’s understanding of the complexity of the Jewish diaspora.
Special thanks to Tricia Anderson, Chana Bilek, Melissa Corkum, Kim Gube, A.D. Herzel, and Alice Stephens.
Sun Mee Chomet
PHOTOS:
• Page 2: Hayley Finn. Photo by Josh Olson
• Page 3: David Lloyd Olson. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography
• Page 4: (Top to Bottom) Grant Harrison in Moses by Michele Lowe. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and Tyler Herman in The Hatmaker's Wife by Lauren Yee. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. Sara Kapner, Jake Horowitz, and Michael Perrie Jr. in Hester Street A play by Sharyn Rothstein, with original music and songs by Joel Waggoner, based on the film by Joan Micklin Silver. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. (Left to Right) Firdous Bamji, Ethan J. Miller, and Dani Stoller in This Much I Know by Jonathan Spector. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
• Page 10: (Clockwise from Left) Jason Cohen, Morgan Morse, and Lauren Jeanne Thomas in Hester Street. A play by Sharyn Rothstein, with original music and songs by Joel Waggoner, based on the film by Joan Micklin Silver. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. Iris Bahr in See You Tomorrow. Photo by Jacob Ettkin. Sun Mee Chomet in How To Be a Korean Woman. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. (Left to Right) Arielle Moore, Dina Thomas, Eric Hissom, Emma Wallach, Sarah Corey, and Nancy Robinette in The Chameleon by Jenny Rachel Weiner. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
Sun Mee Chomet* In the US, Sun Mee has worked with The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3, Alliance Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Hartford Stage, Cincinnati Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Kansas City Repertory, Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre, Jungle Theater, Theater Mu, Park Square Theatre, and many more. Internationally, Sun Mee performed her awardwinning one-woman show, How to Be a Korean Woman at Post Theater in Seoul, S. Korea. Sun Mee’s recognition includes a 2022 Suzi Bass Award for Bina’s Six Apples, 2019 and 2013 Playwrights’ Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships, 2019 Decades Acting Awards (Minneapolis Star Tribune & City Pages for Vietgone and Two Mile Hollow), 2015 Lucille Lortel nomination (brownsville song), 2013 TCG Fox Fellowship, Star Tribune’s ‘Best of’ lists for The Origin(s) Project (2012) and Asiamnesia (2007); “2012 Best Solo Performance” honors for her play, How to Be a Korean Woman (Lavender Magazine). She would like to thank Hayley Finn and the entire staff of Theater J for the invitation, thus expanding the reach of the Jewish diaspora. She would also like to thank the incredible KAD, adoptee, and BIPOC communities in D.C. for helping to spread the word.
Zaraawar Mistry (Director and Dramaturg) Born
in India, Zaraawar Mistry is an actor, writer, director, teacher and producer in the Twin Cities. He was a co-founder of the Center for Independent Artists and an Associate Artistic Director at Theater Mu. As an actor he has performed at the Guthrie, the Children’s Theater Company and Mixed Blood Theater. He has collaborated as an actor, writer and director with Ragamala Dance. Zaraawar has written and performed in several one man plays, and mentored over a dozen actors, musicians and puppeteers in developing and producing their solo works. Zaraawar has an M.F.A. in Theatre from UC, San Diego and a B.A. from Bennington College in Vermont. He has received numerous grants in support of his work, from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Playwright’s Center among others. He has taught theater classes in the Twin Cities, and has been the Interim Program Director for the City Arts program at H.E.C.U.A. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Hamline University in 2007, and was a Mentoring Artist for the COMPAS ArtsWork program from 2010-2014. Zaraawar is a theater consultant and works as the Program Specialist for Springboard for the Arts.
Nephelie Andonyadis+ (Scenic Designer) is a scenic and costume designer based, mostly, in Washington DC. Designs at Theater J include Moses, Compulsion or The House Behind, Occupant and Fires in the Mirror. Designs locally include Topdog/Underdog (WSC Avant Bard, Helen Hayes Award), The Children (Studio Theatre), Pilgrims Musa and Sheri… (Mosaic Theater) and The Juliet Letters (UrbanArias). Regional projects include The Most Beautiful Home…Maybe (Mixed
Blood Theatre, Minneapolis), The Rivers Don’t Know (City Theatre, Pittsburgh), Seize the King (Alliance Theatre), As You Like It & The Odyssey (Public Works/ Seattle Rep), The Tempest (Pittsburgh Public Theater). With Cornerstone Theater Company, where she is an ensemble member, designs include scenery, props, costumes and/or puppets for community based productions Wicoun (touring native communities in South Dakota), A Jordan Downs Illumination, Magic Fruit, Jason in Eureka, Los Illegals, Café Vida and more. Her designs have been seen at South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Center Theater Group, among others. Professor at the University of Michigan, and the University of Redlands, BS, Cornell University School of Architecture, MFA, Yale School of Drama, NEA/TCG Design Fellowship, MS in Aging and Health, Georgetown University; Nephelie works at the intersection of community, arts and policy to help change the culture of care for all older adults.
Jesse Belsky+ (Lighting Designer) is delighted to be back at Theater J after designing See You Tomorrow, Moses, One Jewish Boy, Compulsion, Edward Albee's OCCUPANT, Actually, Talley’s Folley and Everything Is Illuminated. Other recent D.C. designs include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at Ford’s Theater, The Year of Magical Thinking and JQA at Arena Stage, Sweeney Todd & The Mystery of Love & Sex at Signature, Henry 4 P1 and A Winter’s Tale at Folger, The Music Man at OTC, John Proctor Is The Villain at Studio Theatre and Oslo at Round House. Regional credits include work at Actor’s Theater Louisville, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Yale Repertory Theater, Triad Stage and Playmakers Repertory Theater. Mr. Belsky holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and has taught lighting design at Connecticut College and UNC Greensboro. Member, USA 829. jessebelsky.com.
Anthony O. Bullock* (Production Stage Manager) Theater J: The Hatmaker’s Wife, Hester Street, This Much I Know, Moses, The Chameleon, One Jewish Boy, Gloria: A Life, Two Jews Walk into a War…, Intimate Apparel, Nathan the Wise, Compulsion or the House Behind, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Wanderers, Sheltered, Occupant, Love Sick, The Jewish Queen Lear, and Actually. DC: Red Velvet, Our Town (Shakespeare Theatre Company); The Pajama Game (Arena Stage); SOUL: The Stax Musical, Twisted Melodies (Baltimore Center Stage); Billy Elliot (Signature Theatre); The Children, The Hard Problem, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, Jumpers for Goalposts, Laugh (Studio Theatre). NYC: The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company) and workshops with Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals. Other regional credits include Barrington Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre, TheatreSquared, among others. BFA from Oklahoma City University. Proud member of AEA.
Hayley Finn (Theater J Artistic Director) is an accomplished director and producer with over twenty-five years of experience in professional theater across all aspects of the profession, including producing, directing, casting, education, fundraising, and has been instrumental in creating national partnerships for theaters across the country. Prior to joining Theater J, she was the Associate Artistic Director at the Playwrights’ Center, where she worked with some of the nation’s leading playwrights and in her tenure produced over 1,000 workshops. She also served as a Co-Artistic Director of Red Eye Theater from 2019-2023 where she co-produced and curated the New Works 4 Weeks Festival—an annual four-week festival that commissions 11 artists each year to make new performance works—and co-led the fundraising and development of a new 150-seat black box theater in Minneapolis.
She has directed nationally and internationally, including at Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY), Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland), Ellis Island (New York), Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), HERE Arts Center (New York, NY), History Theatre (St. Paul, MN), Flea Theater (New York, NY), The Kitchen (New York, NY), LAByrinth Theater Company (New York, NY), Marin Theater Company (Mill Valley, CA), New Dramatists (New York, NY), O’Neill Theater Center (Waterford, CT), Pillsbury House (Minneapolis, MN), People’s Light (Malvern, PA), Public Theater (New York, NY), Playwrights’ Horizons (New York, NY), Red Eye Theater (Minneapolis, MN), Six Points Theater (St. Paul, MN), South Coast Repertory Theater (Costa Mesa, CA), and the Nine Gates Festival in Prague. Finn was Assistant Director on several Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.
Finn is an alumna of the Drama League Director’s Program, a recipient of the Ruth Easton Fellowship, TCG Future Leader Grant, National Endowment for the Arts support, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. She received her BA and MA from Brown University.
David Lloyd Olson (Theater J Managing Director) made his stage debut at age five at the Marcus JCC of Atlanta preschool and is now proud to be one of the leaders of the nation’s largest professional Jewish theater. He most recently served 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 theater’s artistic directorship from Michael Kahn to Simon Godwin. He has also held positions at Arena Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Pointless Theatre. He was an Allen Lee Hughes management fellow at Arena Stage, a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Valmiera, Latvia, and the recipient of two DC Commission on Arts and Humanities Fellowship program grants. He proudly serves on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre (alljewishtheatre.org) and the board of Adas Israel Congregation.
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWISH THEATER COMPANY IN THE NATION.
THE WASHINGTON POST
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.
All of the programs at the Edlavitch DCJCC are supported in part by a generous gift from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
EDLAVITCH DCJCC LEADERSHIP
Edlavitch DCJCC
Chief Executive Officer: Jennifer Zwilling
Chief Finance and Administrative Officer: Charlie Winters
Chief Experience Officer: Jesse Bordwin
Senior Director of Institutional Advancement: Emily Jillson
THEATER J STAFF
Artistic Director: Hayley Finn
Managing Director: David Lloyd Olson
Production
Production Manager: Mark T. Berry
Technical Director: Tom Howley
Associate Producer: Charlotte La Nasa
Technical Coordinator: Willow McFatter
Company Management Associate: Grace Carter
Head Electrician: Garth Dolan
Resident Properties Artisan: Pamela Weiner
External Affairs
Arts Marketing Manager: Jill Gershenson
Director of Patron Experience: Jasmine Jones
Development Executive Assistant Ryan Muha
Ticket Office and Front of House Manager: Nino Porter
Assistant Ticket Office Manager: Lauren McNeal
Marketing Consultants: Rachel Hewitt, Adriana Cisneros Emerson, and Jasmine Jones, Rachel Media Publicist: Kendra Rubinfeld and Travis Hare, Kendra Rubinfeld PR
Graphic Design: Molly Winston
House Managers and Ticket Office Associates: Sophia Bonde, Steve Chazanow, Emily Eason, Lily Goldberg, Sarah Moosadzeh, Robert Reeg, Hadiya Rice, Kaneeka Rice, Sam Rollin, and MaryMargaret Walsh
Education & New Play Development
Education Programs Manager: Hester Kamin
Expanding the Canon Rosh Beit: Sabrina Sojourner
Expanding the Canon Commissioned Writers: Harley Elias, Zachariah Ezer, Carolivia Herron, Jesse Jae Hoon, MJ Kang, and Kendell Pinkney
Teaching Artists: Jen Jacobs, James Carlos Lacey, Tori Niemiec, Aaron Posner, Lynette Talya Rathnam, Sharyn Rothstein, Howard Shalwitz, Holly Twyford, and Erin Weaver
Founding Artistic Director: Martin Blank
HOW TO BE A KOREAN WOMAN STAFF
Electricians: Garth Dolan, Rex Hsu, Michael House, David Ramsey
Load-in Crew: Matty Griffiths, David Higgins, Tad Howley, Willow McFatter, Taylor Stewart, Von Riley
Sound and Projections Operator: Quincy Fuller
Follow Spot Operator: Megan Amos
Light Programmer: Ben Harvey
Audio/Video Engineer: Kaitlyn Sapp
Set pieces painted by: Kao Lee Thao
Additional sound designer/engineering: Peter Morrow
Dialect coach: Bomi Yoon
Promo video: Bo Hakala
Video editing: Jason Ho
Additional video editing: Jason Hoffmann
Company Management Associate: Grace Carter
Special thanks: Sonya Weisburd, Jacob Ettkin
2024–2025 THEATER J COUNCIL
Mara Bralove, Chair
Mindy Gasthalter
Ann Gilbert
Cheryl Gorelick
Rae Grad
Patti Herman
Aimee Imundo
Daniel Kaplan
Arlene Klepper
Liz Kleinrock
Kenneth Krupsky
Stephen Lachter
Karen Lehmann-Eisner
Ellen Malasky
Meredith Margolis
Howard Menaker
Alfred Munzer
Sherry Nevins
Patricia Payne
THEATER J HONORARY COUNCIL
Patty Abramson*
Michele G. Berman
Bunny Dwin
Lois Fingerhut
Marion Ein Lewin
Paul J. Mason
Evelyn Sandground
Hank Schlosberg*
Saul Pilchen
Bella Rosenberg
Mita M. Schaffer
Robert Schlossberg
Terry Singer
Stuart Sotsky
Manny Strauss
Bob Tracy
Kathryn Veal
Trish Vradenburg*
Patti Sowalsky
Joan S. Wessel
Irene Wurtzel
EDLAVITCH DCJCC 2024–2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Johanna Chanin, President
Eva Davis, Vice President
Meredith Margolis, Vice President
Janis Schiff, Vice President
Janet B. Abrams
Olufunmike Adeyemi
Andrew Altman
Joan Berman
Michele G. Berman
Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Jennifer Bradley
Jaclyn Lerner Cohen
Sara Cohen
Eva Davis
Jonathan Edelman
Myrna Fawcett
Meg Flax
Brian Gelfand
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Ginny Edlavitch
DIRECTORS EMERITI
Stephen Altman
Rose H. Cohen
Jill Granader
Martha Winter Gross
Daniel O. Hirsch
Jonathan Grossman, Treasurer
Amie Perl, Assistant Treasurer
Benjamin Loewy, Secretary
Daniel Glickman
Dina Gold
Debra Goldberg
David Goldblatt
Rena Gordon
Brad Lackey
Joshua Maxey
Alyssa Moskovitz
Sid Moskowitz
Alfred Munzer
Alyson Myers
Melanie Franco Nussdorf
Amie Perl
Arnold Polinger
Shannon Powers
Norm Rich
Ilene Rosenthal
Michael Salzberg
Max Sandler
Rhea Schwartz
Michael Singer
Tina Small
Mimi Tygier
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Jessika Wellisch
Eric Zelenko
Jennifer Zwilling, Chief Executive Officer, Ex Officio
Stephen Kelin
William Kreisberg
Saul Pilchen
John R. Risher Jr.*
Lynn Skolnick Sachs
VICE PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Lee G. Rubenstein
HONORARY DIRECTOR
Barbara Abramowitz
Deborah Ratner Salzberg
Mindy Strelitz
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg
Robert Tracy
Ellen G. Witman
Theater J, as part of the Edlavitch DCJCC, embraces inclusion in all of its programs and activities. Theater J strives to make our productions accessible to all by providing the following to meet the needs of our patrons, and to enhance their experience at the theater.
For more information, please contact our Director of Patron Experience at 202.777.3268 or contact our ticket office at theaterj@theaterj.org
ACCESSIBLE SEATING
The Edlavitch DCJCC has ramp access from the Q Street entrance and all our restrooms are ADA accessible. In the Goldman Theater, removable seats provide patrons with the opportunity to be seated with their companions while sitting in their wheelchair.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING
Assistive listening devices are available at our Ticket Office. They are free-ofcharge and offered on a first-come, first-served basis at all performances.
OPEN CAPTIONING
We are now partnering with Verbit AI to offer live captions at any performance. You will be able to use the Verbit AI QR code or one of our tablets provided at the ticket office. Please call 48 hours in advance of your performance to confirm live caption accommodation. Captioning sponsored by Dianne and Herb Lerner
LARGE PRINT PROGRAMS
Large print programs are available at our Ticket Office, located on the first floor. Or read a low vision digital program on your mobile device by scanning the QR code outside the theater.
Theater J respects and welcomes gender diversity. Please use the restroom which makes you most comfortable or most closely fits your gender identity or expression. An all-gender restroom is located on the Lower Level.
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.
DEEPEN YOUR IMPACT
Theater J is dedicated to producing work that illuminates ethical questions of our time, examines the changing landscape of Jewish identities, and celebrates inter-cultural experiences. It is because of you, our community, our audience, our supporters, that Theater J has grown to be “the nation’s most prominent Jewish theater” (American Theatre Magazine). 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 visit theaterj.org/donate or contact rmuha@theaterj.org and 202.777.3225
FRIENDS OF THEATER J
Theater J gratefully acknowledges the following donors who have supported Theater J since July 1, 2023 – June 1, 2024.
Leading Producer ($100,000+)
Covenant Foundation+
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Sponsoring Producer ($25,000–$99,999)
Cathy S. Bernard
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Sari R. Hornstein
Daniel Kaplan and Kay Richman+
Supporting Producer ($18,000–$24,999)
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Patti and Mitchell Herman+
Leading Angels ($10,000–$17,999)
James A. Feldman and Natalie Wexler
Cheryl Gorelick +
Marion Ein Lewin
Katharina Otto-Bernstein
Sponsoring Angels ($6,000–$9,999)
Michele and Allan Berman
Andrea Boyarsky-Maisel
Susan and Dixon Butler
Myrna Fawcett
Rae Grad and Manuel Schiffres
Supporting Angels ($3,000–$5,999)
AllShifts
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Bonnie and Louis Cohen
Bunny Dwin
Lois and Michael Fingerhut
Patricia and David Fisher
Mindy Gasthalter ¶
Ann Gilbert ¶
Enthusiasts ($1,000–$2,999)
Lisa and Josh Bernstein Δ
Joyce and Fred Bonnett
Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt Δ
Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen
Marcy and Neil Cohen, Ryna Cohen Δ Dave Connick
Nancy and Marc Duber Δ
Ginny and Irwin Edlavitch Δ Suzanne and Enrique Fefer
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation Theater for Youth Fund Δ
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Dianne and Herb Lerner
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind Δ +
The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation
Nussdorf Family Foundation Δ
M. Craig Pascal
Diane and Arnold Polinger
Bella Rosenberg ¶ +
Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins
Meg and John Hauge
Daniel Hirsch and Brenda Gruss Δ
Karen E. Lehmann
Sherry Nevins
Nora Roberts Foundation
Martha Winter Gross and Robert Tracy
Arlene and Martin Klepper
Kenneth and Amy Eisen Krupsky
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Paul and Zena Mason
Howard Menaker and Patrick Gossett¶ +
Jeff Menick
Undine and Carl Nash
Saul and Nancy Pilchen
Ilene and Steven Rosenthal
Linda Goldsmith and Howard Berger
Michael Gross
Erez Harari
Hillel Kaye
Barry Kropf
Alan McAdams and Ellen Dykes
James & Theodore Pedas Foundation
Michael Rabinowitz
Joan and Barry Rosenthal Δ
Patricia Payne
Hank Schlosberg*
Shapiro Family Foundation, Inc. Δ Share Fund Δ The Shubert Foundation
Helene and Robert Schlossberg
The Leshowitz Family Foundation, Terry Singer + James Beller and Christopher Wolf
April Rubin and Bruce A. Ray
Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin + Dr. Kathryn Veal +
Judy and Leo Zickler
Trina and Lee G. Rubenstein
Mita M. Schaffer and Tina M. Martin*
Leslie Sewell and James Jaffe
Les Silverman
Richard Solloway
Stuart Sotsky
Patti and Jerry Sowalsky
The George Wasserman Family Foundation
Joan S. Wessel
Ruth and Samuel Salzberg Family Foundation
Deborah and Michael Salzberg Δ
Alfred Sanders
Lewis Schrager and Frances Marshall
Peggy and David Shiffrin
Mindy Strelitz and Andrew Cornblatt Δ Philip Teitelbaum
¶ Denotes a member of the EDCJCC’s Community Pillars programming. These supporters have committed to leaving a legacy by including Theater J in their estate planning.
+ Denotes support of our New Play Development programming.
Δ Denotes support of our Family and Education programming
Admirers ($500–$999)
Barry Friedman
Gertrude & Lawrence Gichner Fund for the Performing Arts
Michael Halpern and Glenda Turner
Lucia and Frederic Hill
Pamela Hunt
The Frank and Marta Jager Foundation
Jean and Michael Kaliner
Aviva Kempner
Zev Lewis
Nancy Limprecht and Rick Haines
Meredith Margolis and Gary Goodweather
Ilene Meiseles
Donald and Lynne Myers
Vicki Robinson
June and Marvin Rogul
Janet and Robert Wittes
Monday, December 18, 7:00 PM
EDLAVITCH DCJCC DONORS
The Edlavitch DCJCC wishes to thank the following donors who enable us to serve the commnity. This list includes all fiscal year 2024 gifts to date (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) from donors who made commitments or donations of $1,000 or more. The Edlavitch DCJCC thanks all of our donors for the important impact they have on our work.
$300,000+
Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
$100,000 - $299,999
Anonymous
Bruce A. Cohen*
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
$50,000 - $99,999
Covenant Foundation
Sari R. Hornstein
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)
$25,000 - $49,999
The Aviv Foundation, Inc.
Cathy S. Bernard
Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
The Dweck Family
Lois and Richard England Family Foundation
Rena Gordon
The Kay Family Foundation
$10,000 - $24,999
Ronald and Anne Abramson
Suevia and Rudolph B. Behrend Fund
Bender Foundation
Michele and Allan Berman
Lisa and Josh Bernstein
Bookey Family Foundation
Abby and Andrew Cherner
CIBC Private Wealth Management
Sara Cohen and Norm Rich, Cyna and Paul Cohen, and Family
Myrna Fawcett
Ann Gilbert
Cheryl Gorelick
Jill and Robert Granader
Patti and Mitchell Herman
JCC Association
Elise and Marc Lefkowitz
$5,000 - $9,999
Janet Beth Abrams
Monica and Gavin Abrams
AllShifts
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman
Anonymous
Carol and Gary Berman
Joan and Alan Berman
Jordan Lloyd Bookey and Felix Lloyd
Andrea Boyarsky-Maisel
Susan and Dixon Butler
Bonnie and Louis Cohen
Cyna and Paul Cohen
Rose and Robert Cohen
Eva Davis and Justin Kramer
Bunny Dwin
Cindy Barad Elias
David and Patricia Fisher
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation
Meg and Samuel Flax
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation
Nussdorf Family Foundation
Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Dianne and Herb Lerner
Alfred Moses
Sid and Linda Moskowitz
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind
National Endowment for the Arts
Patricia Payne
Diane and Arnold Polinger
Karen E. Lehmann
Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
Thelma Z. Lenkin
The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation
Marion Ein Lewin
Dan Mendelson and Jennifer Loew
Mendelson
Amy and Alan Meltzer
The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation
Katharina Otto-Bernstein
M. Craig Pascal
Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins
Saul and Nancy Pilchen
Norman Pozez and Melinda Bieber
Mindy Gasthalter
Edith Gelfand, Brian and Jenny Gelfand
GMP LLP
Dina Gold
Debra Goldberg and Seth Waxman
Michelle and Jonathan Grossman
Meg and John Hauge
Embassy of Israel
Arlene and Martin Klepper
William Kreisberg
Kenneth and Amy Eisen Krupsky
Stuart S. Kurlander and David L. Martin
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Gary Laden, Esq.
Joy Lerner and Stephen Kelin
Dale and William Lipnick
Saskia and Benjamin D. Loewy
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Marshfield Associates
Paul and Zena Mason
Howard Menaker and Patrick Gossett
Samuel G. Rose
Daniel Hirsch and Brenda Gruss
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
Share Fund
The Shubert Foundation
Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan
Ilene and Steven Rosenthal
Martha and Philip Sagon Family Foundation
Deborah and Michael Salzberg
Hank Schlosberg*
Rhea Schwartz and Paul Wolff
Shapiro Family Foundation, Inc.
Bella Rosenberg
Trina and Lee G. Rubenstein
The Abe & Kathryn Selsky Foundation
Janis and Philip Schiff
Lisa Silver and Barry Kopit and the Silver Family Foundation
The Leshowitz Family Foundation, Terry
Singer
Rae Grad and Manuel Schiffres
Helene and Robert Schlossberg
Richard Solloway
Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin
Martha Winter Gross and Robert Tracy
James A. Feldman and Natalie Wexler
James Beller and Christopher Wolf
Jeff Menick
Sherry Nevins
Cozen O'Connor
Nora Roberts Foundation
April Rubin and Bruce A. Ray
Joan and Barry Rosenthal
Susan Sachs Goldman
Ruth and Samuel Salzberg Family Foundation
Lynn and John Sachs
Deserie and Allen Saunders
Mita M. Schaffer and Tina M. Martin
The Schoenbaum Family Foundation, Inc.
Les Silverman
Michael Singer and James Smith
Tina and Albert Small, Jr.
Charles E. Smith Family Foundation
The Sosland Foundation
Dr. Stuart Sotsky
Mindy Strelitz and Andrew Cornblatt
Summit Print & Design, Inc.
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg and Stephen
Joel Trachtenberg
Mimi Tygier and Robert Rubin
Dr. Kathryn Veal
$2,500 - $4,999
Babs and Rabbi A.N. Abramowitz, Wendi and Daniel Abramowitz
Andrew Altman
Stephen and Amy Altman
Anonymous
Jamie and Joseph A. Baldinger
Joy and Leonard Baxt
Devorah and Kevin Berman
Lynn and Wolf Blitzer
Deborah and Charles Both
Debra Vodenos and Samuel Boxerman
Fani and Dan Brandenburg
Susie and Kenton Campbell
Marcy and Neil Cohen, Ryna Cohen
Susan Cohn
Dave Connick
Sara Cormeny and Peter Miller
Cornerstone Research, Inc.
$1,000 - $2,499
Adas Israel Congregation
Eric Adler
Bette Ann S. Albert
Clement and Sandra Alpert
Laurence and Agatha Aurbach
Alison Baraf and Aryeh Portnoy
Cheryl and Herbert Baraf
Linda Goldsmith and Howard Berger
Emily and Adam Berman
State of Israel Bond (Bernstein Endowment)
Elaine and Richard Binder
Paul Blank
Joyce and Fred Bonnett
Susan and Steven Bralove
Ito Briones and Warren Coates
Marian and James Brodsky
Anita Wolke and Ken Brooks
Nancy Taylor Bubes and Alan Bubes
Morris J. Chalick, MD
Chevy Chase Trust
Howard and Carol Cohen
Jacqueline and Edward Cohen
Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen
Jeffrey Colman and Ellen Nissenbaum
Peggy and Morris Dahan
Toby Dershowitz
Yvonne and Jeffrey Distenfeld
Sonnie Dockser
Jessica Dodson and Jeremy Levine
Ilana Drimmer
Tamara Dunietz and David Dunn
Jonathan Edelman
John Edelmann
Anna Faure
Suzanne and Enrique Fefer
Rachel and Pete Federowicz
Daniel Freeman and Rebecca Zylberman
Laurie and Jerry Friedman
Natalie Friedman and Daniel Winston
Tova Geller
Morgan and Josh Genderson
Marsha Gentner
The George Wasserman Family Foundation
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Jessika and David Wellisch
Scott Eric Dreyer and Ellen Clare Gillespie
Dreyer
Nancy and Marc Duber
Jay Freedman
Lois and Michael Fingerhut
Rhoda and Daniel Glickman
Paula Seigle Goldman
Leslie and Samuel Kaplan
Stacey Kluck
Aviva Kempner
Tamara Korolnek
Brad and Ali Lackey
The EJL98 Charitable Trust, on behalf of Edward Lenkin and Roselin Atzwanger
Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt
Johannah and Jeremiah Lowin
Meredith Margolis and Gary
Goodweather
Ellen Gertsen
Bernard Gewirz
Catherine and Micah Gibson
Cathy and Michael Gildenhorn
Audrey Goldstein
Richard and Sue Goldstein
Lois and Hadar Granader
Helen Greenfeld and Richard Mintz
Michael Gross
Erwin Gudelsky
Erez Harari
Margaret Hoeger
Sandra Hoexter
Mariana Levinas Huberman
Maya Hyman
Nancy and Steven Jacobson
Rob Kallman
Sandy and Eliot Kalter
Sid Kaplan
Jared Kassoff and Jaime Creighton
Irene and Lou Katz
Ellen Kay
Hillel Kaye
The Kresge Foundation
Barry Kropf
Janet Leno and Peter Harrold
Kimberly and Bruce Levin
Jesse and Alyssa Levine
Kay Klass and Mark Levitt
Margery and Sheldon London
Melanie and Hal Marcus and Family
Philip Margolius
Ellen and Ken Marks
Alan McAdams and Ellen Dykes
Rona and Allan Mendelsohn
Elaine and William Miller
Gary Mintz
Rachel Moskowitz and Ari Moskowitz
Simor Moskowitz
Joan Nathan
Miriam Morsel Nathan and Harvey
Nathan
Eric Zelenko
Judy and Leo Zickler
Eric and Kathryn Zimmerman
Carol Mates and Mark Kahan
Alyson Myers
Carl and Undine Nash
Shannon and William Powers
Suzanne Priebatsch
Eric Salzberg
Rubin Schron
Leslie Sewell
Peggy and David Shiffrin
United Bank
Heidi Wachs
Wealthspire Advisors
Susan Wedlan and Harold Rosen
Joan S. Wessel
Janice White
Carolyn and William Wolfe
Rebecca Wolozin and Louis Beckman
Gayle and Steven Neufeld
Victoria Odinotska
Ellen and Scott Paseltiner
James & Theodore Pedas Foundation
Marsha and Jamey Pelton
Amie Perl and Evan Goldman
Linda and Bruce Pollekoff
Joel and Nancy Poznansky
Deborah and Juan Prawda
Michael Rabinowitz
Rabbi Fred N. Reiner and Susan Liss
Renay and Bill Regardie
Suzanne and Bruce Rosenblum
Norman L. and Caryl G. Rosenthanl
Linda Rosenzweig and Sandy Bieber
Alfred Sanders
Lewis Schrager and Frances Marshall
Yechiel Schron
Dolores Seigel
David Selden and Julie Wallick
Susan Brett and Rob Shesser
Dale and Alan Sorcher
Barbara Silverstein and Alan Kirschenbaum
Mindy and Jeff Sosland
Leslie and Howard Stein
Susan Rubin Suleiman
Lise Van Susteren and Jonathan Kempner
Philip Teitelbaum
Ziva and Aaron Tomares
United Way of the National Capital Area
Janet B. Weiner
Helene Weisz and Richard Lieberman
Janyse and Bernie Weisz
Sharon Wilkes and Robert Kinberg
Carol and Michael Winer
Ellen Witman
Janet and Robert Wittes
Barbara Yellen and Phil West
Lynda Zengerle
Jennifer Zwilling Rosenwasser and Jon Rosenwasser
*of blessed memory
With the support from our community of donors, the Edlavitch DCJCC remains the premier address in our nation's capital for an expanding, diverse, and vibrant urban Jewish community. To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Edlavitch DCJCC today, please visit edcjcc.org/donate or contact Emily Jillson at 202-777-3231 or ejillson@edcjcc.org.
By Joshua Harmon
