PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

BY JOSHUA HARMON

OCTOBER 30–NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Dear Friends,

When I first read Joshua Harmon’s PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, I knew we had to bring it to Theater J. Though set in 2016, the play could not be timelier—this story rings with a sense of urgency.

This is the third play of Joshua Harmon’s that I’ve directed. Like many of his plays, PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC is about the contemporary moment, yet previous generations reverberate in the characters–we remain linked to those who came before. In this play, we see the blending of two histories within the marriage of the Benhamous. Charles, who is Sephardi, born in Algeria before his family sought refuge in Paris, is married to Marcelle, whose Ashkenazi family has remained in France for generations.

The play examines assimilation, antisemitism, and how we ask and respond to questions. Where can we feel safe? Where do we truly belong? These are the questions that return. How can they be answered?

I am honored that Theater J is producing the regional premiere of the play. PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC received Theater J’s inaugural Trish Vradenburg Jewish New Play Prize before heading to Broadway and I am so grateful to bring it back home to DC for our community.

I want to thank this incredible ensemble of actors, who have so beautifully embodied these characters, and to our dream team of DC designers who brought the world of the play to life. And I want to thank you for being here. We look forward to sharing this story with you.

Sincerely,

Hayley Finn, Artistic Director

Dear Friends,

For almost 100 years, this building has been a symbol of the resilience of American Jewry. In May 1925, President Calvin Coolidge participated in the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of this building and in his remarks stated:

"It is easy to understand why a people with the historic background of the Jews should thus overwhelmingly have allied themselves with the cause of freedom. From earliest colonial times, America has been a new land of promise to this longpersecuted race.... they have always come to us, eager to adapt themselves to our institutions, to thrive under the influence of liberty, to take their full part as citizens in building and sustaining the nation, and to bear their part in its defense, in order to make contribution to the national life fully worthy of the traditions they had inherited."

Just three months after President Coolidge's address, more than 30,000 racist and antisemitic members of the Ku Klux Klan paraded through Washington in what the Washington Post described as "one of the greatest demonstrations this city has ever known."

For the first audiences who walked up our granite steps on 16th Street and through the doors of this Jewish Community Center to take their seats where you are now sitting, the pride and joy they may have felt being inside this monumental edifice in Washington was likely tinged with the fear of the nativist populism that was rampant in American politics at that time. Almost one hundred years later, we are seeing a similar nativist populism take root in the French Republic and in American politics.

Community cultural institutions like this one are essential not only to the continuity of the Jewish people but to the continuity of freedom and democracy in this nation and around the world. Together in this space, we create a better understanding of the complexity of the human experience and build a community that values equity, liberty, and diversity. Thank you for being part of our community. We are here today because of the philanthropy of past generations. Please consider making a charitable contribution today so that Theater J can continue to bring our community together in this space for future generations. Find out all the ways to give and the benefits of being a Theater J donor at TheaterJ.org/donate.

See you at the theater.

Yours,

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

SPONSORING PRODUCER

Cathy Bernard

Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg

Sari R. Hornstein

The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation

Dianne and Herb Lerner

Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind

Patricia Payne

Revada Foundation of the Logan Family

Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan

Hank Schlosberg*

Shapiro Family Foundation, Inc.

Share Fund

The Shubert Foundation

George Vradenburg

Helaine Zinaman and Roselyn Abitbol*

SUPPORTING PRODUCER

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

Bruce A. Cohen*

Patti and Mitchell Herman

The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation

Nussdorf Family Foundation

Helene and Robert Schlossberg

PRODUCTION ANGELS

Ann Gilbert

Bonnie and Alan Hammerschlag

Sherry Nevins

Paul and Zena Mason

Les Silverman

Stuart Sotsky

Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin

Joan S. Wessel

Christopher Wolf and James Beller

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 gratefully ackowledges these donors who have supported Theater J since July 2023 through July 2024.

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

By Joshua Harmon, Directed by Hayley Finn

October 30 – November 24, 2024

Director: Hayley Finn**

Scenic Designer: Misha Kachman⁺

Costume Designer: Danielle Preston⁺

Lighting Designer: Colin K. Bills⁺

Sound Designer: Sarah O’Halloran⁺

Properties Artisan: Pamela Weiner

Properties Assistant: Aiden Galbraith

NY Casting Director: Elizabeth Hay

Casting Director: Kate Poms

Production Dramaturg: Charlotte La Nasa

Assistant Director: Tyler Herman

Intimacy Choreographer: Sierra Young

Dialect Coach: Katie McDonald

Production Stage Manager: Anthony O. Bullock*

Assistant Stage Manager: Hansin Arvind

Assistant Stage Manager: Jordyn Fields

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Irma Salomon: Brigid Cleary*

Young Pierre Salomon: Jeremy Allen Crawford

Charles Benhamou: Ariel Eliaz*

Molly: Jourdan Lewanda

Adolphe Salomon/Pierre Salomon: Stephen Patrick Martin*

Daniel Benhamou/Lucien Salomon: Ethan J. Miller

Patrick Salomon: Cody Nickell*

Marcelle Salomon: Danielle Skraastad*

Elodie Benhamou: Dani Stoller*

Voice of Rabbi: Stephen Russell Murray

The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited Prayer for the French Republic is three hours including two intermissions.

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatrical on behalf of Samuel French Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Originally commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, Barry Grove, Executive Producer with funds provided by Bank of America and received its world premiere there on January 11, 2022.

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC is the inaugural winner of the Theater J Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize. Adam Immenwahr, Artistic Director; Jojo Ruf, Managing Director

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC was developed as part of the Martha Heasley Cox Virgin Play Festival at Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Loretta Greco, Artistic Director

*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

**The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), a national theatrical labor union.

+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 8

About the Artists

Brigid Cleary* (Irma Salomon): has performed extensively in the Washington, D.C. area: Arena Stage, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Kennedy Center (Shear Madness) Taffety Punk’s Riot Grrl’s Trojan Women, and over 40 productions at Olney Theatre Center for the Arts spanning over 4 decades, most recently as Ashlee in Clare Barron’s Dance Nation. She played Homebody in the production of Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul directed by John Vreeke, co-produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Theater J. Other Theater J credits include Bal Masque, Sons of the Prophet, and Sotto Voce. A 4 time Helen Hayes nominee, Brigid made her West Coast debut at the Mark Taper Forum in Lisa Loomer’s Expecting Isabel, for which she received a Garland Award and Ovation Award nomination, reprising roles she played in the Arena Stage world premiere.

Jeremy Allen Crawford (Young Pierre Salomon): is excited to be making his Theater J debut in Prayer for the French Republic! Recent Credits include American Psycho (Monumental Theatre Company), Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales, Junie B. Jones (Adventure Theatre MTC), Shakespeare in Love (Keegan Theatre), Little Women, Lucky Stiff (NextStop Theatre Company), Rent (Iron Crow Theatre), Goldilocks, Atlantis, The Treasure Quest, The Birthday Curse (English Musicals Korea). Training: Catholic University B.M. in Musical Theatre. @jeremy.crawford.99

Ariel Eliaz* (Charles Benhamou) Ariel’s theater credits include John Proctor in The Crucible; Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie; James Bates in Book of Days; Lenny Ganz in Rumors. Ariel’s film and television credits include The Chosen (Angel Studios), Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War (Netflix), Matlock (Paramount), The Hunt (Universal), Power Book III (STARZ) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon), Low Tide (A24), Snowfall (FX), Shiva Baby (SXSW), S.W.A.T. (CBS), Blacklist (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS), The Kill Room (Shout!) Gotham (FOX), Homeland (SHOWTIME), Bull (CBS), Macgyver (CBS), among others. Ariel is fluent in English, Hebrew, and Italian.

Jourdan Lewanda (Molly) is a Chicago-based actor (and Olney, MD native) making her DC debut! Chicago: you know, that Bakery out in Bensonhurst... (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Steep Theatre u/s), Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes (Story Theatre u/s), 2 unfortunate 2 travel (Prop Thtr), COWBOY PLAY (Interrobang Theatre Project), May Day (Rhinofest). Regional: Life Sucks, The Old Man and the Old Moon (Dobama Theatre) Pinocchio, Charley's Aunt, The Jungle Book (Peterborough Players). OTHER: The Enchanted (Book by John Kander and Greg Pierce) Education: Oberlin College, NTI at Moscow Art Theatre School. jourdanlewanda.com.

Stephen Patrick Martin* (Adolphe Salomon/Pierre Salomon): is honored and grateful to be returning to Theater J for this production of Prayer for the French Republic. His Theater J credits include Broken Glass, After the Fall, The Seagull on Sixteenth Street, and Andy and the Shadows. Some of Martin’s more recent credits include Agamemnon in The Oresteia at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company where he has also played Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank and Van Helsing in Dracula. Last fall he played the Old Shepherd and Antigonus in The Winter’s Tale at Folger Theatre where he has also performed in Hamlet and Henry VIII. Prior to these he had the pleasure of playing the title role in Ben Butler at Washington Stage Guild and Andrew Undershaft in Major Barbara at the same. Martin has performed at other area theaters including Arena Stage, Delaware Theatre Co., Everyman Theatre, ExPats Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre Co. Martin is a graduate of The Shakespeare Theatre’s Academy for Classical Acting and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. He and his beautiful wife Vallerie live in Cheverly, MD.

Ethan J. Miller (Daniel Benhamou/Lucien Salomon): Ethan is thrilled to be back at Theater J playing Daniel in Prayer for the French Republic. Past Theater J shows include: This Much I Know (Harold). Other regional credits include: The Waverly Gallery (1st Stage), The Chosen (1st Stage, Helen Hayes Nomination), The Last Match (1st Stage, Helen Hayes Nomination), Macbeth (The Drunk Shakespeare Society). Other theater credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Theater at Monmouth), As You Like It (The Theater at Monmouth). Film credits include: Citified (Blue Rocket Productions), Devils (West Egg Media). Education: University of Minnesota Guthrie BFA Program.

Cody Nickell* (Patrick Salomon): is excited to return to Theater J where he was previously seen in Tuesdays With Morrie. Other DC credits include: Folger Theatre: The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest (produced by Round House Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Antony and Cleopatra, Mary Stuart, The Taming of the Shrew (Helen Hayes nomination), Arcadia (Helen Hayes nomination), The School For Scandal, Macbeth; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Richard III, The School For Lies (Helen Hayes nomination), Romeo and Juliet; Round House Theatre: Ink (Helen Hayes Nomination), we declare you a terrorist (World Premiere), Curious Incident…, Oslo; Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Company Member): The Nosebleed, Botticelli in the Fire, Stupid F***ing Bird (World Premiere), Clybourne Park (Helen Hayes nomination). Other regional credits include plays at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Playmakers Repertory Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Capitol Repertory Theatre, and Gulfshore Playhouse (Artistic Associate for three seasons). Cody’s work also includes film, television and voiceovers.

Danielle Skraastad* (Marcelle Salomon): Broadway: All My Sons. Off Broadway: Anon and Paris (The Atlantic) Moundbuilders (Signature), Hurricane Diane (NYTW/WP), Architecture of Becoming (WP), IHO (Signature/The Public) and The Wake (The Public) A Bright Room Called Day (The Public), The Pain and the Itch (Playwrights Horizons), Big Times (W.E.T.), Lidless (Page 73) Regionally Danielle has worked at People's Light, Miami New Drama, Ancram OperaHouse, The Studio Theater, Premiere Stages, Two River Theater, Berkeley Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Gulfshore Playhouse, The Kirk, Berkeley Rep, Capital Rep/Albany, ACT/Seattle, StageWorksHudson, The Human Festival and more…Film/TV: 27 Dresses, Draw Up and Stare, Hard Sell, Michael Clayton, Succession, Speed Mating, SVU, L&O, Unforgettable, Mercy, Fringe. MFA NYU

Dani Stoller* (Elodie Benhamou): is a performer and playwright from Brooklyn, New York. Past Theater J credits include This Much I Know and Hester Street. DC credits include: Which Way to the Stage, Ragtime (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer); My Body, No Choice (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer); As You Like It, Midsummer, District Merchants (Folger Theatre); The Joy That Carries You, The Humans, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Crucible (Olney Theatre Center). She has also performed at Studio Theatre, 1st Stage, Keegan Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. Playwriting credits: Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes (Signature Theater) Just Great: an adaptation of some book by F Scott Fitzgerald (recently published by Broadway Licensing), The Voices of Blackwell Island, The Possumneck Playhouse Presents... (Signature Theater SIS Program), Girlhood (Round House Theatre TPC commission), The Joy That Carries You, co-written with Awa Sal Secka (Olney Theatre Center, Winner of the Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play) Education: BFA Ithaca College, MFA CUA Upcoming SIS Commission: Failureland at Signature Theatre.

Joshua Harmon (Playwright): Plays include Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight, and Prayer for the French Republic. He and Sarah Silverman co-wrote the libretto for The Bedwetter based on her memoir. His plays have been produced on Broadway and the West End; off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theater Club and Atlantic Theater Company; across the country at Geffen Playhouse, Speakeasy, Studio Theatre, Theater Wit, About Face, Actor's Express, and The Magic, among others; and internationally in a dozen countries. He is a two-time MacDowell fellow and an Associate Artist at Roundabout. Graduate of Juilliard.

Hayley Finn** (Director): See bio on page 11.

Misha Kachman+ (Scenic Designer): has worked at Arena Stage, Asolo Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Rep, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Court Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre Center, Opera Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Rattlestick Theatre, Round House Theatre, Seattle Opera, Seattle Rep, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Signature Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Theatre for a New Audience, The Wilma Theater, Woolly Mammoth, 59E59 Theaters and many other companies in the United States and abroad. Misha’s previous Theater J credits include The Odd Couple, The New Jerusalem, Lost in Yonkers, Race, Our Class and This Much I Know, among many others. Mr. Kachman is a Helen Hayes Award recipient and a Company Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, as well as an Associate Artist at Olney. He is a graduate of the Academy of Theatre Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. Misha serves as Professor and Head of MFA in Design at University of Maryland. For more information visit www.mishakachman.com.

Danielle Preston+ (Costume Designer): Theater J: This Much I Know, The Chameleon, One Jewish Boy, The How & The Why, The Christians, Roz & Ray. DC: The Sensational Sea Minkettes (Woolly Mammoth), Fat Ham, Clyde's, The Mis-edumacation of Dorian Belle (Studio Theatre), Passing Strange, Penelope (Signature Theatre), A Good Indian Boy (Olney Theatre), Regional: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Barrington Stage), Locomotion (Children's Theatre Company), Schoolgirls: Of the African Mean Girls Play, The Realness (Hangar Theatre) Education: MFA in Costume Design, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, daniellepreston.com @danielleprestondesign

Colin K. Bills+ (Lighting Designer): he/him/his returns to Theater J, where his most recent designs have been Hester Street, This Much I Know, Gloria: A Life, Nathan the Wise, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Sheltered, The Jewish Queen Lear, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. He is a Board Member and Company Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre where he has designed over fifty productions. Colin has designed at nearly every theater in the DMV and his work has been seen at theaters across the US. He has won three Helen Hayes Awards and is a recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship in Theater. He has taught design at Howard University and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Sarah O’Halloran+ (Sound Designer): is a sound designer and composer. Her theater credits include Theater J: This Much I Know, The Chameleon, Gloria: A Life, Nathan the Wise, Compulsion, Talley’s Folly; Woolly Mammoth/The Second City: She the People: The Resistance Continues; 1st Stage: The Phlebotomist, The Brothers Size, Swimming with Whales, Trevor, and When the Rain Stops Falling; Studio Theatre: Cry it Out; Rep Stage: The Glass Menagerie; E2, The 39 Steps, The Heidi Chronicles, and Things That Are Round; Everyman Theatre: Sense and Sensibility, Be Here Now, Proof, Dinner with Friends; Mosaic Theater: In His Hands, The Return; Olney Theater Center: The Humans, Our Town, Labour of Love; Theater Alliance: A Chorus Within Her; Forum Theatre: Nat Turner in Jerusalem, What Every Girl Should Know, and Dry Land.

Anthony O. Bullock* (Production Stage Manager): Theater J: How to be a Korean Woman, 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) (she/her/hers) is an accomplished director and producer with over twenty-five years of experience in professional theatre across all aspects of the profession, including producing, directing, casting, education, fundraising, and has been instrumental in creating national partnerships for theatres across the country. Prior to joining Theater J, she was the Associate Artistic Director at the Playwrights’ Center, where 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 Point 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. Most recently at Theater J, she directed the regional premiere of Jonathan Spector's This Much I Know.

Finn is an Alumna of the Drama League Director’s Program, 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.

Manhattan Theatre Club: Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. The mission of MTC, since 1972, has been to produce innovative theatre of the highest quality by American and International playwrights, with a focus on presenting New York, American, and world premieres. Over more than four decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 28 Tony Awards, 50 Drama Desk Awards and 49 Obie Awards. Some of our most recent premieres include Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon; Cost of Living by Martyna Majok; The Collaboration by Anthony McCarten; Summer, 1976 by David Auburn; Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau; Morning Sun by Simon Stephens; Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago Hudson; My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, adapted by Rona Munro; Ink by James Graham; Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCranev; and August Wilson's Jitney. For more information on MTC, please visit www. ManhattanTheatreClub.com

SONG CREDITS

“Forever Young”

Words and music by Bob Dylan

© Universal Tunes (SESAC)

Not for broadcast transmission

“I Thought About You”

Written by James Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer

Published by Range Road Music Inc. (ASCAP) and WC. Music Corp. (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used with permission from Round Hill Music and Warner Chappell Music.

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.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JEWISH TIME

Prayer for the French Republic asks implicitly and explicitly: how does one’s Jewish identity affect their relationship to place? Characters navigate the challenges, dangers, and opportunities of being identifiably Jewish in a variety of places. They wonder: what does it mean to “look Jewish” in this place? Where are we safe?

Interestingly, as the play explores the complexities of the where of Jewish identity, it simultaneously explores the when of Jewish identity. Throughout the play, the characters celebrate Shabbat, Passover, and Chanukah, grounding the play not only in Jewish space, but also into Jewish time. Perhaps, Jews are not always safe in their current geography. However, Jews have used the calendar to carve a space for themselves in time.

Shabbat, Passover, and Chanukah are poignant choices to make such a statement. Shabbat is the way Jews have structured their weeks for millennia. In his beautiful book, The Sabbath, theologian Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel describes how Shabbat creates a palace in time. Even when we might struggle to build palaces in place, we can create meaning through intentional use of time.

Passover and Chanukah are holidays of overcoming oppression: Passover celebrating the Exodus from slavery, and Chanukah celebrating the defeat of a Hellenist army. Each holiday, in its own way, celebrates complex and often contradictory Jewish identities in the face of forces that would see Judaism fully assimilated or erased.

Importantly, none of the holiday celebrations in Prayer for the French Republic are strictly traditional. Each character relates to the holidays differently based on differing backgrounds, and the holidays are also often the times of deep conflict. However, in carving space for Jewish time, they create a safety in time when safety in space feels precarious. The palaces of time continue to welcome Jews of all backgrounds and identities.

BY RABBI ATARA COHEN, DIRECTOR OF JEWISH LIFE AND LEARNING AT THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC

TINY LIGHTS

BY HESTER KAMIN

My first memory is sitting in front of a black and white TV, watching a giant face appear in clouds of smoke and cry, “I am the great and powerful Wizard of Oz!” I remember it then, and I remember the first time I saw it in brilliant Technicolor, and the first time I read the book, and the first time I saw it on the big screen. The impact The Wizard of Oz had on my life, and on our common cultural reference, is immeasurable. We can all summon the Wicked Witch’s laugh. The flying monkeys. The ruby slippers.

Stories are how we understand the world. And everyone remembers the stories we first heard as children that became a cultural touchstone for the rest of our lives. For many people, these were the folktales of Isaac Bashevis Singer, which are as funny and touching today as when they appeared in 1966 and brought the magical world of Jewish folklore into mainstream American life. They are tales of adversity and courage, poverty and community, finding a light in the dark. Not everyone has been told to take their prized goat to the market, but everyone does understand what it is argue with their parents, to go out in lousy weather, and to develop unexpected friendships.

In our age of fast fashion, of liking and swiping and ghosting, of cancel culture and fake news and doomscrolling, it’s the stories that last. They remind us who we are and where we’re from. We invite you to join us this December to see Aaron Posner and Erin Weaver’s beautiful and hilarious production of Tiny Lights, based on three Isaac Bashevis Singer stories. As you watch the spirited actors, Zlateh the Goat and Dreidl the Parakeet and Noah come to life again, glowing gold with stage lights and with our memories of when we first met and loved them, all those years ago.

Click your heels together three times: there’s no place like home.

TINY LIGHTS plays in Cafritz Hall on Saturday, December 7 at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM; Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 PM; Saturday, December 14 at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM; and Sunday, December 15 at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM.