BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published May 18, 2017
Generations of American Jews brought up on a steady diet of “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Hester Street” often idealize their grandparents’ backgrounds as Jewish versions of plaster saints: Orthodox, shtetl-born and eager to assimilate into the...
The New Jewish Theatre closes its milestone 20th season with Amy Herzog’s “4000 Miles,” which will run May 11- 28. It quietly tells of the developing relationship between a 91-year-old “lefty” political activist and her 21-year-old grandson....
BY Margaret Gillerman, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published August 17, 2016
Kathleen Sitzer, the founding artistic director of the New Jewish Theatre, jokes that audiences know her as the person who gets up in front of every performance, gives a curtain speech and reminds them to turn off their cell phones.But this season —...
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published May 18, 2016
Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Nobel Prize Laureate and acclaimed novelist and short story writer, made no secret of his intense dislike for the 1983 film version of his short story, “Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy.” Singer reportedly tried to get his name removed...
To celebrate its upcoming milestone 20th anniversay season, the New Jewish Theatre will revive two of its most popular shows from the past in 2016-2017.The season opens Oct. 6 to 30 with the William Gibson blockbuster, “Golda’s Balcony,” directed...
Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published April 27, 2016
Move over BarbraWhen the New Jewish Theatre presents “Yentl” next week, don’t go expecting “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” or any of the other songs featured in the 1983 film that Barbra Streisand co-wrote, directed, co-produced and starred in as the...
The New Jewish Theatre is hosting this year’s Association for Jewish Theatre conference from April 3 to 6. The conference theme is “Redefining Jewish Theater in an Age of Multiculturalism.” The annual conference is typically hosted each year by...
The New Jewish Theatre’s 19th season will feature five plays that examine the full range of the human condition reflected through the lens of the Jewish experience. The season opener, Oct. 8 to Nov. 1, will be the Neil Simon classic, “The Sunshine...
By Gerry Kowarsky, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published May 13, 2015
“Write about what you know.” David Hein and Irene Sankoff were following that familiar advice when they created “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding.” This improbably titled musical is based on the true story of Hein and his mother....
IT’S A WEDDING, AND WE’RE ALL INVITED to the New Jewish Theatre’s “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding.” It is, I am told, a, sweet, tuneful and true story of the playwright’s mother as she discovered herself. A large, all-star cast...
EILEEN SCHNEIDER EDELMAN is a bright, warm, caring woman who is more accustomed to giving than receiving. To my knowledge, Eileen never says “no,” whether it’s volunteering or funding a project. Does she expect public recognition for her generosity?...
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published May 14, 2014
You really don’t have to be Jewish to love the New Jewish Theatre’s production of “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” but it wouldn’t hoit! The five-member ensemble cast more than do justice to the material in this laugh-a-second production, which you...
