The Last Yiddish Speaker
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SYNOPSIS:
In the years following a successful January 6th insurrection, a white supremacist regime has come into power. Paul and his teenage daughter, Sarah, live under the radar in a small town upstate as Christian-passing, despite being Jews who fled New York City. When an ancient Yiddish-speaking woman arrives on their doorstep, Paul and Sarah are forced to decide between fleeing again or fighting for their faith, their heritage and their identity. THE PEOPLE:
SARAH: 17. Called MARY in hiding. A high school senior. Brilliant, passionate and desperate. Needs a future to believe in. Reveres her dangerously outspoken mother. PAUL: Her father. A sweet, peaceful, gentle man, challenged by circumstances beyond his imagining. He’s lost his wife, his home, his work, and will do anything to keep his daughter safe. JOHN: 17. Her boyfriend. A high school senior who has almost never left his tiny town and is expected to take over the family farm. Bright and curious and torn between his role as inspector and his love for Mary. CHAVA: Speaks Yiddish. 1,000 years old. Exhausted by this role she didn’t ask for, but always with a sense of humor. PLACE: Granville, a fictional town in Upstate, NY First of the NNPN Rolling World Premieres:
InterAct, Philadelphia, PA Directed by Seth Rozin Cast Kaitlyn Zion - SARAH/MARY Dan Hodge - PAUL Gabriel Elmore - JOHN Stephanie Satie- CHAVA Hunter Smith - Stage Manager Colin McIlvaine - Scenic Designer Katherine Fritz - Costume Designer Drew Billiau - Lighting Designer Christopher Colucci- Sound Designer Emily Schuman - Props Manager 
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WInner, 2024 Jewish Play Contest
NNPN Rolling World Premiere Commission from Lucille Lortel Alcove Project Feature in American Theatre Magazine: https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/04/09/the-last-yiddish-speaker-who-theyll-come-for-first/ Feature in Broad Street Review: https://www.broadstreetreview.com/essays/im-a-jewish-dramaturg-and-the-last-yiddish-speaker-taught-me-a-lot-about-the-spaces-we-need-to-develop-jewish-plays?fbclid=IwAR3YVIW_pDQzrJX9k5FVQ2uNzjne3D-pzQ9HYMGS4wCOwaSfywqvIlDiR6E Feature in Billy Penn https://billypenn.com/2024/04/13/last-yiddish-speaker-interact-theatre-philadelphia/ Reviews: The Forward: https://forward.com/culture/600640/last-yiddish-speaker-deborah-zoe-laufer-dystopian-play/ "Deborah Zoe Laufer packs a suitcase full of themes into her passionate and timely new play, The Last Yiddish Speaker, currently running at Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company. In just 90 minutes, with only four characters, she artfully etches a dystopian world in which the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has triumphed. The terrifying result is a Christian Nationalist surveillance state that punishes dissent; banishes or kills Jews, gays and other outsiders; and forbids women from attending college or holding professional jobs. Laufer’s characters — a Jewish father and daughter concealing their identity, the daughter’s unsuspecting boyfriend, and an older woman embodying the richness and trauma of Jewish history — must negotiate these perilous circumstances while somehow remaining true to themselves. An experienced playwright (End Games, Leveling Up, Informed Consent, The Last Schwartz, among others), Laufer reveals the contours of her menacing future America, and the stakes of opposing its rules, only gradually and with considerable craft." Burd Reviews: https://burdreviews.com/2024/04/07/the-last-yiddish-speaker-at-interact-theatre-company/ "We are riveted for every moment of this 95-minute drama, but also the effective comedic touches that Laufer has given us, like the results from the downloading of the Yiddish app on Mary’s phone to understand what Chava is saying, before we realize it won’t be needed. And what will happen to many of the professions usually dominated by Jews if they are eliminated? But what struck me so powerfully were the brief descriptions of Jewish identity based upon the centuries of repression. The ensemble is terrific- so honest, so real, so conflicted. From the challenging daughter to the protective father, from the questioning young suitor to the mysterious yet sweet old woman, they all create memorable characters. Director Seth Rozin does a superb job bringing this dystopian future play to life. I loved every minute!" |
PRODUCTION HISTORY
InterAct Theatre Philadelphia, PA 4/2024, 1st of NNPN RW Premiers
Theatre Lab Boca Raton, FL 10/2024, Directed by me
Oregon Contemporary Theatre Eugene, OR 10/2024
InterAct Theatre Philadelphia, PA 4/2024, 1st of NNPN RW Premiers
Theatre Lab Boca Raton, FL 10/2024, Directed by me
Oregon Contemporary Theatre Eugene, OR 10/2024