NEW JERUSALEM:

THE INTERROGATION OF BARUCH DE SPINOZA

JUNE 26–JULY 25, 2010

From the Artistic Director
We are gathered as a theatrical congregation not only to wrestle with
the tenets of one of the great minds of our millennium, but to wrestle
with something far less vaunted in ourselves: Why did our historical
brethren in Amsterdam inflict upon Baruch De Spinoza one of the
harshest decrees of excommunication ever ordered?

We have learned from Professor Jean Cahan (who helped kick off an
extended two-week study session at Tifereth Israel Congregation involv-
ing our troupe on the subject of Spinoza) that the excommunication of
Jews during the 17th Century was not uncommon; there were, in fact,
thirty-nine between 1622 and 1683. But most sentences were short.
Even the cantor was excommunicated (but that was only for a day)! Spinoza’s sentence was
different. The severity was commensurate with the umbrage taken.

Why was the community so provoked? Why didn’t it rally to defend one of its own; a best
and brightest light—albeit a provocative, occasionally arrogant presence? Clearly the Jew-
ish community is coerced, pressured, and feels it has no choice but to censure its prodigal
son. Yet, for all his alleged sins—which includes a blasphemous discussion of theology with
Gentiles—Spinoza repudiates his Jewishness far less than the Jewish community repudiates
him. Why such communal ferocity directed at a most un-ferocious dissident? And what
does the inflamed reaction say about us today?

Spinoza’s ideas destabilized Jewish thinking, then and now. Spinoza questions the Jew-
ish community’s relationship with the governing Dutch authority. More than that, he sets
the stage for modern Judaism’s understanding of the Torah as a historical—not a divinely
originated—document. And, of course, he asks basic questions about God, challenging the
centrality of faith as a cornerstone of religious practice. Widely accepted, rationalist views
today are met with uproar and fury by the community. Its intellectual weakness exposed,
the community hits back, defensive and aggressive.

What do we do with the blasphemers of our time; those heretics who destabilize the com-
munity with trailblazing thoughts? Why isn’t Spinoza’s “heresy” reflected upon by the “en-
lightened” community that spawned him? Why no acceptance from the rabbi who nurtured
him like a son?

The genius of David Ives’ play is that in exposing the community’s hypocrisy, we are also
exposed to flaws and contradictions within Spinoza himself. What fuels this angry young
man to such heights of impudence, while still maintaining a strong self-identification with
the Jewish community? Was Spinoza such an angry young man? Or did his love of reason
demand a sanguine and unwavering devotion to rational belief over blind faith?

A debate play seemingly about the nature of God—or the God of nature—really turns out to
be a mystery play about the nature of a man and what moves him, and what moves a com-
munity to silence—and remove—him. The community exhibits no willingness to compromise,
but then neither does Spinoza. Spinoza is touched, but in the end unmoved by the imploring
of his teacher. Is this stubborn rigidity a trait to be admired, or does it seal his fate?

There’s something of The Crucible in this drama of a man holding firm—and making new
discoveries—before an unholy tribunal. These are angry times in our own nation, and in our
multi-stranded Jewish community as well. What we have in New Jerusalem is a play to ap-
preciate and to inspire learning, both from books and from examining ourselves—how we
behaved as a community once upon a time and how we continue still—as we marvel at the
achievement of a towering young giant whose greatness refused to be expunged.
-Ari Roth
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Theater J’s Angels

This select group has provided generous support for

NEW JERUSALEM: THE INTERROGATION OF BARUCH DE SPINOZA

Jacqueline & Marc Leland

Joel Wind & Al Munzer

Additionally, the following have provided generous support for

The Fisher Family Visiting Artists Program

The Fisher Family Foundation

The Arlene and Robert Kogod New Play Development Program

Arlene & Robert Kogod Diane & Arnold Polinger
Jacqueline & Marc Leland

Theater J’s Passports Educational Program

The Cohen Family Foundation The Jacob & Charlotte
Sandra & Arnold Leibowitz Lehrman Foundation

Theater J Council
Marion Ein Lewin Ellen Malasky Ann Gilbert Stephen Stern
Co-Chair Secretary Carolyn Kaplan Manny Strauss
Irene Wurtzel Natalie Abrams Yoav Lurie Barbara Tempchin
Co-Chair Patty Abramson Amelia S. Mattler Trish Vradenburg
Lois Fingerhut Michele G. Berman Jack Moskowitz Joan Wessel
Vice-Chair Mara Bralove Elaine Reuben Rosa Wiener
Paul Mason Deborah Carliner Evelyn Sandground Margot Zimmerman
Vice-Chair Mimi Conway Hank Schlosberg
Ira Hillman Myrna Fawcett Andy Shallal
Treasurer Cheryl Gorelick Patti Sowalsky

Washington DCJCC Leadership

President Mindy Strelitz Chief Financial Officer Judith Ianuale
Chief Executive Officer Arna Meyer Mickelson Chief Development Officer Mark Spira
Chief Operating Officer Margaret Hahn Stern Chief Programming Officer Joshua Ford

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Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater/Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts

June 26 – July 25, 2010

Theater J presents

NEW JERUSALEM: THE INTERROGATION OF

BARUCH DE SPINOZA AT TALMUD TORAH
CONGREGATION: AMSTERDAM, JULY 27, 1656
By David Ives
Directed by Jeremy Skidmore+
Cast
Rebekah Eliza Bell*
Ben Israel Ethan Bowen*
Clara Lauren Culpepper
Simon Brandon McCoy
Valkenburgh Lawrence Redmond*
Spinoza Alexandar Strain*
Mortera Michael Tolaydo*

Artistic & Production Team

Scenic Designer Misha Kachman**
Lighting Designer Thom Weaver**
Costume Designer Kathleen Geldard**
Sound Designer Matt Nielson**
Properties Designer HannaH J. Crowell
Production Stage Manager Roy A. Gross*
Dramaturg Stephen Spotswood
Assistant Director Stephanie P. Freed
Scenic Artist Meaghan Toohey
Assistant Stage Manager Ariel Warmflash
Lighting Operator Aaron Waxman
Sound Operator Scout Seide * Member of Actor’s Equity Association
Head Electrician Garth Dolan **Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
Casting Director Naomi Robin + Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza is presented by special arrangement with
Dramatist Play Service, New York. It was originally produced by Classic Stage Company, Brian Kulick,
Artistic Director; Jessica R. Jenen, Executive Director, by special arrangement with Robert Boyett.

This play will be performed with one 15-minute intermission.

Patrons are requested to turn off pagers, cellular phones and signal watches during performances.
Please do not text message during the performance and remember to turn your cell phone off after intermission.
The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in this auditorium.
3
About Spinoza
The beginning of the 17th century saw European civilization in the midst of a long, arduous
climb out of the brutality and fear that dominated much of the Middle Ages. The young man
Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677) was one of a handful of thinkers who took it upon them-
selves to examine a millennium of old ideas, dissect them, and discard what they no longer
believed was in mankind’s best interest. In this way, Spinoza and his contemporaries acted
as philosophical midwives to the modern age.

However, at the time this play takes place, the recognition of Spinoza as a philosophical
founding father is unrealized. In Amsterdam of 1656, Spinoza is a man of many ideas but
few friends, and on the verge of being an outcast in his own community.

The Jewish community in Amsterdam was still very young at this time. When the Inquisition
expanded into Portugal in 1580, many Portuguese Jews found refuge in Amsterdam—the
trade center of the Western world. Unlike most cities at this time, Jews here were not con-
fined to a ghetto and were well respected by many of their Christian neighbors. The words
in the title of this play, New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza, refer to the
idea, voiced early in the play by one of the city’s regents, that Amsterdam was a God-given
homeland for Jews and Christians alike. Considering the Inquisition was still ongoing in other
European countries, and that Jews living elsewhere faced murder, torture and mass conver-
sions, the argument for Amsterdam as a true haven for Jews was valid.

However, their freedom was tightly circumscribed. Jews were excluded from nearly all of the
trade guilds, from owning shops, and from holding public office. They were also forbidden
from proselytizing their religion, while at the same time ordered to keep strict observance
of their own orthodoxy. It is this community, still in its infancy and still very vulnerable, that
took up the case of Baruch de Spinoza, charging him with atheism and dissemination of
heresies.

This event would be the first of many trials for the young philosopher. His ideas eventually
spread around the world. In leading universities and religious institutions, Spinoza was tried
and condemned in absentia as a monster and heretic. When his magnum opus, Ethics, was
finally sent to a publisher shortly following his death, Catholic priests, Protestant ministers
and Jewish rabbis banded together in a failed attempted to discover who had possession of
the manuscript and stop it from seeing the light of day.

And they had good reason to put a stop to Spinoza. His philosophy deconstructed the foun-
dations of the Jewish and Christian faiths. He presented a reality that allowed for morality
and goodness to exist in a world without divinity, laying the groundwork for what modern
thinkers recognize as secular humanism. But before Spinoza had to argue his ideas to the
world, he had to defend them to the Portuguese Jews of Amsterdam—a confrontation that
has been brilliantly dramatized by David Ives in New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch
de Spinoza.

Still, David Ives has not written a history play. The Spinoza that is put forth here is a modern
man—possessing dry wit and irony and a sense of the gravity of the moment. Through the
course of two hours he lays out a system of living—peppered with wonderful moments of
discovery along the way—that history shows was not complete until just before Spinoza’s
death. And the trial taking place on stage is not just the trial of Spinoza. Within the heart
and mind of Rabbi Mortera, who is forced to choose between the flawless reasoning of his
beloved pupil and the tenets of his faith, Ives presents the clash between religion and reason
in the modern world.

With characters that feel contemporary and words that ring relevant and true, this play dra-
matizes an argument that has continued to play out over the last four hundred years, and
proves that the interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza remains unfinished.
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About Spinoza
The Philosophy of Baruch de Spinoza
(in four clauses or less)
IF it is true that in the beginning there was God and
nothing else.
THEN there was no Substance for God to create the
universe out of other than the Substance of Himself.

THEREFORE the entire universe was created from God,

and everything in the universe is an aspect/piece of God.

AND IF God is perfect, and the entire universe IS God,

then the universe, as it is, is perfect.

Notes by Stephen Spotswood, New Jerusalem:

The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza dramaturg
For more dramaturgical information, visit
theaterj.org (click on “New Jerusalem”)

Additional Programming for NEW JERUSALEM

Theater J is dedicated to taking its dialogues beyond the stage,
offering an array of innovative public discussion forums and outreach
programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social
elements of our art. Discussions take place weekly, following Sunday
matinees and many Thursday evening performances.
For an updated list of panelists and additional discussion dates,
visit theaterj.org (click on “Beyond the Stage”)
Saturday, June 26 at 10:15pm: A Discussion with David Ives: including Jeremy Skidmore
(Director of New Jerusalem), interviewed by Michael Kahn (Shakespeare Theatre Artistic
Director, director of The Liar)

Sunday, June 27 at 5:15pm: The Artistic Team of New Jerusalem

Monday, June 28 at 9:45pm: Preview Talkback

Tuesday, June 29 at 9:45pm: Preview Talkback

Sunday, July 4 at 5:15pm: Interfaith Discussions on Spinoza: The First in Our Series of
Perspectives Interfaith Dialogues led by Rabbi Tamara Miller

Thursday, July 8 at 9:45pm: Cast Talkback

Sunday, July 11 at 5:15pm: A Discussion with members of the Washington Spinoza Society

Thursday, July 15 at 9:45pm: Spinoza’s God: A Discussion with Daniel Spiro, Coordinator of
the Washington Spinoza Society

Sunday, July 18 at 5:15pm: Talkback with Spinoza scholars Kenneth Feigenbaum and
Sidney Bailin

Sunday, July 25 at 5:15pm: The Rehabilitation of Baruch Spinoza in Modern Jewish Culture: A
Conversation with Spinoza Scholar Daniel Schwartz

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6
 About the Artists
Eliza Bell (Rebekah Spinoza) is thrilled to be back at Theater J, where she
appeared as Shiri in The Accident. Local and regional credits include: Harvey
(Bay Theater); Charles Mee’s Snow in June (American Repertory Theater);
Donnie Darko, Trust, Three Sisters (ART Institute); A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Lightbulb); Black Codes and Bloody China (Manhattan Theater
Source). Television: As The World Turns. Eliza has trained at Studio Magenia
Ecole de Mime in Paris and the Moscow Art Theater, and holds an MFA from
the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard.
Ethan Bowen (Ben Israel) is pleased to make his Theater J debut. Recent
DC credits include Detective FIx in Around the World in Eighty Days at Round
House Theater, where he was also Billy Bones and Squire Trelawney in Trea-
sure Island. Other area credits include The Olney Theater Center (Peter Pan,
Brooklyn Boy, 13 Rue de L’Amour), The Shakespeare Theatre (Antony and
Cleopatra, Julius Caesar) and Woolly Mammoth Theatre (The Faculty Room).
Regional credits include productions at The Joseph Papp Public Theater,
The Acting Company, Northern Stage, Clarence Brown Theater, St. Michaels
Playhouse. Ethan is an Associate Artist with Vermont Stage Company where
he has performed for the last 15 years, most recently Louis de’Rougemont in Shipwrecked!,
and Elliot in Opus. He received his MFA from New York University and splits his time between
DC and Vermont where he lives with his wife Courtney and dog Otis.
Lauren Culpepper (Clara) Most recently appeared at the Folger Theatre
and the Two River Theater in Orestes: A Tragic Romp. New York credits
include The Dinner Party at Lincoln Center Institute and A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Her regional credits include Dream Machines, Peril on the
Red Planet, Trojan Women and Two Gentlemen of Verona. She is a proud
company member of No Rules Theatre. Ms. Culpepper holds her BFA from
the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Brandon McCoy (Simon) is proud to make his Theater J debut. Originally
from Huntington, WV, Brandon holds a BFA in Acting from Marshall Uni-
versity and an MFA in Acting from Catholic University. He has appeared at
numerous area theatres and festivals including Rep Stage, Forum Theatre,
Olney Theatre Center, Arena Stage, The Bay Theatre, Journeyman Theater
Ensemble, Washington Shakespeare Company, and Theatre Alliance. He is
also a professor of acting at Catholic University and Howard Community
College, as well as an accomplished stand-up comedian and musician.
Lawrence Redmond (Valkenburgh) welcomes the chance to join this com-
pany of artists. He was last seen at Theatre J as Samuel/Uriah in David in
Shadow and Light, as well as Jaime Sabartés in Ariel Dorfman’s Picasso’s
Closet, as Emil Goldfus in Jules Feiffer’s A Bad Friend, and as Ben Charney
in Ari Roth’s Life in Refusal. Other efforts this season included Alfred
Morris in Permanent Collection at Round House Theatre and Dimas in
Triumph of Love at Olney Theatre Center. An Affiliate Artist at Arena Stage,
Redmond is a born and bred Washingtonian, a 2010 Artist Fellowship Grantee from the DC
Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and a two-time recipient, and multiple nominee of
the Helen Hayes Award.
Alexandar Strain (Spinoza) has performed at Theater J in The Rise and fall
of Annie Hall, Honey Brown Eyes and Pangs of the Messiah (Helen Hayes
nomination - Supporting Actor) and The Seagull on 16th Street. Other perfor-
mances include Angels in America (Forum Theatre); In the Heart of America,
Bach at Leipzig (Rep Stage), My Name is Asher Lev, Lord of the Flies (Round
House Theatre), Caligula, Medea (Washington Shakespeare Company), The
Monument, Gross Indecency (Theater Alliance), The School for Scandal (Ev-
eryman Theatre), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (LongAcre Lea
7
About the Artists cont.
Productions, Helen Hayes nomination - Ensemble). In Washington, DC he has directed Marisol
(Forum Theatre), Life’s A Dream (Journeymen Theater Ensemble), Peace (Washington Shake-
speare Company—World Premiere). He is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of
the Arts where he studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. He is a recipient of the 2007
Boomerang Fund for Artists grant and lives in Washington DC with his girlfriend, Natalia.
Michael Tolaydo (Mortera) is delighted to return to Theater J. Past per-
formances include The Accident, Benedictus, The Pangs of the Messiah
and numerous stage readings including Seven Jewish Children with Forum
Theatre. He recently performed in Heroes at Metro Stage (Helen Hayes
Award for Ensemble Acting). Other performances include a one person tell-
ing of St. Mark’s Gospel at Theatre Alliance, the National Cathedral, and at
St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Blue/Orange at Theater Alliance; Heartbreak
House and Treasure Island at The Roundhouse. Michael has appeared at
The Studio Theatre in Uncle Vanya, Privates on Parade, Blue Heart, and Waiting for Godot. He
has appeared on Broadway in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Kingdoms, Dirty Linen/New Found
Land, The Robber Bridegroom, The Time of Your Life, The Three Sisters, and in Edward II. Past
appearances at the Folger have included Sterling in The Clandestine Marriage, Macbeth, Pros-
pero, Lord Capulet, and Shylock. Michael is a professor of Theater, Film, and Media Studies at
St. Mary’s College of Maryland and was the first recipient of the Steven Muller Distinguished
Professorship in the Arts.
David Ives (Playwright) was born in Chicago and educated at Northwestern
University and Yale School of Drama. A former Guggenheim Foundation
Fellow in playwriting, he is probably best known for his evenings of one-act
comedies. His short plays are collected in two anthologies, All In The Timing
(Vintage) and Time Flies (Grove). His full-length theatre works are available
in Polish Joke and Other Plays (Grove). He is also the author of two young-
adult novels, Monsieur Eek and Scrib. Most recently, he wrote Venus In
Furs, adapted Corneille’s The Liar and translated Georges Feydeau’s classic
French farce A Flea In Her Ear which won a Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation and a Prince
Prize for New Work. He lives in New York City.

Jeremy Skidmore (Director) has been based in Washington, DC for nine

years. He served for two years as Producer of the Source Festival and for six
years as the Artistic Director of Theater Alliance where he produced 22 pro-
ductions in five years that garnered 22 Helen Hayes nominations. Elsewhere
in the DC area, he has directed for Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre,
Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Everyman Theatre, Catalyst Theater Com-
pany, African Continuum Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Forum Theatre, Keegan
Theater, The Hub Theatre, Adventure Theatre, University of Maryland, Catho-
lic University, St. Mary’s College and The National Conservatory for Dramatic
Arts. Outside of Washington, Jeremy has directed, produced or taught all over
North Carolina and in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Pennsylvania, London, Oslo,
Galway, Kilimanjaro, Tokyo, Macau and Tai Pei. Jeremy is a member of the Stage Directors and
Choreographers Society and is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Misha Kachman (Scenic Designer) is a graduate of the State Academy of Theatrical Arts in
St.Petersburg, Russia. His most recent designs include costumes and scenery for Gruesome
Playground Injuries and Fever/Dream at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Helen Hayes nomi-
nation for Outstanding Set Design), Around the World in 80 Days at Round House Theatre, Barrio
Grrrl and Unleashed! at the Kennedy Center, Evgeny Onegin, Xerxes and Così fan tutte at Mary-
land Opera Studio, Lost in Yonkers, The Seagull and Honey Brown Eyes at Theater J and Cymbe-
line at Milwaukee Shakespeare, among many others. Misha serves as an Assistant Professor of
Scene and Costume Design at University of Maryland and is a member of United Scenic
8
 About the Artists cont.
Artists Local 829. Misha has worked as a museum designer at The Hermitage Museum in St.
Petersburg, Russia from 1994 to 1998; he is also a renowned painter and printmaker, whose
work has been shown at numerous one-man and group exhibitions in the U.S.A. and abroad.
Misha’s work can be seen online at www.mishakachman.com.
Thom Weaver (Lighting Designer) In the DC area, his work has been seen at Folger Theatre
(Arcadia, Macbeth) and Round House Theatre (26 Miles). In Philadelphia, his work has been
seen at the Arden (Romeo and Juliet, Blue Door, My Name is Asher Lev), the Wilma (Becky
Shaw, Coming Home, Scorched), Delaware Theater Company (The Foocy, All the Great Books,
It’s a Wonderful Life, The Diary of Anne Frank), Theatre Exile (Shining City, American Buffalo)
as well as the Lantern, People’s Light, New Paradise Laboratories, InterAct, and Curtis Opera.
Other theatre credits include: CENTERSTAGE, Syracuse Stage, Children’s Theatre Company,
California Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Two River Theatre, Berk-
shire Theatre Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Signature Theater Company, Berkshire
Opera, York Theatre, Summer Play Festival, 37 ARTS, Spoleto Festival USA, City Theatre, Lincoln
Center Festival, Lincoln Center Institute, Urban Stages, Rattlestick Theatre, NYMF, The Culture
Project, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and Yale Rep. Awards include two Barrymore Nominations
in 2009, and a Helen Hayes nomination in 2010, as well as the 2007 Best Lighting Design
AUDELCO Award for Signature Theater’s King Hedley II, and the 2003 Entertainment Design
Magazine Tyro Talent award. He is the artistic director of Flashpoint Theatre Company and a
member of Wingspace Design Group. He received his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and
his MFA from Yale School of Drama.

Kathleen Geldard (Costume Designer) Theater J: Speed the Plow, Spring Forward/ Fall Back,
Bal Masque, The Disputation, A Bad Friend. DC Area: Signature Theatre: Sycamore Trees
(World Premiere), Sweeney Todd, I Am My Own Wife, Show Boat, See What I Wanna See, Les
Miserables, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Happy Time. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company:
Eclipsed. Round House Theatre: Permanent Collection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Eury-
dice, Orson’s Shadow, Life x 3. Imagination Stage: The Dancing Princesses, Heidi, The Never-
ending Story (2008 Helen Hayes Nomination), Twice Upon a Time, The Hundred Dresses, Huck
Finn’s Story, Charlotte’s Web, Liang and the Magic Paintbrush. Olney Theatre: Is He Dead?,
Rabbit Hole, Of Mice and Men, Elephant Man, Having Our Say. Her work has also been send at
Studio-Arena Theatre, Vineyard Playhouse, Folger Theatre, Studio Theatre 2ndStage, Everyman
Theatre, Rep Stage, and Theater Alliance. DANCE: Liz Lerman Dance Exchange: Nocturnes, The
Farthest Earth From Thee, 613 Radical Acts of Prayer, Funny Uncles, Imprints on a Landscape:
The Mining Project, Still Crossing 2006. AWARDS: nominated for 3 Greater Baltimore Theatre
Awards; recipient for The Seagull at Rep Stage.
Matt Nielson (Sound Designer) is returning for his fourth production at Theater J. Past pro-
ductions include Honey Brown Eyes, The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, and In Darfur. He is the
Resident Sound Designer at Round House Theatre, where his design and composition credits
include Around the World in 80 Days, My Name is Asher Lev, Treasure Island and A Prayer for
Owen Meany (Helen Hayes Award). Other designs include Catalyst Theatre (Helen Hayes Award,
1984), Woolly Mammoth, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Kennedy Center for the Per-
forming Arts, Rorschach Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company,
Barrington Stage, The Contemporary American Theatre Festival, the Smithsonian Institution
and Adventure Theatre. Off-Broadway credits include the Joseph Papp Public Theatre/New
York Shakespeare Festival. He is a founding member of audio theatre company The Audible
Group and creator of the audio series Troublesome Gap. Samples can be heard online at some-
randomsound.com.
Stephen Spotswood (Dramaturg) has been the literary assistant at Theater J since fall 2008.
He previously dramaturged the staged reading of Caryl Churchhill’s Seven Jewish Children.
Trained as a playwright and journalist, he received his MFA in Playwriting from the Catholic Uni-
versity of America in May 2009. Previously produced plays include: Eulogy (Imagination Stage),
Miranda is Morning (2009 Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting); The Aaronsville Woman
(2007 Paula Vogel Award); Born Normal; Gilgamesh, who saw the deep; and Give Unto Caesar
9
About the Artists cont.
(Catholic University Religious One Acts Festival winner). His play, 7 Lessons on Suicide, will
premiere at Capital Fringe this summer, and his plays The Resurrectionist King and A Creation
Story for Naomi will be read at the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage Festival in the fall.
HannaH J. Crowell (Properties) recently designed props for The Four of Us, Zero Hour and The
Rise and Fall of Annie Hall at Theater J and was the scenic and props designer for In Darfur.
HannaH has also designed props for Miss Nelson Is Missing (Imagination Stage) and Other
Room (VSA Arts). She primarily works as a scene designer in the Washington DC area. Local
credits include Ain’t Misbehavin (Olney Theatre Center), Seascape (The American Century The-
ater), The Receptionist (Studio 2nd Stage), Holes and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (Adventure
Theatre), All’s Well That Ends Well, House of Yes and Kafka’s Dick (Washington Shakespeare
Company). Upcoming projects include Forever Plaid (Olney Theatre Center) and Locomotion
(Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences). Hannah received her BFA from North Caro-
lina School of the Arts and is currently a graduate student at the Corcoran College of Art and
Design for Museum Exhibition Design.
Roy A. Gross (Production Stage Manager) has worked as a producer, production manager,
stage manager, and writer in the DC metro area for ten years. A proud member of Actors’ Eq-
uity Association, he serves as a member of the DC/Baltimore AEA Liaison Committee and the
regional campaign coordinator for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Roy had the privilege of
stage managing Tribute Productions’ Beyond Glory, bringing the piece to the US Military around
the world as part of Operation Homecoming, a program jointly sponsored by the National En-
dowment for the Arts and the Department of Defense. Roy is the recipient of a US Army South-
ern European Task Force Scroll of Appreciation, US Army 282nd Base Support Battalion Scroll
of Appreciation, and a League of Washington Theatres Offstage Honor Award. Currently Roy is
the Executive Director of Artists’ Bloc, an organization that presents the developing performing
art work of over 40 creating artists each year.
Ari Roth (Artistic Director) is enjoying his 13th season as Artistic Director at Theater J where
he has produced 90 full productions, including 30 world premieres. Also a playwright, Mr. Roth
has seen his work produced at Theater J and across the country, where productions include
Goodnight Irene, Life In Refusal, Love & Yearning in the Not-for-Profits, Oh, The Innocents, and
a repertory production of Born Guilty, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky, and its sequel,
The Wolf in Peter (coming to Epic Theatre Ensemble in New York in the 2010-11 season). His
plays have been nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Production
and two Charles A. MacArthur Awards. He is a 1998 and 2003 recipient of a NEA playwriting
grant, three-time winner of the Helen Eisner Award, two-time winner of the Avery Hopwood,
four-time recipient of commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and recipi-
ent of the Mertyl Wreath Award from Hadassah. He was recently named one of the Forward
50, recognizing those “who are leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.”

Theater J Staff
Artistic Director Ari Roth
Managing Director Patricia Jenson
Production Manager Delia Taylor
Director of Marketing and Communications Grace Overbeke
Marketing & Group Sales Associate Becky Peters
Director of Literary & Public Programs Shirley Serotsky
Director of Patron Services Tara Brady
Casting Director Naomi Robin
Technical Director/Master Carpenter Tom Howley
MCCA Associate Technical Director Daniel Risner
Construction & Load-in Crew Ellen Houseknecht, Kevin Laughon, Van Pham and Meaghan Toohey
Front of House Raha Behnam, Bonnie Berger, Jeremy Brown, Elizabeth Heir, Katherine McCann & Hadiya Rice
For Theater J staff bios, visit theaterj.org. 10
 Friends Of Theater J
Theater J is, at its core, a playwrights’ theater and as such, we have named our giving levels in honor
of Jewish playwrights and two of their director/producers. We gratefully acknowledge the follow-
ing generous donors who have given since July 1, 2009 towards our 2010 fiscal year. We ask our
many long-time supporters and new friends of the theater to join them in underwriting this exciting
season. (This list is current as of May 8, 2010.)
Executive Producing
Show Sponsor
($25,000 and above)
The Fisher Family Foundation
The Jewish Federation of
Greater Washington
The Shubert Foundation
The National Endowment for the Arts
Wendy Wasserstein Grand Angel
($15,000 - $24,999)
Arlene & Robert Kogod
Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg
Patti & Jerry Sowalsky
The George Wasserman
Family Foundation
Harold Clurman Champion Angel
($10,000 - $14,999)
Carolyn & Warren Kaplan
The Jacob & Charlotte
Lehrman Foundation
Trish & George Vradenburg
Irene & Alan Wurtzel
Tony Kushner Collaborating Angel
($7,500 - $9,999)
Deborah Carliner &
Robert Remes
The Max and Victoria
Dreyfus Foundation
Jacqueline & Marc Leland
Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins
Ellen & Bernard Young
Joseph Papp Producing Angel
($5,000 - $7,499)
Patty Abramson & Les Silverman
Esthy & James Adler
American Jewish World Service
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F.
Ammerman and Andrew Ammerman
Ryna, Mel, Marcella & Neil Cohen
Lois & Richard England
Lois & Michael Fingerhut
Cheryl Gorelick
Barbara & Jack Kay
Judy & Peter Kovler
Marion & Larry Lewin
The Omega Foundation
Rosa Wiener
Judy & Leo Zickler
Lillian Hellman Supporting Angel
($2,500 - $4,999)
Natalie & Paul Abrams
Michele & Allan Berman
Embassy of Israel
Myrna Fawcett
Betsy Karmin & Manny Strauss
Sandra & Arnold Leibowitz
Zena & Paul Mason
11
Faye & Jack Moskowitz
Al Munzer & Joel Wind
Diane & Arnold Polinger
Elaine Reuben
Loretta Rosenthal
Joan Wessel
Arthur Miller Mentor
($1,500 - $2,499)
Susan & Dixon Butler
Ruth & Mortimer Caplin
Mimi Conway & Dennis Houlihan
Barbara Kurshan
Chaya & Walter Roth
Victor Shargai
Margot and Paul Zimmerman
David Mamet Muse
($1,000 - $1,499)
Agatha and Laurence Aurbach
Mara Bralove & Ari Fisher
Jane & Charlie Fink
Ann & Frank Gilbert
Marjory Goldman
Shoshana & Peter Grove
Ira Hillman & Jeremy Barber
Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen
Rona & Allan Mendelsohn
Melanie Franco Nussdorf &
Lawrence Nussdorf
Toby Port
Hillary & Jonathan Reinis
Saul Stern*
Neil Simon Stage Benefactor
($500 - $999)
Margery Cunningham
Miriam J. Cutler & Paul Saldit
Steven des Jardins
Barbara & Samuel Dyer
Robert Eager
Frances Goldman
Paula Siegle Goldman
Michael Gottesman
Meliha & Joshua Halpern
Rosalyn & Gary Jonas
Edith & Arthur Hessel
Dianne & Herbert Lerner
Ellen & Gary Malasky
Amelia & Mike Mattler
Jeff Menick
Trudy & Gary Peterson
Shira Piven & Adam McKay
Tina & Albert Small Jr.
Margaret Hahn Stern &
Stephen Stern
Marsha E. Swiss & Ronald M. Costell
Barbara & Stanley Tempchin
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg &
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Beverly Walcoff
Anthony & Janet Walters
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Sholom Asch Admirer
($350 - $499)
Richard Arndt
Bonnie & Jere Broh-Kahn
Brenda Gruss & Daniel Hirsch
Cookie Kerxton
Deborah Lerner Cohen &
Edward Cohen
Eugene Herman
Estelle & Irving Jacobs
Dana & Ray Koch
Iris & Michael Lav
Barbara Rappaport
Michelle Sender
Betty L. Ustun
Suzan & Ronald Wynne
Paddy Chayefsky Champion
($175 - $349)
Rabbi & Babs Abramowitz
Anonymous
Cecily Baskir & John Freedman
Susan & Steven Bralove
Beth Chai - Greater Washington
Jewish Humanist Congregation
Mady Chalk
Edward Collins
David Culp
Susan & George Driesen
Alison Drucker & Thomas Holzman
Susan & Jay Finkelstein
Ina Ginsburg
Debra Goldberg & Seth Waxman
Jeanette & Leonard Goodstein
Martha Winter Gross & Robert Tracy
Elizabeth Grossman &
Joshua Boorstein
Ritalou Harris
Lauren & Glen Howard
Julie Jacobson
Rebecca Klemm
Beth Kramer
Michael Lang
Arthur Le Van
Joy Lerner & Stephen Kelin
Freddi Lipstein & Scott Berg
Pat & Larry Mann
Dorothy Moss & Larry Meyer
Caroline & Michael Mindel
Janice & Andy Molchon
Undine & Carl Nash
Louisa Foulke Newlin &
William Newlin
Muriel Miller Pear
Laurie Ann Phillips
Erica and Doug Rosenthal
Faye & Norman Seltzer
Beverly & Harlan Sherwat
Susan Talarico
John Tolleris
Debby & Donald Tracy
Friends Of Theater J cont.
In memory of Marjory Hecht Watson Renee Gier Thomas Merrick
Marjorie & Allan Weingold Stacie & Bruce Goffin Steven Metalitz
Linda Winograd F. Goldsman Neil Miller
Carolyn & William Wolfe Morton Goren Nancy & Richard Millstein
Ellen Wormser Hilton Graham Mona & Leonard Mitnick
Richard Young Wendy Gray & Steven Pearlstein David & Margaret Nalle
Judith & Albert Grollman Joan Nathan & Allan Gerson
Ben Hecht Booster Merna & Joseph Guttentag Dori Phaff & Dan Raviv
($75 - $174) Cindy Hallberlin & Joel Kanter Stephanie Paul
Patricia Andringa Phyllis Kline & Norman Lord Suzy Platt
Anonymous Faye & Aaron Hillman Nikki & Michael Rabbino
Leslie Barr Linda & Steven Hirsch Ellen Miles Ratner & Phillip Ratner
Rosalyn Bass & James Greene Ann Hoffman Joan & Ludwig Rudel
Byrna Bell Robert Honeygosky Leona & Jerrold Schecter
Goldie Blumenstyk Lorna Jaffe Diane Schroth
Sue Boley Sarah Kagan Rochelle & Richard Schwab
Andrea Boyarsky-Maisel Pamela Kahn Steve Shapiro
Edith Bralove Jean & Robert Kapp Arlene Farber Sirkin & Stuart Sirkin
David Cantor Ellen Kolansky Janet Solinger
Wallace Chandler Adrienne Kohn & Garry Grossman Kathy Sreedhar
Timothy Christensen Nancy Korman Sandy Stern
Margaret Sohn Cohen & Harvey Cohen William Kreisberg Sandra Stewart
Rosalind & Donald Cohen Martin Krubit Helen & Jonathan Sunshine
David Connick Hannah & Tim Lipman Elizabeth & Joel Ticknor
Leona & Donald Drazin David Lipton Stephanie & Fernando
Peter Dreifuss Marjory & Sheldon London van Reigersberg
Madeline & Gerald Malovany Virginia & James Vitarello
Kenneth Dreyfuss
Marlene & Ken Markison Jonathan Waxman
Gitta Fajerstein
Lynne Martin Leslie H. Weisman
Anne & Al Fishman
Johana McCarthy Phyllis & John Wimberly
Ruth & Barry Fishman
Richard Frankel John McGraw
Linda & Jay Freedman Gloria Meade

Washington DCJCC Donors

The Washington DCJCC wishes to thank all those who made contributions to the JCC to help support our
programs during the 2009 fiscal year (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009). Your support has been invaluable in
allowing us to create and sustain programs of excellence throughout the year.
$100,000 +
Ann Loeb Bronfman
The Robert M. Fisher
Memorial Foundation
The Jewish Federation of
Greater Washington
Nextbook, Inc.
United Jewish Endowment Fund
$50,000 - $99,999
The Morris & Gwendolyn
Cafritz Foundation
Arlene and Robert Kogod
Melanie and Lawrence Nussdorf
Howard and Geraldine Polinger
Family Foundation
Serve DC: The Mayor’s Office
on Volunteerism
David Bruce Smith
$25,000 - $49,999
Jamie and Joseph A. Baldinger
Diane and Norman Bernstein
Melinda Bieber and Norman Pozez
DC Commission on the Arts and
Humanities
Louie and Ralph Dweck
Stuart S. Kurlander
National Endowment for the Arts
Philip L. Graham Fund
Robert H. Smith* Family Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
Trish and George Vradenburg
$15,000 - $24,999
Lisa and Josh Bernstein
Ginny and Irwin Edlavitch
Susie and Michael Gelman
Alexander Greenbaum
Brenda Gruss and Daniel Hirsch
Tamara and Harry Handelsman
Susy and Thomas Kahn
Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman
Foundation
Diane and Arnold Polinger
Deborah and Michael Salzberg
Charlotte and Hank Schlosberg
The Abe & Kathryn Selsky Foundation
Patti and Jerry Sowalsky
Lori and Les Ulanow
George Wasserman Family
Foundation, Inc.
$10,000 - $14,999
Anonymous
Patty Abramson and Les Silverman
Michele and Allan Berman
Deborah Carliner and Robert
Remes
Rose and Robert Cohen
Ryna, Mel, Marcella and Neil Cohen
The Corps Network
DC Office on Aging
The Max and Victoria Dreyfus
Foundation, Inc.
Lois & Richard England
Family Foundation
The Fannie Mae Foundation
Marilyn and Michael Glosserman
Rena and Michael Gordon
Martha Winter Gross and Robert
Tracy
Barbara and Jack Kay
Thelma and Melvin Lenkin
Schoenbaum Family Foundation
Rhea Schwartz and Paul Wolff
United Way of the National Capital
Area
Natalie Wexler and James Feldman
Irene and Alan Wurtzel
$5,000 - $9,999
Anonymous
12
Washington DCJCC Donors Continued From Previous Page
Esthy and Jim Adler
Beverly Bernstein
Blum-Kovler Foundation
Ann and Donald Brown
Susie and Kenton Campbell
Children’s Charities Foundation
Debra Lerner Cohen
and Edward Cohen
Janet Langhart Cohen
and William Cohen
CrossCurrents Foundation
Embassy of Israel
Lois and Michael Fingerhut
Jane and Charles Forman
The Aaron & Cecile Goldman
Family Foundation
Cheryl and Ken* Gorelick
Deborah Harmon and
Robert Seder
William Kreisberg
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Jacqueline and Marc Leland
Joy Lerner and Stephen Kelin
Marion and Larry Lewin
Linda Lipsett and Jules Bernstein
MAZON: A Jewish Response
to Hunger
Arna Meyer Mickelson and
Alan Mickelson
Faye and Jack Moskowitz
Linda and Sidney Moskowitz
Prince Charitable Trusts
Kathy and Thomas Raffa
Renay and William Regardie
Rae Ringel and Amos Hochstein
Debra and Jonathan Rutenberg
Lynn and John Sachs
Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins
Emily Schoenbaum
Barbara and Michael Smilow
SunTrust Bank
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg and
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Marvin Weissberg
Joan Wessel
Rosa D. Wiener
Carolyn and William Wolfe
Woodbury Fund
Ellen and Bernard Young
Judy and Leo Zickler
Rory and Shelton Zuckerman
$2,500 - $4,999
Rabbi and Babs Abramowitz
Natalie and Paul Abrams
Marnie Abramson
Adas Israel Congregation
Amy and Stephen Altman
Arlene and Kenneth Becker
Dorothy Bennett
Joan and Alan Berman
Caryn Cohen
Sarah Cohen and Norman Rich
Beth and Ronald Dozoretz
13
Lois and Richard England
Myrna Fawcett
Federal Emergency
Management Agency
Linda and Jay Freedman
Joanne Fungaroli
Debra Goldberg and Seth Waxman
Mary and Robert Haft
Roberta Hantgan
G. Scott Hong
Sandra and Arnold Leibowitz
Edward Lenkin
Richard Levy
Zena and Paul J. Mason
Cathryn and Scot McCulloch
Jeff Menick
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind
Elaine Reuben
Sylvia Ritzenberg* Charitable TrustJennifer Mizrahi
Loretta Rosenthal
Chaya and Walter Roth
Daryl and Steven Roth
Jane Nathan Rothschild
Beth Rubenstein and
Evan Markiewicz
Michael Singer
Sondheimer Family Charitable
Foundation
Saul I. Stern
Mindy Strelitz and Andrew
Cornblatt
The Washington Post Company
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
$1,000 - $2,499
Anonymous(2)
Wendi and Daniel Abramowitz
Participants from the Behrend-Adas Richard Solloway
Senior Lunch Fellowship
Alternative Gifts of
Greater Washington
Agatha and Laurence Aurbach
Bender Foundation Inc.
Dava Berkman
Ellen Berman
The Bernstein Companies
Suanne and Richard Beyda
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Amelie and Bernei Burgunder, Jr.
Sharon and David Butler
Susan and Dixon Butler
Mimi Conway and Dennis Houlihan Cynthia Wolloch and Joseph Reid
Nancy and Morris Deutsch
Elizabeth and Richard Dubin
Nava and Mark Ely
Laura and Michael Faino
Melissa and Joshua Ford
Lorraine Gallard and Richard Levy would like to thank all of our donors for the
Geico Philanthropic Foundation
Richard Gerber
Sarah and Bernard Gewirz
Ann and Frank Gilbert
Albert Girod
Rhoda and Dan Glickman
Paula Seigle Goldman
Ira Hillman and Jeremy Barber
The Holton-Arms School
Judith and Paul Ianuale
Italian Cultural Institute
JCC Assocation of North America
Sally Kaplan
Betsy Karmin and Manny Strauss
Laine and Norton Katz
Ruthe and Nathan Katz
Aviva Kempner
Linda Klein
Bette and William Kramer
Laurie Kramer
Amy and Kenneth Krupsky
The Louis J. Kuriansky
Foundation, Inc.
Steven Lustig
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Dorothy Moss and Larry Meyer
Lawrence Muenz
Shirlee Ornstein
Partnership for Jewish Life
and Learning
Carol and David Pensky
Thomas and Sue Pick Family Fund
Ruth and Stephen Pollak
Stanley Rabinowitz
Georgia Ravitz
Carol Risher
Toni Ritzenberg
Joan and Barry Rosenthal
Sanford Schwartz
Victor Shargai
Risa Shargel and Rumen Buzatov
Albert and Shirley Small
Michelle Smith
Sarah Rabin Spira and Mark Spira
Margaret Hahn Stern and Stephen Stern
Samson and Andrew Stern
Katherine and Thomas Sullivan
Tabard Corporation
Michael Tacelosky
Annie and Sami Totah
David and Rita Trachtenberg
Marion and Michael Usher
Lise Van Susteren and
Jonathan Kempner
Matthew Watson
Judith and Herbert Weintraub
Margot and Paul Zimmerman
Due to space limitations only donors of $1,000
or more are listed. The Washington DCJCC
important impact they have on our work. For
a complete list of donors to the Washington
DCJCC visit www.washingtondcjcc.org/donate
2009 Board members appear in italics
* of blessed memory
 About Theater J
Hailed by The New York Times as “The Premier Theater for Premieres”
and winner of the 2010 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actor (Jim
Brochu in Zero Hour), Theater J has emerged as one of the most dis-
tinctive, progressive and respected Jewish theaters on the national and
international scene. A program of the Washington DC Jewish Community
Center, Theater J works in collaboration with the other components of the
Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts: the Washington Jewish Film Festival and
Screening Room, the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, and the Program in
Literature, Music and Dance.
Theater J produces thought-provoking, publicly engaged, personal, pas-
sionate and entertaining plays and musicals that celebrate the distinc-
tive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural
legacy. Acclaimed as one of the nation’s premiere playwrights’ theaters,
Theater J presents cutting edge contemporary work alongside spirited
revivals and is a nurturing home for the development and production of
new work by major writers and emerging artists exploring many of the
pressing moral and political issues of our time. Dedicated above all to a
pursuit of artistic excellence, Theater J takes its dialogues beyond the
stage, offering an array of innovative public discussion forums and out-
reach programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social
elements of our art. We frequently partner with those of other faiths and
communities, stressing the importance of interchange among a great
variety of people wishing to take part in frank, humane conversations
about conflict and culture.
Performing in the 240-seat Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the vibrant
Dupont Circle neighborhood, Theater J works with some of the world’s most
distinguished authors for the stage. It has produced world premieres by
Richard Greenberg, Thomas Keneally, Robert Brustein, Joyce Carol Oates
and Ariel Dorfman, with many debuts from emerging writers like Stefanie
Zadravec and Sam Forman. The late Wendy Wasserstein’s play Third, which
began at Theater J, received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center The-
atre, while Neena Beber received an OBIE for her New York production of
Jump/Cut. Theater J’s diverse body of work features thematically linked
festivals including its ongoing “Voices From a Changing Middle East” se-
ries. With hit productions ranging from Talley’s Folly and The Disputation to
Pangs of the Messiah, The Price, Honey Brown Eyes (Winner of the 2009
Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play), Sholom
Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears and Zero Hour, which both opened this
past November in New York, it’s no surprise that Washingtonian Magazine
notes, “Theater J productions keep going from strength to strength.” Most
recently, Theater J received end-of-year 2009 Special Citations from The
Washington Post and The Forward for its Israel-related programming.
Winner of the 2008 Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Dis-
cipline, Theater J offers a number of additional programs including Artis-
tic Director’s Roundtables, Peace Cafés, Tea at 2 (a monthly reading se-
ries) and its PASSPORTS education program. Theater J is a member of
the Cultural Alliance, the League of Washington Theatres, TCG and the
Association for Jewish Theatre. Photos by Stan Barouh

Josh Lefkowitz and Maureen Rohn

Washington DCJCC in The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall
1529 Sixteenth Street NW Holly Twyford in Lost in Yonkers
Washington, DC 20036 Maia DeSanti and Alexander Strain
Info: (202) 777-3210 or in Honey Brown Eyes
theaterj@washingtondcjcc.org Naomi Jacobson and Jerry
Whiddon in The Seagull on
theaterj.org 16th Street 14
SUBSCRIBE NOW TO THEATER J’S 2010–2011 SEASON!
SOMETHING YOU DID
By Willy Holtzman
August 28–October 3
THE ODD COUPLE
By Neil Simon
October 23–November 28

THE KINSEY SICKS in

OY VEY IN A MANGER
December 18–January 2

The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv’s

RETURN TO HAIFA
By Ghassan Kanafani
Adapted by Boaz Gaon
January 15–31
Presented by Arena Stage at the Mead Center for
American Theater, Fichandler Stage

THE CHOSEN
By Chaim Potok
Adapted by Aaron Posner
March 7–27 PHOTOGRAPH 51
By Anna Ziegler
March 23–April 24

THE MOSCOWS OF NANTUCKET

By Sam Forman
May 11–June 12

Choose the plays YOU want to see. Get EASY ticket exchanges & the BEST seats!
CALL (800) 494-TIXS (8497) For Groups of 10 or more, Call (202) 777-3214
or visit theaterj.org