On Wednesday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m., the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in association with The York Shakespeare Company will present New York Times columnist RAndy Cohen's (The Ethicist) first full-length play The Punishing Blow: An Illustrated Lecture Delivered by Order of the Orange County Criminal Court, starring Seth Duerr. Duerr directs and plays Leslie, an anti-Semitic college professor whose court-ordered public lecture is this play. Dark, yet humorous, Leslie's lecture transcends its purpose and becomes a reflection on the nature of hate and of the professor himself. Following the performance, both Cohen and Duerr will hold a Q&A session on this provocative one-man show.
Arrested, tried, and convicted, a college professor can stay out of jail if he enters rehab for his drinking, undergoes treatment for anger management, and gives a public lecture [this play] about one person of his choosing from a list of The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time. He chooses 18th-century British bare-knuckle boxer Daniel Mendoza.
Playwright RAndy Cohen is the winner of four Emmy awards for his work as a writer for "Late Night with David Letterman," "TV Nation" and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and writes "The Ethicist", a weekly column in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.
Seth Duerr directs and stars, after appearing in the World Premiere of this play at the Woodstock Fringe Festival this summer, and finishing his celebrated run as Ahab in the national tour of Orson Welles' "Moby Dick - Rehearsed" for The Acting Company. He will join Mr. Cohen for a post-performance Q&A.
The Production Stage Manager is Angie McCormack. Performer and PSM appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
The Woodstock Times exclaimed that "RAndy Cohen's play is an artful, aching comedy tinged with anger and sadness. Seth Duerr is nothing less than superb. His performance is a feast. The Punishing Blow is a magnificent assemblage of history and brilliant dysfunction, a tour de force for actor and playwright alike."
Running time is one hour and twenty-four minutes, no intermission. Official site: www.yorkshakespeare.org
Date and Time:
March 25th at 7pm.
Reservations:
Tickets are $15 for regular patrons, $12 for students/seniors and $7 for all MJH members and are available online at http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=jewishheritage&eventId=939084 or by calling the Museum box office at 646.437.4202.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage is located at 36 Battery Place in New York.
Subways: 1 train to South Ferry (first five cars) or R/W train to Whitehall/South Ferry.
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