EastLine Theatre Brings YENTL To The BACCA Arts Center In Lindenhurst

EastLine Theatre returns to the BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst this April with the classic comedy Yentl by Leah Napolin and Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer. Based on Singer's 1962 short story, Yentl the Yeshiva Boy, the play tells the story of a young woman who disguises herself as a man to continue her religious studies and incidentally becomes the most sought-after bachelor in town.

"Many people come to the story through the Barbra Streisand musical version," says director Nicole Savin. Josh Saffran Sedacca who plays Avigdor, the role made famous by Mandy Patinkin in the film was a long-time fan: "My mother made sure that I watched the film from an early age, so it's truly an honor to tell a story and play a character that is so iconic to me."

Although the play premiered on Broadway in 1975, it has contemporary resonances according to Savin, "In my research I stumbled upon a letter from playwright Leah Napolin where she writes: 'Our subject must be love which transcends categories, which goes beyond gender,' which felt to me like such a bold sentiment for today, much less for a play that is now fifty years old." Napolin was a longtime resident of Sea Cliff, NY before her passing in 2018, and "it is an honor to bring her work back to the island she called home," Savin adds.

That same sentiment was potent for Rook Mogavero, who plays the title character: "The show raises questions that I think a lot of people can relate to, like 'how do you balance your faith and your identity?' and 'how do you navigate a world that wasn't made for you?' As a nonbinary Jewish performer, I am thrilled to be playing the role of Yentl."

Performances will take place at the BACCA Arts Center in Lindenhurst April 11th through 27th. 

Yentl by Leah Napolin & Isaac Bashevis Singer is directed by Nicole Savin and presented by EastLine Theatre in partnership with the Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts, costumes are by Lyn Adler and Wendy Grimm, stage management by Michelle Savin. The cast of Yentl features Jacob Lesko, Jen LoPresti, Josh Saffran Sedacca, Kendra Foster McBride, Lisa Wangel, Michelle Osojnak, Rachel Max, Rook Mogavero, Stacey Weber, Steve Horowitz, and Victoria Kay.

"One of the boldest, bravest theatre companies on Long Island," according to Fire Island News, the nonprofit EastLine Theatre aims to create theatre in unlikely spaces while re-examining the canon, exploring modern plays, and bringing original works to the attention of the community.

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