BAD JEWS Comes to the Unicorn Theatre, 10/22-11/16

Bad Jews is a new comedy about Daphna who reunites with her cousins on the day of their grandfather's funeral in the Upper West Side of New York City. When her cousin brings home his non-Jewish girlfriend, a hilarious brawl ensues over a family heirloom. Bad Jews is a thoughtful comedy that tackles love, death, betrayal, the definition of family, and the evolution of contemporary American Judaism. It's about what you choose to believe, when you're chosen.

Featuring: Dina Thomas as Daphna, Doogin Brown as Liam, Mark Thomas as Jonah and Erika Baker as Melody.

Bad Jews is on Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. The show runs October 22nd - November 16th, 2014. Previews are October 22nd, 23rd and 24th. Opening Night is October 25th.

Performances run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 pm. If you are unable to afford a ticket, you may Pay What U Can at performances on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, because art is for everyone. Talk back performances, where patrons are encouraged to stay after the show and discuss the play with the actors and director, are scheduled for October 28th, November 2nd and 9th.

Tickets are now on sale. Call 816-531-PLAY (7529) EXT. 10, go online at www.UnicornTheatre.org or buy in person at the box office located at 3828 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111. Special discounts are available for seniors (65+), students, and patrons under age 30.

About the Director, Cast and Creative Team:

Cynthia Levin (PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR) begins her 36th season as the Producing Artistic Director with Unicorn Theatre. Over the years she has served as a director, actor, designer or producer for over 275 productions. At the Unicorn, she recently directed Grounded, Venus in Fur, My Name is Asher Lev, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Soul Collector (world premiere), Hungry (world premiere), Red, Two Jews Walk Into A War..., Distracted, Green Whales (world premiere), Miss Witherspoon, My First Time, The Clean House, Mauritius, 9 Parts of Desire, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Bat Boy: The Musical and the world premieres of rightnextto me (both at the Unicorn and Geva Theatre Center, Rochester, NY), How His Bride Came to Abraham, Light: Damage, Mercy Killing, Innocent Thoughts and Jack and Jill. At Coterie Theatre, she has directed Number the Stars, And Then They Came for Me, Frankenstein, Gatherings in Graveyards (I and II), Valley Song and To Kill A Mockingbird. At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., she directed world premiere readings of In The Belly Of The Whale, The Friendship Of Her Thighs, The Last Pair Of Earlies, Tigers Be Still, White Devil and Loving Mother for the MFA Playwright's Workshop. Cynthia is a graduate of Park University which also awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in 2002. She is a founding board member of the National New Play Network, an organization dedicated to the development and production of new works. She has been honored with the Pinnacle Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award. She shares her home with Zia (the beagle), Dodger (the cat) and the spirit of the big red dog, Sylvia.

Dina Thomas (DAPHNA) couldn't be more thrilled to be returning to Kansas City and to the Unicorn! Since leaving KC, Dina has made her Off-Broadway debut in David Cromer's Tribes. Regional credits include: Tribes (La Jolla Playhouse), See How They Run (Barrington Stage), Release Point (Berkshire Playwrights Lab), Green Whales (staged reading for the National New Play Network), and of course, Miss Witherspoon, Distracted, and the world premiere of Hungry here at the Unicorn. At UMKC: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, The King Stag, The Master and Margarita, Arcadia. Education: B.A. Binghamton University, M.F.A. University of Missouri-Kansas City. The deepest thanks to Cynthia for bringing both Thomases back to such a special artistic home.

Doogin Brown (LIAM) is thrilled to be back at the Unicorn where he has previously appeared in My Name is Asher Lev, Next Fall, Speech and Debate and Orson's Shadow. He has been lucky enough to work around town at various theaters including KC Rep, Kansas City Actors Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, New Theatre restaurant, the MET and the Coterie Theatre, among others. A Kansas City native, he has recently relocated to Chicago were he graduated from the School at Steppenwolf.

Mark Thomas (JONAH) could not be more excited to be returning to the Unicorn stage. Past credits here include Farragut North and Distracted. Mark got his MFA in Acting at UMKC where his favorite shows included Killer Joe, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The King Stag. Since graduating he has worked with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Riverside Theater, Barrington Stage and at many other wonderful places, but nothing is quite like the special experience of working at the Unicorn. Special thanks to his family, teachers, and Cynthia.

Erika Baker (MELODY) is beyond excited to be making her Unicorn debut alongside so many talented and wonderful people! She graduated with a B.A. in theatre and creative writing from Northwest Missouri State University. She primarily works as a teaching artist but you may have also seen her perform with Paul Mesner Puppets, The MET and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival To Go shows. Erika also works as part of the Unicorn's front of house team when not performing onstage.

The creative team for Bad Jews is Tanya Brown (stage manager/properties designer), Gary Mosby (scenic designer), Victor En Yu Tan (lighting designer), Jamie Leonard (assistant lighting designer), Ian R. Crawford (costume designer), Jonathan Robertson (sound designer), Kelsey Brennan York (production assistant), Alex Perry (technical director), Jamie Lindemann (assistant technical director), Kathleen Cancelino (sound board operator), and R. Estrella Cordero (dramaturg).

About the Playwright: JOSHUA HARMON's play Bad Jews premiered at the Roundabout Underground in the 62-seat Black Box at the Steinberg Center, in October 2012 (Outer Critics Circle Nominations: Best Play, John Gassner Award). Following its critical acclaim and an extended, sold out run, Harmon's play transferred to the Roundabout's 424 seat Off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre in October 2013. His plays have also been produced and developed by Hangar Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Ars Nova, The Lark, The O'Neill, and Actor's Express, where he was the 2010-2011 National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence. Fellowships from MacDowell, Atlantic Center for the Arts, SPACE at Ryder Farm, and the Eudora Welty Foundation. Graduate of Northwestern (BA), Carnegie Mellon (MFA). Currently in the Playwrights Program at Juilliard and under commission from Roundabout and Lincoln Center Theater.

About Unicorn Theatre: Founded in 1974, Unicorn Theatre enhances Kansas City by developing and producing professional, provocative new plays. We create opportunities for the advancement of emerging and established actors, directors, playwrights, designers, technicians and administrative staff. Unicorn Theatre is under the artistic and executive leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, who joined the company in 1979. From a newly expanded home in the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, the Unicorn houses two stages-The Levin Stage (formerly The Main Stage) and The Jerome Stage (added in 2008). A fully professional not-for-profit theatre, the theatre operates under agreement with Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Unicorn is a founding member of the National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre; and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Financial assistance for this theatre has been provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; corporate and foundation gifts; and the generous individuals throughout the community we serve.

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