Photos: First Look At The U.S. Premiere Of YAACOBI & LEIDENTAL At The Odyssey Theatre

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's U.S. premiere of Yaacobi & Leidental, a funny, provocative romp with music written by Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin featuring songs by Alex Kagan, opened over the weekend in Los Angeles. Tel Aviv-based director Yonatan Esterkin helms a new translation by Naaman Tamuz that was recently commissioned by the Levin estate, and Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam is music director.

An absurdist tale about a love triangle gone wrong, Yaacobi & Leidental is a comic escapade through the failings of friendship and love. Even as we laugh at the antics of brash Yaacobi (Ilia Volok), insecure Leidental (Michael Redfield) and not-as-sweet-as-she-looks Ruth Shekhash (Sera Heywood-Rakhimova), we are reminded of our own shared human frailty in the face of desire and suffering. The cheerful songs, accompanied by Arunasalam on piano, stand in stark contrast to the cruelties visited on one another by these three friends.

Check out the photos, below.

Performances of Yaacobi & Leidental through April 30. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to OdysseyTheatre.com.

 

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