IMAGINING HESCHEL Cancels Opening Night, Makes Changes to Script

The Culture Project's IMAGINING HESCHEL, running now through November 28 at Cherry Lane Theatre, has decided to cancel the opening night for its production, which began peformances on November 4. 

Allan Buchman, the founder and director of the Culture Project, decided the production would most likely not fare well under the critical eye, fearing that negative or mixed reviews would prevent the production from expanding regionally. Reports also indicate that rewrites to the play and changes to rehearsal schedules were still being managed late last week, aiding to the decision.

To read the full article in The New York Times, click here.

IMAGINING HESCHEL explores private conversations between Cardinal Augustin Bea and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel from 1962 - 1973, when Heschel was asked to aid the Vatican Council in formally exonerating the Jews for the death of Christ - a crucial repudiation of anti-Semitism. Heschel resists, demanding the Vatican apologize for their acquiescence to the Holocaust, and an ideological test of wills ensues. Colin Greer's imagined discussions between these philosophical giants in the midst of the numerous struggles of the late 1960s - including the war in Vietnam which Heschel strenuously opposed, and the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, which he supported - lend enormous insight into contemporary issues of peaceful resolution in the Middle East. Imagining Heschel raises important questions about the justification of violence by any faith, and the limits of forgiveness. In 1994 Richard Dreyfuss read excerpts from Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish performed for Pope John Paul II in the very first official Vatican commemoration of the Holocaust. This event foreshadowed the role he was born to play: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.

For more information, visit imaginingheschel.com.

Culture Project is New York's premier destination for artistic work that investigates urgent social and political issues. By fostering innovative collaboration between human rights organizations and theatre, music and film artists, Culture Project aims to inspire and impact public dialogue and policy, encouraging democratic participation in the most urgent matters of our time. Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Allan Buchman, Culture Project has premiered celebrated shows including The Exonerated, Sarah Jones? Bridge & Tunnel, Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom, Lawrence Wright?s My Trip To Al-Qaeda, Tings Dey Happen, the Lucille Lortel Award-winning world premiere of George Packer?s Betrayed and Temple University?s acclaimed production of In Conflict. Most recently, Culture Project produced Breaking the Silence, Beating the Drum, a groundbreaking concert at the United Nations to commemorate the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and Twin Spirits, a poetic meditation on the passionate relationship between composer Robert Schumann and wife Clara Wieck in celebration of Schumman?s 200th birthday, starring Sting and Trudie Styler. For more information, visit cultureproject.org.

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