'Masked' Continues Urgent Conversations Series Nov.20

Masked, the off-broadway hit play at DR2 Theatre (103 E. 15th Street), is pleased to announce the upcoming Urgent Conversation following the performance on November 20: "Truth, Authority & Interpretation: Perspectives on the Political Context of MASKED." The Conversation will feature Charney Bromberg, Executive Director, Meretz USA; Mona Eltawahy, journalist and commentator; Eli Hertz, President, Myths & Facts Inc; and Deborah Kanafani, author and producer.

URGENT CONVERSATIONS, the Masked talk back series, explores the issues raised by this powerful work.  When the curtain falls, the conversation begins, and the pressing themes of Masked are given a forum in which all viewpoints can be explored.  The series features community leaders, experts in conflict resolution, influential writers, international reporters, prominent activists, and members of the play's creative team.

Since Masked opened late July, Outreach Director Mari Brown has presented over 40 Urgent Conversations panel discussions, featuring over 100 noteworthy speakers, and passionate audience participation.

Charney Bromberg is the Executive Director of Meretz USA, the US affiliate the World Union of Meretz. The Israeli affiliate of the World Union of Meretz is the new Yahad - Social Democratic Israel Party, which holds six seats in the current Knesset (Israel's parliament). Meretz USA for Israeli Civil Rights and Peace is a US non-profit organization that supports a genuine peace between the State of Israel and its neighbors (including the Palestinian people) based on a negotiated land-for-peace solution. Mr. Bromberg has been an active social justice leader for many years.  He was the director of the Intergroup Relations Division at the Anti-Defamation League in the 1990s, and worked at the Congress of Racial Equality in Mississippi in the 1960s.

Mona Eltawahy is an award-winning New York-based journalist and commentator and an international lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues. Her opinion pieces have appeared frequently in the International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post and the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper; she has also published in The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Egypt's al-Dostour and Lebanon's Daily Star. Ms. Eltahawy was a news reporter in the Middle East for many years, including in Cairo and Jerusalem as a correspondent for Reuters and elsewhere for The Guardian and U.S. News and World Report. Since she moved to the U.S. in 2000, Ms Eltahawy's views on Arab and Muslim issues have become sought after by producers and college campuses alike. She has been a guest analyst on ABC Nightline, PBS Frontline, BBC TV and Radio, The Doha Debates, CNN, Al-Arabiya, Al-Hurra, MSNBC, VOA, Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and various NPR shows.

Eli Hertz is President of Myths & Facts, Inc., an organization devoted to research and publication of information regarding U.S. interests in the world and particularly in the Middle East. Myths and Facts' mission statement is to ³provide policymaker, national leadership, the media and the public-at-large with reliable information and viewpoints that are founded on factual and reliable content.² Hertz is also the publisher and sponsor of books and articles regarding Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, including Partners for Change, How U.S.-Israel Cooperation Can Benefit America (1993) and Myths and Facts, a Guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict (September, 2001 edition).  A new volume on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Negotiating Over Quicksand - A Realistic Look at the Arab-Israeli Conflict, is scheduled for release shortly. Mr. Hertz's affiliations include Israel-America Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Executive VP); AIPAC, The America Israel Public Affairs Committee (Member of the Executive Council); CAMERA, The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (Chairman of the Board of Directors); and The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (Trustee).

Deborah Kanafani  is the author of Unveiled (Simon and Schuster), an intimate look inside Middle East politics and culture, which includes personal narrative about Ms. Kanafani's experience as the former wife of a high-ranking Middle East diplomat. Ms. Kanafani has been director of international productions for the PBC in the Middle East, where she wrote and produced programs on children's and women's rights for the UNDP, UNICEF, and various European countries. She was executive director of Women in Film and Video in Washington, DC, and a consultant for Oxygen Media. She serves on the boards of several Israeli/Palestinian peace organizations and is actively involved in conflict resolution programs for writers and film makers.

"An explosive play about three Palestinian brothers, Masked tackles the cultural divide at the heart of the Middle East conflict. Masked depicts the tragedy of one family torn between obligations, kinship, principles and survival. It is the first play by an Israeli playwright about the Intifada (Palestinian uprising)," explain press notes.

Masked won first place in Israel's prestigious Akko Festival for writer Ilan Hatsor (then a first year theater student). Since then, Masked has been performed continuously across Israel and has been mounted in over 100 productions worldwide.

The cast of Masked is: Daoud Heidami, Sanjit DeSilva, and Rafi Silver.

Tickets for Masked are $35.50 - $55.50. Masked plays Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 3pm and 8pm, Thursday - Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 4pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 4pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling Telecharge (212) 239-6200 or going to Telecharge.com. Tickets can also be purchased by going to the DR2 Box Office (103 E 15th Street). The box office opens 2 hours prior to each performance and is open on Saturdays from 2-8pm.  For more information, please visit: www.MaskedThePlay.com