THIS BEAUTIFUL FUTURE to Host Talkback with Jewish Faith Leaders This Month

Tony and Olivier-winning OHenry Productions has announced a post-show conversation with Jewish faith leaders following the October 20 performance of This Beautiful Future. Written by Rita Kalnejais and directed by Jack Serio, This Beautiful Future is a story of young love set during World War II. The production, which opened on September 20, 2022, will conclude its run at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, Manhattan) on October 23, 2022.

On Thursday, October 20, This Beautiful Future lead producer, Oliver Roth, will be joined in conversation with Rabbi Deborah Goldberg of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York and Rabbi Zachary Plesent of Temple Israel in Westport, CT. Their discussion will focus on empathy in Judaism and how the themes of This Beautiful Future resonate with Jewish teachings and identity.

In This Beautiful Future, two teenagers caught in the middle of a war take shelter from a divided world. Elodie is French and 17. Otto, a German soldier, is 16. Safe from the debris outside, they meet secretly for one night. They talk, tease, and touch. They fall in love and fall through time. Kalnejais' kaleidoscopic play is a story of uncomplicated first love in a very complicated world. It seeks out tenderness amidst tragedy. Hope in the hopeless.

This Beautiful Future stars Francesca Carpanini, Angelina Fiordellisi, Tony nominee Austin Pendleton, and Uly Schlesinger in his New York stage debut.

The creative team for This Beautiful Future includes Frank J. Oliva (scenic design), Stacey Derosier (lighting design), Ricky Reynoso (costume design), Christopher Darbassie (sound design), Lacey Erb (projection designer), Ashley-Rose Galligan (production stage manager), Ryan Kane (assistant stage manager), Taylor Williams (casting), and Mott/Fischer Productions (general management). David Manella and Carol Kaplan at Loeb & Loeb LLP serve as Production Counsel.

Performances of This Beautiful Future run Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm with additional performances on Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 3pm and 7pm. The running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets, which start at $25, can be purchased online at www.thisbeautifulfuture.com.

Cherry Lane Theatre cares about the safety of its audiences, staff, and performers. Prior to entry, proof of full vaccination will be required. Masks will also be required during the entire performance of This Beautiful Future.

This Beautiful Future is produced by OHenry Productions in association with Eric Kuhn, Jonathan Demar, Christian Angermeyer, Burkhardt Jones Productions, Richard Mumby & Benj Pasek, and Seaview.

About the Participants

Rabbi Deborah Goldberg is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was previously the rabinic intern at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Columbus, Ohio. Her year-long capstone project was a curriculum entitled, "Exploring Emotions in the Bible: A Curriculum for Jewish Teenagers" and she was honored with the Rabbi Morris H. Youngerman Memorial Prize for best sermon delivered during the academic year. Prior to enrolling at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Deborah worked as an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC, and as the teen programs coordinator at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago. Raised in Chicagoland, she graduated with college honors from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied history and political science.

Rabbi Zachary A. Plesent is the Assistant Rabbi at Temple Israel in Westport, Connecticut. He was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2021, and is originally from Larchmont, NY. Rabbi Plesent graduated from Indiana University in 2014, double majoring in Political Science and Jewish Studies. Before starting rabbinical school, he worked as a full-time educator and songleader at Central Synagogue in New York City. While in school, Rabbi Plesent served Jewish communities in Greenwich, CT, White Plains, NY, and Laramie, Wyoming. He was selected to participate in the Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Rabbinical Fellowship, and was the recipient of a Be Wise Entrepreneurial Fellowship. He was also a member of the New York Worship Working Group, a collective of faculty, rabbinical students, and cantorial students working together to reimagine and refocus various elements of prayer and worship on the HUC campus. All of these experiences helped him develop a deep passion for making Judaism relevant, modern, and exciting for all. When not at temple, Rabbi Plesent enjoys cooking new recipes, playing his guitar, and seeing live theater! Rabbi Plesent lives in Stamford with his fiance, Cantor Jenna Mark.