Yiddish World Premiere of Ionesco's RHINOCEROS Opens Tonight Off-Broadway

For its first production of the 2017-18 season, New Yiddish Rep presents the Yiddish world premiere of Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco.

Performances began September 7th, with the opening set for tonight, September 14th at the Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42 Street (between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.) Rhinoceros will be performed in Yiddish with English supertitles.

Nearly 60 years since its premiere, the darkly comedic and terrifying Rhinoceros is making its Yiddish language debut with a translation by Eli Rosen. Called "an allegory for our times" by The New York Times, Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros is one of the main influences of Theatre of the Absurd. The sublime is merged with the ridiculous in this savage commentary on the human condition, in which an individual citizen of a small town watches his friends turn into Rhinoceroses one by one until he alone stands unchanged.

Under the direction of Moshe Yassur, the cast of Rhinoceros features Alec Burko, Amy Coleman, Macha Fogel, Sean Griffin, Malky Goldman, Chezky Israeli, Caraid O'Brien, David Mandelbaum, Eli Rosen, Luzer Twersky, and Melissa Weisz.

Eugene Ionesco (1909 - 1994) was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre. Among his most popular plays are Rhinoceros, THE BALD SOPRANO, THE LESSON, THE CHAIRS, and THE KILLER.

A veteran of both the Yiddish and modern theatre, director Moshe Yassur, who was born in Iassy, Romania (the cradle of the Yiddish theatre), worked for several years with Jean-Marie Serreau at the Théatre de Babylone in Paris, taking part often as assistant director in several first productions of Beckett and Ionesco. In New York Yassur was a protege of Woody King Jr., directing at the New Federal Theatre, and he helmed New Yiddish Rep's acclaimed productions of DEATH OF A SALESMAN and WAITING FOR GODOT.

RHINOCEROS marks the second Yiddish world premiere at New Yiddish Rep, following their groundbreaking production of GOD OF VENGEANCE last season, which scored a New York Times Critics' Pick. New Yiddish Rep (David Mandelbaum, Artistic Director) is dedicated to creating modern theater which speaks to a diverse contemporary audience, including those who never might have thought they could connect to a performance in a language other than their own.

RHINOCEROS is being presented in association with the Castillo Theatre and performances will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm, with matinees Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm. For more information, visit www.NewYiddishRep.org.