Dirty Laundry Theatre Returns With An All-New Cast For BORDERS

Dirty Laundry Theatre has announced the virtual return of its 2019 NY Summer Festival Best Play nominee and the 2020 TimeOUT best virtual theatre- Borders, now with a new cast!

Directed by Michael R. Piazza, the New York production is an intimate portrait of two men who meet on Grindr. Though they are a mere 20kms away they are worlds apart, one in Lebanon and the other in Israel. Inspired by a similar experience that playwright Nimrod Danishman had, the play looks at the bonds that form and can prevail despite literal and metaphorical distances.

The American adaptation of the play, which was first written and staged in Tel Aviv, Israel, was first produced by DLT, an emerging theatre company in New York.

Borders also became the first Israeli play to be presented at the Stonewall Inn. Adapting to the pandemic of 2020, the production pivoted toward a virtual format, garnering great reviews for its on-screen run in May 2020 and February 2021.

"Borders is a consistently top-notch virtual experience for viewers that perfectly evokes the virtual experiences of its very human protagonist," Deb Miller wrote for the DC Metro Theater Arts.

As in-person performances in the city resume, erring on the side of caution, the play will return in a hybrid format with two fresh faces to take on the roles of two Middle Eastern men navigating the complex world of dating.

Yochai Greenfeld, an Israeli-American actor, writer, singer, and dancer reprises the role of Boaz, a flirtatious Israeli student in Jerusalem. Greenfeld will take over from Eli Schoenfeld, who played the part in the play's initial and virtual run. Borders also marks Greenfeld's return to the theater after a pre-pandemic Broadway tour of Fiddler on the Roof, the National tour of Charlie Brown Christmas, and many more.

Taking charge of the man on the other side of the border in Lebanon is Gabriel Sahyoun, who plays George in the production. Previously Adrian Rifat played the role of the shy and earnest Lebanese man looking for a deep connection. With George, Sahyoun finds his way back to NYC after a decade-long journey to untamed pockets of the USA, where wildness and fearlessness bloomed; searching for people and stories that moved and inspired him. A recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio for Acting, Sahyoun is excited to represent his Middle Eastern/Lebanese roots in the play.

A majority of the production crew (apart from the actors) remain the same as the previous two iterations of Borders. Last year, Schoenfeld and Rifat tuned in for their live YouTube performances from their homes. A newfound relevance to the rising culture of virtual dating amid the pandemic made the audience instantly connect with the production.

Add to that the conflicts of two gay men both divided and brought together by cultural and personal "borders," and the audience got a nuanced look into the lives of the Middle Eastern LGBTQ community's "dirty laundry."

In its new iteration, the actors look to bring similar depth as Schoenfeld and Rifat, with a tinge of their personal flavor to their characters. Combined together with educational programs, Borders will begin its second virtual run in November 2021.

With the goal of having a full in-person audience as the situation allows for it, Dirty Laundry Theatre is currently offering on-stage, hybrid and virtual experiences of Borders. For more information on that and DLT's other projects, please visit and subscribe to www.dirtylaundrytheatre.org

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