On Wednesday, December 8 at 7 p.m., actor and playwright Yisrael Campbell will perform his hilarious one-man show Circumcise Me, directed by Sam Gold, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. A Q&A session with Mr. Campbell will follow the performance.
Lauded by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and others, Circumcise Me is the story of an Orthodox-convert who began life as Roman Catholic Christopher Campbell. His journey from misspent, alcoholic youth to his conversion to Judaism - not once but three times - is poignant, provocative, and powerfully witty.
Tickets are $36 and $26 for members. Tickets are available online at
www.mjhnyc.org or by calling the Museum box office at 646.437.4202.
Yisrael Campbell lives in Jerusalem. The journey that led him to the Holy Land began a long time ago in a place far, far away. He was born Christopher Campbell, and raised as a Catholic in Philadelphia where he attended Catholic school. His aunt was a nun and his mother was in the convent for a while. As a teenager, his recovery from substance abuse led him to seek another spiritual path, ultimately leading him to Judaism.
Along the way, Chris studied theater in New York City at Circle in the Square Theater Company and began performing standup comedy. He studied with
Nikos Psacharopoulos (
Williamstown Theater Festival) and
Terese Hayden and
Jacqueline Brookes (Actors Studio). Chris performed a series of one man shows including Bed Set, Einstein Was Right, and It's Not In Heaven while undergoing his conversions to Judaism: first from Catholic to reform, then from reform to conservative and finally from conservative to orthodox. Chris changed his name to Yisrael and moved to Israel. Most recently, a documentary film has captured Yisrael's unique story and chronicles his life in the soon-to-be released film Circumcise Me.
Director
Sam Gold's recent credits include: Circle Mirror Transformation (
Playwrights Horizons),
The Black Eyed (New York Theater Workshop), Jollyship the Whizbang (
Ars Nova), and The Secret Agenda of Trees (Cherry Lane), to name a few. Sam is a teaching artist and guest director at The Juilliard School where he directed Farragut North, War Story, I Am Montana, Edward II, Twelfth Night, and Suddenly Last Summer, among others. Sam has developed new plays at
American Conservatory Theater, Clubbed Thumb, The Lark,
Manhattan Class Company,
Manhattan Theater Club, The Marin Theater, New York Theater Workshop,
Playwrights Horizons, The Ojai Playwrights Conference,
Primary Stages, The Sundance Theater Lab, The Vineyard Theater, and The Yale Repertory Theater. He is a recipient of a Princess Grace Award, a Theater Hall of Fame Fellowship, and is a
Wooster Group Associate Artist, a Drama League Directing Fellow, and a New York Theater Workshop Usual Suspect.
The Museum's three-floor Core Exhibition educates people of all ages and backgrounds about the rich tapestry of Jewish life over the past century-before, during, and after the Holocaust. Special exhibitions include The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service, on view through September 5, 2011; Project Mah Jongg, on view through January 2011; and Fire in My Heart: The Story of Hannah Senesh, on view through August 7, 2011. It is also home to the award-winning Keeping History Center, an interactive visitor experience, and Andy Goldsworthy's memorial Garden of Stones. The Museum offers visitors a vibrant public program schedule in its Edmond J. Safra Hall and receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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