THE LAST YIDDISH SPEAKER Comes to Philadelphia This Month

What if the January 6, 2021 insurrection was successful? The Last Yiddish Speaker by Deborah Zoe Laufer imagines this alternate reality where a white supremacist regime has come into power. Paul (Dan Hodge) and his teenage daughter, Sarah (Kaitlyn Zion) live under the radar in a small town upstate as Christian-passing, despite being Jews who fled New York City. When an ancient Yiddish-speaking woman arrives on their doorstep, Paul and Sarah are forced to decide between fleeing again or fighting for their faith, their heritage and their identity.

"When I first read Deb's play a year ago, I found it to be an incredibly moving and human story set against a terrifying backdrop, as it imagines an America that is only a successful insurrection and a slippery slope away from descending into a white supremacist autocracy. Now, months into Israel's war with Hamas, with antisemitism sharply rising, and democracy teetering on the edge, the play feels absolutely urgent. THE LAST YIDDISH SPEAKER is a cautionary tale for our time, filled with warmth, humor and humanity,” says director Seth Rozin. 

Performances run March 29 - April 21 at The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake. Preview nights even feature free ice cream from Scoop DeVille with a signature flavor created just for the show (March 29, 30, 31, and April 3). March 30 at 2pm and April 12  at 7pm will be COVID safety performances, and April 5, 6, and 7 are part of Philly Theatre Week!

As a company dedicated to civic discourse, InterAct hosts discussions for audience members almost every day of the week after non-preview performances. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are facilitated by Artistic Director Seth Rozin. Fridays are led by National New Play Network Producer in Resident, Liana Irvine, in The Proscenium Lobby, and Saturdays  are artist talkbacks with literary manager, Chaz T. Martin, and special guests (to be announced soon!).

The talented production team includes: Hunter Smith (Stage Manager), Alex Mockenstrum (Assistant Director) Dan Hodge (Firearms Coordinator), Colin McIlvaine (Scenic Designer), Katherine Fritz (Costume Designer), Drew Billiau (Lighting Design), Christopher Colucci (Sound Designer), Emily Schuman (Props Manager), Valden Kamph (Production Manager).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Gabriel Elmore (JOHN): After a brief respite for the holidays, Gabriel is absolutely exhilarated to be returning to the InterAct family for The Last Yiddish Speaker. New plays hold a special place in theatre, and it is not without considerable care and difficulty that they are brought to life. This play has been an excellent challenge. With an MFA from Temple University, and a truly reprehensible habit for overwriting his artist biographies, Gabriel has lately also been pursuing analog photography and screenwriting. He enjoys a passion for classical work and its ability to address the problems that face our world today. As a result, he spends his free time exploring the intricacies of lesser known Elizabethan drama. Recent work includes Peter in Peter & The Star Catcher (DTC), Charles Lomax & Snobby Price in Major Barbara (Quintessence), Valet in No Exit (Quintessence), Captain in Man of La Mancha (DTC), and Neil in THIS BITTER EARTH (InterAct).

Kaitlyn Zion (SARAH) is so thrilled to be making their InterAct Main stage debut! They are a Philadelphia based performer and graduate of the University of the Arts with a BFA in Musical Theater. Past credits include, We All Fall Down (Theatre Ariel) Into the Woods (Arden Theatre Company) Ronnie The Musical (10th Floor Productions) Plantation Black (Interact Lobstah Lab) and Bitch (Thursday Productions). Much love always to my family, friends and Alex, and a huge thank you to Interact.

Stephanie Satie (CHAVA, she/her) is delighted to be onstage at InterAct in this powerful play. She is an actor and playwright, – the author of last season’s The Last Parade, beautifully directed by Seth Rozin. Stephanie has performed on and off-Broadway, in regional theatres, and internationally, first, as a dancer, then as an actor in roles ranging from those of Shakespeare to Neil Simon to Ionesco and Berkoff. With grants from the Los Angeles Dept of Cultural Affairs, she created three critically acclaimed solo plays -- Refugees, set in an ESL classroom, published by Samuel French, Coming to America, (ten monologues of women asylum seekers) and the multiple award winning, Silent Witnesses, based on interviews with child survivors of the Holocaust. She’s brought them to many theatres, universities and museums across the country. On TV she recurred in “The Wonder Years” as Ida Pfeiffer and in “The Practice,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” and many soaps and courtroom dramas. She played another Chava in the National tour of Fiddler on the Roof in Philadelphia in the last century. Stephanie loves to travel and immerse herself in other languages and cultures, studying Russian, French and Spanish and she taught Literature and Writing at California State University, Northridge. During the pandemic, she wrote and co-starred in a short film “In the Zoom Room, produced by Women in the Arts and Media Coalition. She has endless faith in the power of theatre to enlarge our view of the world.

Dan Hodge (PAUL) is an actor and director with a strong foundation in the classics, who has worked with many classical theatres across the country as an actor, director, and text/vocal coach. As a director for the PAC: Duchess of Malfi, Timon of Athens, Mary Stuart, and The Rape of Lucrece, his one-man adaptation of Shakespeare’s epic poem. As an actor: Changes of Heart, Creditors, Fair Maid of the West. Dan holds an MFA in Acting from The Old Globe in San Diego, and his BFA in Acting from the University of Evansville. Barrymore awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play (Fair Maid of the West, 2015); Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play (Around the World in 80 Days, 2011); Best Ensemble in a Play (Glengarry Glen Ross, 2007). James Whitmore Award for Excellence: Peterborough Players, 2002. Craig Noel Award for Professional Promise: Old Globe Theatre, 2005.

Seth Rozin (Director) co-founded InterAct in Philadelphia in 1988. Under his leadership, InterAct has championed the development and production of new and contemporary plays that grapple with pressing, complex and sometimes controversial issues of our time, while garnering critical acclaim and numerous awards for the quality of its productions and national recognition for its commitment to diverse voices and ideas. Seth has directed over 60 productions for InterAct, including THE LAST PARADE (2023), EUREKA DAY (2019), THE GREAT LEAP (2019), HOW TO USE A KNIFE (nominated for seven 2017 Barrymore Awards, including Outstanding Overall Production), THE NETHER (nominated for three 2016 Barrymore Awards, including Outstanding Overall Production), THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY (cited for Best Director by Philadelphia Weekly in 2009), PERMANENT COLLECTION(nominated for four 2003 Barrymore Awards, including Outstanding Overall Production), IT’S ALL TRUE (nominated for five 2001 Barrymore Awards, including Outstanding Overall Production), LEBENSRAUM (nominated for six 1999 Barrymore Awards, winner of Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Overall Production, named one of the fifteen Best Productions of the decade by the Philadelphia Inquirer) and 6221 (named one of the Best Productions of 1993 and one of the fifteen Best Productions of the decade by the Philadelphia Inquirer). Seth is the author of numerous plays, including MEN OF STONE, MISSING LINK, BLACK GOLD, TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR…, THE THREE CHRISTS OF MANHATTAN, HUMAN RITES and SETTLEMENTS, which have been produced at 28 theatres across the country and in Australia. He is also the author of several musicals, including A PASSING WIND, which was featured in the inaugural Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts at the Kimmel Center in 2011. Seth is the recipient of two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the National New Play Network’s 2007 Smith Prize, a commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and two Barrymore Award nominations. He co-founded Philadelphia Scenic Works, a nonprofit community-based scenic fabrication shop, in 2016, MusiCoLab, dedicated to the development of new musical theatre works, in 2018.  Seth has twice served as President of the Board of National New Play Network, as well as Philadelphia Artists Collective, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and New Paradise Laboratories.   

Emily Schuman (Properties Design) is thrilled to be returning to InterAct this season! Recent credits include: A Case for the Existence of God and Camp Siegfried at Theatre Exile and Being/With with Nichole Canuso Dance Company. Emily has been a freelance prop designer in Philadelphia for 9 years, working on over 30 productions with credits from 1812 Productions, InterAct Theatre Company, Applied Mechanics, EgoPo Classic Theatre, and Theatre Horizon. Love always to Evan and the kittens. Emilyschuman.net

Drew Billiau (Lighting Design) is a freelance lighting designer based in the Philadelphia area. Recent designs include Camp Siegfried for Theater Exile, the Samsung booth at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show and Carmina Burana in Concert for Opera Philadelphia. Drew has designed numerous shows for such companies as Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Jacobs’ Pillow, New York Theater Workshop, The Joyce, Vail International Dance Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Vancouver Opera, BalletX, Pennsylvania Ballet, Wilma Theater, Portland Ballet, Lucidity Suitcase, New Paradise Laboratories, Theater Exile, 1812 Productions and The Lantern Theater. Art installation designs include – The Electric Street, Electric Toronto, Electric Alley, Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens and the Los Angeles Ice Cream Museum. Drew is currently the Director of Design & Technology at Opera Philadelphia and an Associate Designer with the corporate/industrial lighting firm Fine Design Associates, Inc.

                                               

Christopher Colucci (Sound Design) Recent work: The Lehman Trilogy (Arden Theater); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Walnut Street Theater); Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Tartuffe (Lantern Theater Company); Noises Off (Delaware Theater Company), The Flatlanders (1812 Productions) and Camp Siegfried (Theatre Exile). Next: The Comedy of Errors (Lantern). 2016 Pew Fellowship in the Arts; 8 Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Original Music and Sound Design; Independence Fellowship in the Arts (2012, 2019); MA in Philosophy from Western Kentucky University. BA in Philosophy/Theology from Eastern University. Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/cmsound); YouTube (https://tinyurl.com/yd89tm64); Instagram @christopherm_colucci.

Eli Lynn (Intimacy Coordinator, they/them) is an actor, a Barrymore Nominated fight director, and an IDC-certified Intimacy Director. Recent Intimacy credits include: Spring Awakening (Arcadia), Camp Siegfried; The Light; Motherf*cker With The Hat (Theatre Exile), Sense & Sensibility; The Tempest (PA Shakespeare Festival), Head Over Heels (Theatre Horizon), The Moors (Rutgers Camden), A Streetcar Named Desire (Arden Theatre), Wine In The Wilderness (PAC), Carroll County Fix (Azuka Theatre), Love Notes (Bearded Ladies), Shakespeare in Love (People’s Light). They are also an Artistic Associate at Philadelphia Artists’ Collective. Love always to Vanessa. SDG. www.Eli-Lynn.com

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