Photo Flash: First Look at BAD JEWS at Cygnet Theatre

January brings BAD JEWS to the Cygnet stage - a fierce, biting comedy about family, faith and what you choose to believe, when you're chosen. Rob Lutfy, Associate Artistic Director, directs this Off-Broadway hit featuring the savage humor of Juilliard trained and award-winning playwright Joshua Harmon. The third most-produced play of 2015 follows the trials and tribulations of an Upper West Side family in a verbal battle royale over a family heirloom. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Lutfy has cast Jewish actors to ensure authenticity and truthfulness. "There is a specific and very unique quality to the Jewish family dynamic and I wanted ensure believability in the way that families like this argue and grapple with religion and cultural identity."

Playing the self assured "Super Jew" Daphna Feygenbaum is Yale and American Conservatory Theatre trained, New York actor Danielle Frimer. New to San Diego audiences, Danielle is an actor, writer, and teacher based in Brooklyn who considers herself a "medium Jew."

Los Angeles based Josh Odsess-Rubin returns to Cygnet after appearing as Gabriel Law/AnDrew Price in 2016's When the Rain Stops Falling. Also Yale-trained, he recently made his LA debut in The Imaginary Invalid at A Noise Within and starred in The Comedy of Errors at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. According to Josh, "In a traditional sense, I'm a 'Bad Jew' in that I almost never go to temple, I don't fast or keep kosher. But I like to think I'm an 'Okay Jew' in that I try to live my life by some key ideas like the golden rule, and Tikkun Olam, the Jewish concept of healing the world."

Rounding out the cast are San Diego based actors Katie Sapper and Tom Zohar.Saper returns to Cygnet after appearing in The Rocky Horror Show last season. Locally, she has performed at Moonnlight Stage Productions, La Jolla Playhouse, Lamb's Players, San Diego Rep and Diversionary. Katie has also been a storyteller at Cygnet Theatre and a teaching artist at North Coast Rep, San Diego Junior Theatre, Canyon Crest Academy, and The Old Globe. Sapper, who grew up in La Mesa, claims to be ""Good Jew ally".

Zohar, who grew up in Israel, is a regular on area stages appearing at Diversionary (recipient of Patté Award for Outstanding Performance for YANK!), Backyard Renaissance, La Jolla Playhouse, New Village Arts, Lamb's Players, North Coast Rep and Moonlight Stage Productions. According to Zohar, "Good Jew/Bad Jew? Who knows? Technically some might say I'm a Bad Jew because I don't keep kosher or observe the high holidays, I am not religious and I migrated away from the holy land when I was very young. But I am also a proponent of Jewish culture, I speak proudly on being a Jew and I am proud of my heritage."

Performances are January 12 - February 12 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. For more information regarding tickets (prices start at $36), contact the box office at 619-337-1525 or visit www.cygnettheatre.com.

Photo Credit: Daren Scott

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