The Last Schwartz at Theater J

The Schwartz family is on its last legs. Their father is dead and their Catskills home is going up for sale. Norma Schwartz' husband hasn't spoken to her since she turned their 15 year old son in for smoking pot; it doesn't seem like brother Herb's wife will ever present him with an heir; middle sibling Simon has one foot on the moon; and youngest brother Gene arrives at the family compound with an unexpected guest. What unfolds is the funny, surprising, and ultimately moving story of a family at a key moment in their history.

Parade Productions will present Deborah Zoe Laufer's The Last Schwartz from January 31st through February 23rd at the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center's Studio Theatre. The play received unanimously glowing reviews when it debuted at Florida Stage in 2002.

Director Kim St. Leon was immediately drawn to the piece. "We see a family's history and future collide on one fateful weekend," she says. "While we need to understand where we come from, we can't let it hinder where we're going. In The Last Schwartz some hold on to the past too tightly while others let go of it too freely. The machinations of families have always fascinated me and The Last Schwartz does that with laughter, charm, and poignancy."

Ken Clement, Clay Cartland, and Betsy Graver have already committed to the project, and casting for the rest of the roles is underway.

"I'm very excited that we're doing The Last Schwartz," says Parade Productions Executive Producer Candace Caplin. "It's one of my all-time favorite plays. It has everything; it's funny, it's touching, it's full of surprises; its characters are people we all know and deal with. It's been top of my list for years."

Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer is a recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and a Lilly Award. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a two-time recipient of the LeCompte du Nouy grant from The Lincoln Center Foundation. Her plays have been developed at Florida Stage, The Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Missoula Colony, The Cherry Lane Alternative, The Dramatists Guild Fellowship Program, New Georges, The Lark Play Development Center, and Geva Theatre Center. She has received a National New Play Network rolling premiere and commission. She is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as a lyricist and librettist.