ST. PAUL, MINN.: Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company (MJTC) has announced their 2016-17 season, its 22nd, which will feature the return of a holiday favorite and Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man.
“With the unprecedented success of our previous season, I wanted to make sure this season’s selections and complementary Doorways programs continue to excite our growing audiences,” said producing artistic director Barbara Brooks in a statement.
The season will open with the solo show DAI (enough) (Aug. 17-31), written by Israeli-American performance artist Iris Bahr. The play takes a jarring look at the lives of 11 people in a Tel Aviv café before a bombing. Miriam Schwartz will star and Warren C. Bowles will direct.
Next up will be Tom Smith’s Aunt Raini (Oct. 29-Nov. 20), inspired by the life of German film director Leni Riefenstahl. The story follows a young gallery owner who inherits her great aunt’s original film reels, which capture Hitler and the rise of the Nazi Party.
For the holidays, MJTC will bring back The Magic Dreidels (Dec. 6-21), which the company commissioned. Adapted by Jenna Zark from the children’s book by Eric A. Kimmel, the play follows a young boy who misplaces his Hanukkah dreidel, which is then replaced with a magic one that takes him on adventures.
The new year will begin with Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man (Feb. 4-26, 2017). Set in post-Civil War America, the show follows a young Confederate soldier returning home to find his family’s slaves freed and one has been brought into the Jewish faith by the family. Sally Wingert will direct.
The season will close with Wendy Kout’s We Are the Levinsons (April 22, 2017-May 14, 2017). The family comedy explores what happens when a daughter needs to fill her mother’s shoes and finds a way to survive amidst death and dysfunction.
Founded in 1995, MJTC is a nonprofit devoted to producing shows about Jewish history and culture with themes universal to people of all backgrounds.
