Theater J's 2022/23 Season

Dear friends,

Theater J is moving forward into our 2022/2023 season! We are pleased to announce the productions included in our upcoming season, which is filled with timeless stories that we can’t wait to share with you. We promise to excite, challenge, and inspire our audiences.

Joining us as a subscriber is the best way to ensure you don’t miss these five remarkable productions, all of which are new to Theater J. And, as a subscriber, you can be the first to purchase tickets to our special Add-on play, the return of a Theater J favorite.

Subscribers enjoy significant discounts off tickets with no handling fees, priority seating each season, access to our exclusive season kick-off event, discounts to other EDCJCC programs such as the JxJ film festival, fee-less exchanges, and much more. Don’t miss out!


David Lloyd Olson Managing Director	Adam Immerwahr Artistic Director

Subscribe to Our 22/23 Season Now

For our most up-to-date safety plans and information, visit theaterj.org/safetyguidelines

Questions? Call our Ticket Office at 202-777-3210, Monday through Friday, 1:00 to 5:00 PM.

Theater J’s 2022/23 Season is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story

By Hannah Moscovitch, Ben Caplan, and Christian Barry
Directed by Christian Barry
September 7– September 25, 2022

A HIT NEW KLEZMER MUSICAL

Sex, religion, and refugees—Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story has it all! A funny and edgy love story interwoven with a high-energy klezmer concert, this folk musical is inspired by the true tale of two Jewish Romanian refugees finding love on the shores of Canada in 1908. Featuring a spectacular performance by genre-bending Canadian sensation Ben Caplan, Old Stock has been wildly popular with audiences and critics alike across Canada, Great Britain, and in New York, and now makes its long-awaited DC debut.

Intimate Apparel

By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Paige Hernandez
October 19 – November 13, 2022

AN EXQUISITE MODERN MASTERPIECE

The time is 1905, the place the Lower East Side. Sewing beautiful lingerie gives Esther, an African American seamstress, an intimate look at the love lives of her diverse clientele, but she yearns for a romance of her own. She finds herself in an epistolary courtship with a mysterious Caribbean man, though her heart secretly belongs to the Orthodox Jewish fabric merchant with whom she can never share a touch. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Awardee Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined), this moving portrait of love, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit has become one of the most beloved plays of our time.

“One of the very best American plays of the past quarter-century” –The Wall Street Journal

Two Jews Walk Into a War…

By Seth Rozin
Directed by Adam Immerwahr
January 11 – February 5, 2023

A CONTEMPORARY, SIDE-SPLITTING VAUDEVILLE

Ishaq and Zeblyan are the last remaining Jews in Afghanistan. They share the only remaining synagogue that has not been destroyed by the Taliban. They share a vital mission to repopulate the Jewish community in Kabul. And they hate each other. Can this cantankerous couple commit to one incredible act of faith to keep their community alive without killing one another first? Part The Odd Couple and part Waiting for Godot, 2 Jews Walk Into a War… is a ripped-from-the-headlines, modern day vaudeville full of schtick, sorrow, and survival.

Gloria: A Life

By Emily Mann
Directed by Holly Twyford
March 8 – April 2, 2023

HISTORY. HER STORY. OUR STORY.

Gloria: A Life is more than a play—it’s a celebration of human connection. Five decades after Gloria Steinem began raising her voice and championing the voices of others, her call for equality is as urgent as ever. In this exploration of the iconic feminist’s extraordinary legacy and the women who inspired her (including Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Flo Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, and Wilma Mankiller), the first act tells her story, and the second invites the audience to share their own. Gloria Steinem’s stirring and uplifting narrative is a necessary reminder of the importance of speaking up and speaking out. Directed by Holly Twyford (Becoming Dr. Ruth), Gloria: A Life honors one of the most inspiring women of our time.

One Jewish Boy

By Stephen Laughton
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut
June 7 – July 2, 2023

THE US PREMIERE OF THE JEWISH PLAY THAT STUNNED THE UK

In this bittersweet, sophisticated and quick-fire new British comedy about antisemitism, Jesse, a nice Jewish boy, falls in love with Alex, a nice mixed-race girl. The love between them is pure and absolute, but Jesse has never been able to shake off the vicious attack that changed him forever. Navigating any relationship is difficult enough, but what happens when you factor in politics and rising prejudice? This provocative play received a massive antisemitic response when the UK production opened in 2018; posters were defaced, and the writer received death threats. Don’t miss the US premiere of this urgent and unflinching comedy, which pits the impact of hatred against the power of love.

“Moving… shows how race, gender, class, culture, and, perhaps most importantly, fear, impact on the characters’ lives” – The Stage

“Does what good theatre should do – it begs questions and provokes thought which linger in the mind long after… provocative, urgent and powerful” – Attitude Magazine

PLUS A SPECIAL ADD-ON
(Tickets must be purchased separately; not available as part of a subscription)

The Pianist of Willesden Lane

Based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
Adapted and directed by Hershey Felder
December 7– December 18, 2022

A BRAVURA PERFORMANCE OF AN UNFORGETTABLE STORY

After a sold-out run at the Kennedy Center, Grammy®-nominated pianist Mona Golabek makes her triumphant return in one of the most powerful performances in Theater J’s history. Set in Vienna in 1938 and in London during the Blitzkrieg, The Pianist of Willesden Lane tells the true and inspiring story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist whose dream of making her concert debut is dashed by the onset of World War II. Despite devastating personal loss, Jura endures through her music and pursues her dreams. Performed by Jura’s real-life daughter, the virtuosic Mona Golabek, The Pianist of Willesden Lane combines enthralling story telling with breathtaking live performances of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and more.