Yiddish Theater Lab

Theater J’s on-going initiative is dedicated to preserving and reviving the forgotten literature of the Yiddish Theater. Join us as directors and playwrights uncover and re-interpret nearly-forgotten Yiddish classics in new English language readings, workshops, commissions, and eventually productions.  

The Yiddish Theater Lab is supported by The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, Natalie Wexler and James Feldman, and The Leshowitz Family Foundation, Terry Singer. 

The Red Beads 

By Rinne B. Groff
Based on The Singer of His Sorrows by Osip Dymov
As adapted by Adrian Guo-Silver and Rinne Groff
From a translation by Adrian Guo-Silver
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut

All Three Episodes Available Now! 

When a father’s bedtime story magically comes to life, his young daughter is plunged into the world of a poor shtetl poet, desperately in love with a woman who spurns him. With great wit and even greater heart, The Red Beads explores the beauty – and the pain – of letting love triumph over logic. This charming, comical, and stirring fable is presented as a three-part audio play.

The Cast (in order of appearance): Chinna Palmer, Billy Finn, Todd Scofield, Regina Aquino, Naomi Jacobson, Jeorge Bennett Watson, Lolita Marie, and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh

Sound Designer:  Karin Graybash, member United Scenic Artists Local 829

Violinist: Susan Jones

Zoom Manager: Anthony O. Bullock

Casting Director: Jenna Duncan