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 SETTING THE STAGE...
For half a century the United States and Israel have been tied to each other – politically, strategically,
economically, and through thousands of Jewish
families with members living in both countries. Israel,
situated in the middle of the Arab world, has been a
major source of conflict and controversy among its
Middle-Eastern neighbors, especially the Palestinian
people. And Israel’s eternally precarious position, and
sometimes provocative military actions, have also
divided American Jews; many anti-war liberals have
become increasingly critical while more Zionistleaning
conservatives have been unwavering in their
support of the Jewish state…
ABOUT THE PLAY
The Goldstein family of Philadelphia is torn apart
when older brother Louis decides to embrace
Jewish orthodoxy and move to Israel during the
height of the Vietnam war. Betrayed and bewildered,
Louis’ younger brother Douglas builds a life around
peace activism. Well over 20 years later, Louis is a
retired officer of the Israeli army and Douglas is a
Senior Director with Amnesty International.Divided
by deep familial wounds and opposing religious and
political beliefs, the two brothers are forced to
re-engage one another when their sons, Oren and
Paul, make surprising life decisions of their own.
HOUSE, DIVIDED is a challenging and timely
examination of family, faith and politics, and how the
desire to distance ourselves from our past may only
bring it closer to home in the future.
Read an Excerpt of the Script of HOUSE, DIVIDED
ON THE WEB & IN THE PRESS:
REVIEWS:
"... HOUSE, DIVIDED, the often-smart play ... with a first-rate cast ... is,
remarkably, one of the rare pieces of theater to deal with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. ... Loebell, a Philadelphia
playwright, establishes the family conflict - and in doing so, the Mideast conflict - with impressive clarity.
... Not even SIXTEEN WOUNDED, a fine play ..., spelled out the political, social and religious conflicts so efficiently. ... you're caught by surprise, and impressed. ... the fully engaging HOUSE, DIVIDED is an important play: It handles delicate arguments and forcefully presents
all sides ... Every cast member is convincing, offering an
articulate character study. ... an evocative piece of staging ... Ultimately, the play succeeds in posing the question: What are we, on whatever side of the conflict, handing down?"
- H. Shapiro, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 30, 2008
"... Like so many American plays, Larry Loebell's drama is about
fathers, sons and brothers. And being an all-male play, it's also about the very male issues of war
and honor. Surprisingly evenhanded and satisfyingly complex, the drama doesn't waste our time
in pushing our buttons, despite the number of hot-button topics it addresses. ... The family arguments are natural and convincing, with passionate exasperation becoming the dominant
tone. ... To Loebell's enormous credit, he gives every side of every argument its due, and Seth Rozin's direction
is equally evenhanded. ... "House, Divided" is a solid debate between the
forces of history and the forces of religion, between politics and faith ..."
- T. Zinman, Variety.com, May 30, 2008
"... InterAct Theatre Company concludes their 20th anniversary season on a high
note with the world premiere of Larry Loebell’s striking new drama House, Divided. Thoughtfully directed by Seth Rozin and impressively performed by a six-member
cast ... Marvelously constructed ... In theater,
storytelling has long been used to build a sense of community and in House Loebell investigates how stories can build bridges and heal divisions. ... Dramatically engaging and intellectually stimulating, the
play endorses neither the Israeli nor Palestinian positions, and Loebell offers no
easy resolutions to the conflict. Instead House offers the simple proposition that
families and nations would benefit if they only listened to each other’s stories."
- J.C. Robb, Philadelphia Weekly, June 11, 2008
 "There came a moment in Act II of Larry Loebell's disturbing play, House, Divided, when the
tension felt almost unbearable. It was a moment of such high emotion that it seemed to fill the small space
and climb the walls of the Adrienne Theatre.
InterAct had done it again. The theater company that takes on subjects that are uncomfortable at best,
unbearable at worst, and makes audiences confront them, was doing what it does so well. And maybe that discomfort is what really significant theater is all about.
... [a] riveting play: two brothers and their two sons divided over issues so
monumental that they can only be described as "cosmic." ... Mr. Loebell dissects global issues through the intimate lens of a warring
family.
...
The battle lines are drawn almost from the first moments of the play, but the family revelations tumble out
even more intensely in Act II ... There's not a
single weak performance in the bunch.
... truly absorbing ... once again, InterAct Theatre Company tackled and tamed a pivotal subject not just on its own stage, but
on the world's."
- S. Friedman, The Bulletin, June 2, 2008
"... this play goes way beyond a struggle among people of one ethnic or religious minority ... Loebell’s deeply challenging play shows two primeval characters... Both these Titan brothers see their Jewish identity in dramatically different ways ... Loebell probes deep into those two souls ... Loebell takes his audience on a rollercoaster journey ... Several times during the play, members of the audience gasped and made comments ... The play clearly was getting under the skin of a number of people in the audience, demonstrating, literally, a house divided, hopefully leading to many fruitful discussions about our actions as human beings ... Loebell presents an almost mathematical balance of different views and ideologies in his play, but with a conversational, intuitive writing style. ... the actors formed a balanced ensemble with well-developed characters, strong giants with clay feet, giving the actors a chance to show fine nuances. ... [House, Divided will] most likely will shatter many perceptions that people might have of Jewish people. I am convinced that this play will be performed and studied not only in Israel and in the US, but in many other countries ... "
- H. Eger, All About Jewish Theatre, June 5, 2008
"... [a] riveting production ... much to Loebell’s credit, the
universal issue of how political strife destroys families eclipses any argument over
current events in the Middle East.
...
In this gripping production, Loebell’s intelligent writing treats the issues with the importance they deserve - by showing how they too often direct and distort the attitudes and actions of an individual’s entire life. ... As an ensemble, the entire cast delivers staggeringly rich performances.
... too many of the new plays in this genre leave me feeling disappointed, because they fail to integrate their contemporary issue with any universal theme that will outlast current events. Here, I worried only about how the eventual resolutions in the second half would live up to the intense, complex moral challenges presented by act one. This was the most richly
integrated evening of political drama I’ve experienced in a very long time."
- J. Rutter, BroadStreetReview.com, June 3, 2008
 "...[a] remarkable new play ... This is theater that seems to have been lifted from the front pages of Israeli and American newspapers, a microcosm of the turmoil that never seems to end. The twist here is that both sides are Jewish, on both sides of the ocean, on both sides of the age-old conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. ... HOUSE, DIVIDED just breaks your heart, because each of the brothers and each of the sons is both right and wrong - in their beliefs, in their actions. And the clever way Loebell has both their younger selves and their older selves weave in and out, often as overlapping presences on the stage, is fascinating. ... Sometimes without a word, the characters can display frustration, disapproval, anger and fear. ... The cast is composed of talented and committed actors who obviously believe in the play's messages. There are a few laughs along the way, a few tears, and, as in real life, not a lot of answers for the Palestinian-Jewish question, not even for the Jewish-Jewish question. ... HOUSE, DIVIDED will make you think hard about your own beliefs."
- B. Squires, Mainline Times, June 4, 2008
"... House, Divided, a dynamic world premiere by Mt. Airy resident Larry Loebell, courtesy of InterAct Theatre Company under the very wise direction of Seth Rozin. ...
As in the best playwriting, the emotional connections of the audience toward the characters shift as they grow over the course of the work. ... This play is enriched with little character-building details. ...
On the acting front, this excellent ensemble does supreme justice to a great script, thanks to Seth Rozin’s phenomenal and quite subtle work. ... Mr. Loebell has offered up a fascinating and artfully crafted play... a winner from the start."
- B. Strauss, Chestnut Hill Local, June 5, 2008
"... a well-crafted play about a Jewish-American family that has broken apart over religion, politics and the Jewish state. This is a rich area for exploration, and playwright Larry Loebell ... and the InterAct Theatre Company are to be commended for bringing
it to the stage. ... Loebell recognizes what other authors and playwrights have ignored: that many Diaspora Jews, especially American leftists, feel differently about Israel than others who tend to be religiously and/or politically conservative. He dramatizes these differences in one household where brothers have been antagonists for decades. ... Their hostility and their competitive relationship add interesting layers. ... Loebell presents people who say what many of us hear discussed among American Jews, in colorful and colloquial language. He gets the nuances right. ..."
- S. Cohen, BroadStreetReview.com, June 10, 2008
"... we are presented with a collection of pairings both tangible and cerebral (distanced brothers, sympathetic cousins, the US and Israel, secular and
religious, duty and conscience, youth and age) that twine together in an intricate and
beautiful way highlighting the complexity of these pairings while decrying black and white
absolutes.
... much like the blurred edges of the set, which are reminiscent of smudged charcoal, as the action continues, the scenes set in
the past begin to bleed into those in the present exhibiting unique and meaningful tableaus thanks to director Seth Rozin’s meticulous blocking.
The men that make up the cast work very well together ... [the cast does] an excellent job of showing
these conflicts as opposed to letting the text stand alone, thereby preventing a situation
wherein the play becomes preachy. ... Regardless of your personal history or views on the
political and social issues, you can understand and appreciate the universally human
emotions, connections, fears and desires that lie at the core..."
- K. Suni, StageMagazineOnline.com, May 31, 2008
FEATURES:
"In Mt. Airy playwright Larry Loebell’s latest work, House Divided, the convictions of American Jews and their attachment to Israel take center stage. ...
it is a piercing dissection of the pro-Israel movement. ... 'I wanted to write a play that was as balanced as possible from the American perspective,' said Loebell. 'I didn’t feel I had the right to portray it from the Israeli perspective.' ...
Loebell said that as he was writing the play, it became clear to him that it needed the voices of the next generation. 'It’s really a family drama with the issues that face those living in Israel,' he said. 'The characters are the embodiment of different ideas about nationalism.'
The brothers represent different sides of their generations’ views on the issue, while the cousins represent the evolution of the argument for the current generation. 'I think that I have accurately depicted the views of the relationship between religion and politics,' said Loebell. ...
Oren believes in the religious ideas behind the conflict wholeheartedly but questions the practical implications of allowing religion to dictate military and political policy. ... his discomfort with the discrepancy between what he believes is right for Israelis and what he is forced to do to achieve that goal is palpable.... Loebell understands that his play may be considered provocative, although he insists he was just being true to the material. “Interpretation is the audience’s job,” he said. “My job is to create characters who passionately embody their beliefs.”"
- J. Katz, Chestnut Hill Local, June 13, 2008
"'House, Divided'... centers on the Goldsteins -- a Philly
fisticuffs-of-a-family whose tug-of-war
about Israel lands them on
opposite sides of the living room, and eventually extends the frayed
rope of nerves to their sons.
The fractious feeling of this 'House, Divided' comes through the internecine battles between two brothers -- Lou and Doug -- whose sons Paul and Oren sign off on their own
warfare that fetes faith and relies on religion to keep the firefights going.
Winner of a 2006 new play commission in Jewish theater from the National Foundation of Jewish Culture, [Larry] Loebell lobs hand grenades of gritty arguments about peace and pieces of the Jewish homeland that detonate with news of each successful suicide bomber.
Rites and wrongs of Jewish life get the full 'House' treatment by the poker-faced ('It's
written in balance') award-winning playwright, former literary manager for the company which is premiering his latest piece.
The Mount Airy resident mounts the problems facing Jews divided on political issues associated with Israel in a full-blown drama...
Having visited Israel in recent years, the playwright understands that politics played out in polyglot languages can be lost in translation. What he is attempting to do with "House, Divided" is what he hopes all good political theater can do -- get audiences' undivided attention by 'poking you where you live.'... "
- M. Elkins, Jewish Exponent, May 29, 2008
 "... During his research, Mr. Loebell traveled to Israel in the spring of 2006. It was a moment of relative peace, he recalls, as he visited areas as diverse as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the West Bank. Though military tensions were evident in the form of tense checkpoints, ethnic and religious segregation and ubiquitous weaponry, Mr. Loebell notes that Palestinian Hamas had recently won parliamentary elections, and he was optimistic for a safe trip: "There had been no suicide bombings for nine months." ...
Loebell is the kind of playwright who craves a look from the inside at today's most complicated and controversial political issues. ...
Weaving a discussion of the Israeli/Palestinian drama into the life of a believable and engaging American family is a natural approach for Mr. Loebell.
...
The myriad sides to the issue intrigued him. In tackling this and other political dramas, Mr. Loebell is committed to the idea of "characters versus propaganda." He explores the way our perceptions can become entrenched: Just as different political factions speak and think about one another without contact from their separate positions, "imputing motive and attributing meaning to the other's actions," the characters of "House, Divided" have "canonized" certain things about their long-absent family members, hardening perceptions about the events and conversations of the past. But as in any family or political dispute, there are passionate individuals on both sides, sometimes "trapped in roles not of their own choosing."
...
'House, Divided' encompasses the best of contemporary theatre: a relevant, engaging story, and intriguing food for thought on a pressing modern issue.”
- A. Mabaso, The Bulletin, May 23, 2008
"Larry Loebell started writing plays relatively late in life. ... From the beginning this
native Philadelphian’s scripts have been inspired by the political movements of his youth - and their ramifications on the present. ... Loebell’s “La Tempestad” - a play that applies the themes of Shakespeare’s “Tempest” to the Puerto Rican struggle for independence -
was produced off-off Broadway, and received favorable reviews. ...“House, Divided,” will begin performances as the final show in InterAct’s season, marking the first major production of his work in Philadelphia. Loebell is adamant that “House” is not an autobiographical tale, though certain details of the narrative closely match his own experience: he is from a Jewish Philadelphia family in which leftists live alongside more orthodox, conservative thinkers. In the play two brothers make polar opposite, life-altering decisions based on their view of Israel’s policies. One has chosen an orthodox path, immigrating to Israel, and joining the Israeli army, while the other has pursued a career at Amnesty International, where he has labored tirelessly for nonviolent causes. For his part the playwright is keeping quiet about his own personal stance on Israel ...“... It’s not about my stance or view or anything. It’s about serving the drama.”
- B. Walsh, Philadelphia Metro, May 23, 2008
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Full-length plays include LA TEMPESTAD, which premiered in NYC in 2005 and was anthologized in Playing With Canons: Explosive New Works from Literature by America’s Indie Playwrights, THE BALLAD OF JOHN WESLEY REED, GIRL SCIENCE, MEMORIAL DAY, and PRIDE OF THE LION. Produced and published short plays include ANGIE AND ARNIE SANGUINE, BUT WHO’S COUNTING, and JUST BEFORE THE WAR BETWEEN THE PLATES. Larry has been awarded four PA Council on the Arts Fellowships in playwriting and a new play commission for HOUSE, DIVIDED from the National Council for Jewish Culture. His living newspaper-style play, LIVING NEWS, recently entered its second season of daily school-term performances at the National Constitution Center. He teaches playwriting and dramaturgy on the adjunct faculty of Arcadia University in Glenside, PA, and the history of narrative film at University of the Arts.
Talking With... Larry Loebell
An interview conducted by
Peter Bonilla, InterAct Theatre Company's Literary Manager
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
co-founded InterAct Theatre Company in 1988, and has since served as Producing Artistic Director. He has directed over 40 productions for InterAct, including Israel Horovitz's LEBENSRAUM (1999 Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, and Outstanding Ensemble), IT'S ALL TRUE (2001 Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Overall Production), and PERMANENT COLLECTION (2004 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Overall Production). He has twice been named "Best Director" by the Philadelphia Inquirer for the world premiere of Thomas Gibbons' 6221 in 1993 and for LEBENSRAUM. Other notable productions with InterAct include the world premieres of Thomas Gibbons' BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE, BLACK RUSSIAN and A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS and the Philadelphia premieres of SKIN IN FLAMES, BLUE/ORANGE, NIXON'S NIXON, AUNT DAN AND LEMON, LONELY PLANET, SEASCAPE, and GOD'S COUNTRY. Seth has also directed for the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Blue Heron Theatre and the 45th Street Theatre in New York, as well as regionally with Act II Playhouse, Venture Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights Festival, and the University of Pennsylvania. As a playwright, Seth is the recipient of two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, as well as The Smith Prize for his play BLACK GOLD. MEN OF STONE and MISSING LINK garnered Barrymore Award nominations for Outstanding New Play in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Seth has served on funding and/or award panels for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Theatre Communications Group, and the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist. He has served on the Boards of the Women's Theatre Festival, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, New Paradise Laboratories, Fresh Visions Youth Theatre, and the National New Play Network (for which he served as Chair from 2002-2006).
ABOUT THE CAST AND CREW
The design team for HOUSE, DIVIDED includes Set Design by Dirk Durossett, Costume Design by Susan Smythe, Lighting Design by Peter Whinnery, and Sound Design by Shannon Zura. Seth Reichgott will serve as Assistant Director, Andy Campbell as Technical Director and Michele Traub will Stage Manage the production.
EXPLORING THE ISSUES
During the run of HOUSE, DIVIDED, InterAct will host several post-performance talk-backs to encourage further discussion on the issues raised. Speaker Sundays, a series featuring invited scholars, community leaders and artists, are scheduled to follow matinee performances on:
Speaker T.B.A.
Speaker T.B.A.
Speaker T.B.A.
Coffee Conversations, an informal discussion with the production's artists and designers, sponsored by Whole Foods, are scheduled to follow performances on Tuesday, June 3; Wednesday, June 4 ; Tuesday, June 10 ; and Wednesday, June 11.
On the weekend of June 7-8, 2008, in conjunction with their mainstage production of HOUSE, DIVIDED, InterAct will present an Israeli/Palestinian Play Festival. The festival will feature concert readings of four new and contemporary plays that examine the western perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as well as a panel discussion examining varying viewpoints on the subject.
Click for more information about InterAct's Israeli/Palestinian Play Festival
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David Howey (as Lou Goldstein) 
Paul Meshejian (as Doug Goldstein) 
