  
ABOUT THE PLAY
From the author of BLACK GOLD comes this poignant comedy that The New York Times called “irreverent,” “amusing,” and “sweet-natured.” Inspired by real-life events, TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR… follows Ishaq and Zeblyan, the last two Jews in Afghanistan. They share the only remaining synagogue that has not been destroyed by the Taliban. They share a desire to continue practicing their religion and to repopulate the Jewish community in Kabul. But they hate each other. Can one incredible act of faith keep the diaspora alive and keep this Middle Eastern “odd couple” from killing each other?
PRODUCTION SPONSOR
VIDEO TRAILER
IN THE PRESS
Philadelphia Media:
The New York Times
Palm Beach Post
The Kansas City Star
The Boston Globe
The Catskill Chronicle
TalkinBroadway.com, New Jersey
Sun Sentinel
The Jewish State
NJ.com
NewJerseyNewsroom.com
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
John Pietrowski (as Zeblyan) and Tom Teti (as Ishaq). Photo by David Golston. |
John Pietrowski (as Zeblyan) and Tom Teti (as Ishaq). Photo by David Golston. |
John Pietrowski (as Zeblyan) and Tom Teti (as Ishaq). Photo by David Golston.
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John Pietrowski (as Zeblyan) and Tom Teti (as Ishaq). Photo by David Golston. |
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
is the author of several plays, including MEN OF STONE (produced by Theater Catalyst in 2001, nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, published by Playscripts, Inc.), MISSING LINK (produced by InterAct Theatre Company in 2002, nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play), REINVENTING EDEN (showcased by the National New Play Network in 2005, produced by InterAct in 2006), THE SPACE BETWEEN US (readings at Abingdon Theatre in New York and InterAct), BLACK GOLD (showcased by the National New Play Network in 2006, NNPN rolling world premieres at InterAct, Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, Prop Thtr in Chicago, and Arts West in Seattle in 2008), and TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR... (NNPN rolling world premieres at Florida Stage, New Jersey Repertory Theatre and Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, as well as 2010/2011 Season productions at Shadowland Theatre in Ellenville, NY, Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, MA and InterAct. He has also written the book, lyrics and music for a new musical entitled A PASSING WIND: THE (MOSTLY) TRUE STORY OF JOSEPH PUJOL, about the rise and fall of the world’s greatest “fartiste,” which will be premiered as part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts in April, 2011. Seth is the recipient of two playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the 2007 Smith Prize, as well as a 2002 new play commission from the Foundation for Jewish Culture. He is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of InterAct Theatre Company, where he has directed over 45 productions, including the world premieres of Thomas Gibbons’ PERMANENT COLLECTION, BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE, BLACK RUSSIAN, A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS and 6221. He served as President of the National New Play Network from 2002-2006, and currently Chairs the Philadelphia New Play Initiative.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
has a impressive resume of directing credits including GUEST ARTIST (with John Astin) at Shadowland Theatre (NY); TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR... (with John Pietrowski) at Playwrights Theatre (NJ) and NJ Rep; Noël Coward’s A SONG AT TWILIGHT (with Orson Bean & Alley Mills) at Odyssey Theatre (L.A.); DEATH OF A SALESMAN (with Frankie Faison) at Luna Stage (NJ); THE VALUE OF NAMES (with Jack Klugman & Dan Lauria) at George St. Playhouse (NJ) and Falcon Theatre
(Pasadena); THE PRICE (with Orson Bean & Stephanie Zimbalist) and ALL MY SONS (with Richard Benjamin & Paula Prentiss) at Shadowland; THE GIN GAME (wtih William Schallert) at Bickford Theatre (NJ) and MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION (with Paula Prentiss & Prentiss Benjamin) at BoarsHead Theatre (MI); MACBETH (with Frankie Faison) at Luna; SPREAD EAGLE (with Edward Asner, Sharon Gless, Jamey Sheridan, and Fred Savage) at L.A. Theatre Works;
BLUFF (with John Astin) at BoarsHead & Shadowland, IMMORAL IMPERATIVES (with Malachi Throne and Laura Esterman) at WHAT (Cape Cod); WAITING FOR GODOT (with Vin Scelsa) at Luna Stage, which received the Special Ensemble Award from the Star-Ledger of Newark. He also directed the world premieres of Sheldon Harnick's DRAGONS, as well as his own adaptations of BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM, OUT OF DUBLIN BY JOYCE, Faulkner's THE HAMLET, Twain's
HADLEYBURG and A CONNECTICUT YANKEE, and A WRINKLE IN TIME. During ten years of collaborations with author & journalist Jim Lehrer, James adapted & directed Lehrer's KICK THE CAN, THE SPECIAL PRISONER (with William Schallert), which was a winner at the Southwestern Festival of New Plays in Houston, and FLYING CROWS, which was recently published by Dramatic Publishing Co. in Chicago. James also directed workshops of Lehrer's play THE WILL AND BART SHOW (with Ed Asner, Jo Sommer, Frank Converse, Donald Moffatt, Frances Sternhagen, John Astin, Mason Adams, and Pam
Payton-Wright) and Jay O Sanders’ new play about Rwanda,
UNEXPLORED INTERIOR (with Fritz Weaver, Boyd Gaines, Arthur French, and Frankie Faison) at the Public Theater. While serving as the Associate Artistic Director of Playwrights Theatre, James has directed CROWS and PRISONER, as well as SEDITION, THE GOOD GERMAN, CIRCUMFERENCE OF A SQUIRREL (co-production with NJ Rep), and SUNRISE AT MONTICELLO. Additionally, James adapted Stephen Crane’s classic THE BRIDE COMES TO YELLOW SKY for NPR Playhouse and WGBH-Boston. His upcoming projects include adapting and directing Raymond Chandler's MARLOWE, with Academy-Award nominee David Strathairn as detective Philip
Marlowe; as well as directing staged reading of ONCE UPON A PASTIME (with Len Cariou) at York Theatre (NYC). James is a graduate of Northwestern University, ACT, BADA-Oxford, and Yale School of Drama, and serves as a lecturer in Directing and Shakespeare for Johns Hopkins University.
ABOUT THE CAST
and Tom Teti performed the first reading of TWO JEWS... at PlayPenn in 2009. This is his fourth go-around with Zeblyan, having played the role at NJRep (Long Branch, NJ), Shadowland Theatre (Ellenville, NY) and at Playwrights Theatre (Madison, NJ), where he has worked for the past 25 years, 20 as Artistic Director. At Playwrights (a member of the National New Play Network), he has overseen the nationwide New Play Development Program, the New Jersey Writers Project (in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts), PTNJ Creative Arts Academy, Poetry Out Loud and the Literary Artists Fellowship (both in partnership with NJSCA). He has directed over 20 world premiere productions at Playwrights Theatre co-producing 14 of these with NJ Rep, Premiere Stages, Shadowland Theatre, and The Growing Stage. This year he is slated to direct Richard Dresser’s MICKEY AND JEAN (in a co-production with Oldcastle Theatre, The Bickford Theatre, Shadowland Theatre and Playwrights Theatre), Ken Scarborough’s LAW OF THE MONKEYS (Playwrights Theatre), and TUNA CHRISTMAS (Bickford Theatre). His direction of A MIDNIGHT CRY at The Growing Stage was chosen by Bank of America as their representative NJ production for Black History Month in 2008. He also directed two plays for WNYC’s Radio Stage (one by Philadelphia playwright Rufus Caleb), and for the past three years has worked as a director in the Kennedy Center’s MFA Playwrights Workshop (an NNPN partnership). As an actor, he recently performed the role of Andrew Schrag in David Wiltse’s SEDITION at both Playwrights and Shadowland. He designed the original curriculum for PTNJ’s Juvenile Justice program, was the Program Director for the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Theatre Program for Teachers and Playwrights, and currently teaches at Fairleigh Dickinson University. His plays have been performed at Foundation Theatre, Loaves and Fish Theatre Company and Playwrights Theatre, and his most recent play, DURA MATER, was workshopped at Johns Hopkins in Fall 2010. He holds a BS in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and an MPA from Seton Hall University in nonprofit management. His masters thesis at Seton Hall became the basis for the NJ Arts Education Census Project, which surveyed every public school in the state on the status of its arts education efforts, the first ever effort of its kind. He is currently working on a web-based program that will allow individual schools to fund writing residencies through public donations and corporate incentives. He is a 2001 graduate of Leadership New Jersey, serves on the Executive Committee of the National New Play Network, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and the New Jersey Theatre Educators Coalition. He is the Past President and Founding Member of the Madison Arts and Culture Alliance. He is married to stage manager and properties designer Danielle Constance Pietrowski.
and John Peitrowski performed the first reading of TWO JEWS... at PlayPenn in 2009. Tom is absolutely thrilled to be making his InterAct debut, in such a great new play by one of Philadelphia's strongest forces in its theatrical community, Seth Rozin. He comes from a just completed run of THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER at People's Light, where he is a Company Member. Prior to that he was in THE THREE MUSKETEERS, a musical panto, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, and STRETCH, also at People's Light. Earlier this year he played the title role in THE DON, at Hedgerow Theater, and appeared in the recently released film Limitless. He also served as the producer for the annual Reading Writers event for the Center for Literacy. He teaches acting for adults and teens at Hedgerow Theater.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
Opening Night - Wednesday, April 13
InterAct celebrates Opening Night of TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR... with a free reception immediately following the 7:00 p.m. performance. Sponsored by Saul Ewing LLP and hosted by Noble American Cookery, located directly across the street from InterAct's home at The Adrienne at 2025 Sansom Street. Join InterAct's loyal supporters as they mix and mingle with InterAct's cast, crew, board, and artisitc & administrative staff for an evening of good friends and great food. Featuring a few of Noble's best hors d'oeuvre and a cash bar.
Speaker Sundays
During TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR..., InterAct will host several post-performance talk-backs to encourage further discussion on the issues it raises. Speaker Sundays, a series featuring invited scholars, community leaders and artists, are scheduled to follow matinee performances on:
Speaker T.B.A.
Check back often for up-to-the-minute updates on featured speakers!
Coffee Conversations
Following the 2nd and 3rd Tuesday and Wednesday performances of every production, we invite patrons to grab a delicious cup of joe provided by Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar, then join us for Coffee Conversations, informal discussions with company artists. During TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR... , Coffee Conversations are scheduled for:
Tuesday, April 19
Wednesday, April 20
Tuesday, April 26
Wednesday, April 27
The 2010/2011 Season Coffee Conversations Sponsor |
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PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
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THEATRE ALLIANCE MIXTIX
SUBSCRIPTIONS & TICKETS
Purchasing Tickets or Subscriptions:
215.568.8079
InterAct's Box Office at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., Phila
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Seth Rozin (Playwright)
James Glossman (Director)
John Pietrowski (Zeblyan)
Tom Teti (Ishaq)
