Save The Date: One Night Only!

Save The Date:

Vaudeville is inOne NightBurlesque
Vogue, Only! is Booming,
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TH
A Benefit Concert Reading of Neil Simon’s
THE SUNSHINE BOYS
Starring
Theodore
Bikel & Brochu Jim

Academy Award Nominee Recipient of Helen Hayes Award

Co-Founder of The Cameri Theatre for Outstanding Lead Actor
in a Non-Resident Production, 2010

Featuring Will Gartshore

With James Konicek, Tonya Beckman Ross,
Michael Russotto and Deidra LaWan Starnes

Directed by Derek Goldman

Tickets—starting at $150— are on sale now
at (202) 777-3225 or [Link]

2
 VIV’S
LA
OF TE
I FA
THEATRE
O HA
AMERI
N T
THE
C
U R
R ET

January 15–30, 2011

 From the Artistic Director
I like to call The Cameri Theatre, “The Lincoln Center of Israel,” a sleek,
white patina-clad campus in the heart of the cultural capital of the nation,
flanked by an opera house and a performing arts library, offering to its
35,000 subscribers five performance spaces, from immense auditoriums
to more intimate studios and a cabaret space, presenting work that spans
the gamut from the finest in classical repertory to up-to-the minute, cutting-
edge Israeli and international work. And so it is an immense honor to be
able to host the Cameri troupe here in our nation’s capital for, what appears
to be, their longest North American residency ever.

And what a vital, important project they bring to us, allowing us to experi-
ence an almost forbidden dialogue, between Arab and Jew, about 1948,
critically examining a foundational narrative from when Israel became a
state, triumphing in its actualizing of the Zionist dream, in all its legitimacy, while at the same
time—whether by dint of circumstance, design, or the result of abject rejection—triggering the
displacement of families and the unfolding of the Palestinian refugee crisis.

An Important Encountering
Even to convene this examination of opposing versions of history is to invite criticism from those
who would criminalize mention of the word “Naqba,” or “Catastrophe,” the name that Palestin-
ians use to describe the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 (even some Arabs living freely within Israel),
while Jews the world-over refer to it as “The War of Independence.” A similar discrepancy per-
tains to the 1967 Six Day War (the period immediately following wherein the bulk of this story
takes place); a war that to most Israelis is regarded as a heroic triumph that saw the reunification
of Jerusalem, while to others—be they Arabs living within Israel, or in surrounding countries and
territories—an episode of national humiliation. How can a land comprised of such competing
terminologies and meanings—a land fostering competing national aspirations—ever give rise to
a peace between its inhabitants; a peace founded on mutual recognition, and a right to exist,
and the necessary acceptance of the others’ historical predicament? In short, how to fuse from
these two distinct historical narratives, a single, interwoven tapestry?

This production offers a sober lesson in

the intricacies of attempting to negotiate
such an attempt in the creation of Dov,
or Khaldun (even his name is contested),
the child of Palestinian parents, raised by
Jewish Israeli survivors of the Holocaust.
Can Dov/Khaldun, the peace child, sol-
dier and prodigal son, be both Palestin-
ian and Israeli, and can his two families
support such a synthesis? On the other
hand—and what makes this story so
hopeful and so human—is his identity cri-
sis really any different than any adopted
child’s quest to determine where he be-
longs?

A Literary and Theatrical Achievement

The brilliance of Ghassan Kanafani’s no-
vella is that it creates a modern fable that
resonates with tactile meaning, hewing
to a realism in its pungent characteriza-
tions and specificity of perspectives. The
Arab refugees crowding a British ship carrying them to
brilliance of Boaz Gaon’s adaptation is in
Akko. May 1948. John Phillips the moment-to-moment reality in which
these encounters between families (and
within families) unfold. The liberation that our adapter established in writing freely through the
plot-points of the novella—with full permission given by the Kanafani estate—allows for a realism
in the dialogue which convinces us that emblematic events such as losing a child in the tumult
of war, might actually, frighteningly, have happened.

2
From the Artistic Director cont.
And the brilliance of the Cameri Theatre production is in its creation of a definitive Israeli read-
ing of this classic Palestinian text, without attempting to mimic the didactic anthems that char-
acterized some of the soliloquies in the original, written in 1968, and published a year later.
The show’s first production introduced the resonant plot and pulsatingly-real characters to an
Israeli public celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel in 2008. In
the most generous way possible, it allowed the story to speak fairly, even-handedly, thrusting
the central question before the public to experience and debate in the finest tradition of socio-
political drama. Now in the winter of 2011, the production hits our city with the force and novelty
of a time capsule landing in a backyard. How faded do the hopes for finding mutual recognition
and a fully integrated two-state solution now appear? How foreign to look upon a courtyard in
an Israeli city and find travelers from Ramallah sitting down for tea with a suspicious yet curi-
ous Israeli host? Less than three years after its premiere, this Israeli Return to Haifa is more
poignant than ever for all the cross-cultural dialogue and mutual reckoning that seems hardly
to be taking place at all.

Why Not in English?

We are showing this play in
Hebrew (and some Arabic) be-
cause that is the only way the
Kanafani family wished the play
to be shared in North America;
as an Israeli adaptation; not
the definitive English language
version. There have been
other versions of this tale in
the Arabic speaking world, and
there will be others to come,
perhaps, someday, in English.
This is a landmark Israeli effort
to better understand one of the
most seminal narratives in Pal-
estinian literature. May we live
to see many more such efforts,
on both sides; of each reading
and adapting the stories of the
other to yield ever-more ques-
tions, brighter light, and deep-
er understanding.

At Last!
We should note that a Cameri
tour to Theater J was to have
happened two years ago with Jewish families leaving the old city through Zion’s Gate.
a different show, as we’d an- June 1948. John Phillips
nounced and planned for the production of Plonter, an ensemble-devised piece in 19 scenes
about the Gordian knot that represented the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, hop-scotching between
Palestinian and Israeli characters living on both sides of The Wall, or The Fence, or The Separa-
tion Barrier; call it what you will. The 21 person touring troupe proved too big for us to afford in
the fall of 2008 as the economy turned and we lost key subsidizing of plane fares and hotel ac-
commodations. Our economy hasn’t improved all that much—but our producing fortunes have—
this time, in addition to support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid Atlantic Arts
Foundation and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, we’ve received key funding
from the Fisher Family Foundation, the law firm of Carliner & Remes which helped secure three
different categories of travel visas, and a great deal from our good friends at the Carlyle Suites
Hotel, as well as support for the Washington DCJCC’s Israel programming through the arts from
the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and key support for much of the cost of airfare
from the Israeli government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which helps to make available the fin-
est in Israeli culture year after year. We’re grateful that this historic residency is able to take
place. And we’re excited that this production will anchor a nine play Voices from a Changing
Middle East Festival of readings and performance pieces exploring varying notions of home. Buy
a Festival pass and take the entire journey with us. -Ari Roth
3
Theater J’s Angels
This select group has provided generous support for RETURN TO HAIFA
Natalie & Paul Abrams Zena & Paul Mason
Anne & Ronald Abramson Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Joan & Peter Andrews Joel Wind & Al Munzer
Carliner & Remes, P.C. National Endowment for the Arts
Carlyle Suites Hotel Patti & Jerry Sowalsky
The DC Commission of Margaret, Sarah & Stephen Stern
the Arts & Humanities In memory of Saul Stern
Lois & Richard England Marvin Weissberg
Lois & Michael Fingerhut The Abe & Kathryn Selsky
Israeli Ministry of Foundation, Inc.
Foreign Affairs Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen
The Jewish Federation Foundation
of Greater Washington
The Fisher Family Visiting Artists Program
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation
The Arlene and Robert Kogod New Play Development Program
Arlene & Robert Kogod
Theater J’s Passports Educational Program
The Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
Theater J Council
Marion Ein Lewin Natalie Abrams Hank Schlosberg
Co-Chair Patty Abramson Andy Shallal
Paul Mason Michele G. Berman Patti Sowalsky
Co-Chair Deborah Carliner Stephen Stern
Lois Fingerhut Mimi Conway Manny Strauss
Vice-Chair Myrna Fawcett Barbara Tempchin
Carolyn Kaplan Ann Gilbert Trish Vradenburg
Vice-Chair Cheryl Gorelick Joan Wessel
Mara Bralove Yoav Lurie Rosa Wiener
Treasurer Jack Moskowitz Irene Wurtzel
Ellen Malasky Elaine Reuben Bernard Young
Secretary Evelyn Sandground Margot Zimmerman

Washington DCJCC Leadership

President Mindy Strelitz Chief Financial Officer Judith Ianuale
Chief Executive Officer Arna Meyer Mickelson Chief Development Officer Mark Spira
Chief Operating Officer Margaret Hahn Stern Chief Programming Officer Joshua Ford
4
Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater/Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts

January 15–30, 2011

Theater J presents
The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv’s Production of

RETURN TO HAIFA
Adapted by Boaz Gaon
from the novella by Ghassan Kanafani
Directed by Sinai Peter
Cast
Saffiyeh Raida Adon
Sa’id Suheil Haddad
Dov Erez Kahana
Miriam Rozina Kambos
Artzi Michael Teplitsky
Ephraim Nisim Zohar

Artistic & Production Team

Scenic Designer Frida Shoham
Lighting and Projection Designer Klyph Stanford**
Costume Designer Ofra Confino
Director of International Relations & Tour Manager Ifat Tubi
Stage Manager Nissan Zehira
Assistant Director Jason Schlafstein
Assistant Stage Manager Jay Chiang
Sur-title Coordinators Lena Sulpovar, Nayab Hussain
Music Mika Dany
** Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
Properties Michelle Elwyn
Wardrobe Jenny Bernson, Paula Wang
Board Operators Elliot Lanes, Aaron Waxman
Theater J and The Cameri Theatre would like to extend
Special Thanks to:
The Jewish Federation
OF GREATER WASHINGTON

NATIONAL Israeli Ministry

ENDOWMENT of Foreign Affairs
FOR THE ARTS

Roz & Don Cohen

The Foux and Sorkin Families for their generous donation to the original production
Filmmaker David Goldenberg for the documenting of this production
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Scientific & Cultural Agreements
The Embassy of Israel, Department of Cultural Affairs
Lee G. Rubenstein for his efforts on behalf of Theater J and this production’s success
Robert A. Remes and Suerah Shirazi of Carliner & Remes, P.C.
Patrons are requested to turn off pagers, cellular phones and signal watches, and to refrain from tak-
ing photographs, text messaging, or making a recording of any aspect of this performance.
5
From the Adapter, Boaz Gaon
“There’s nothing to say. Words are powerless”.
- Saffiyeh to Miriam, Return to Haifa

About ten years ago, in the fall of 2000, a short

novella by Ghassan Kanafani came to my atten-
tion. Dr. Ami Elad Buskila, one of Israel’s leading
experts on Arabic literature, then based in Oxford,
introduced the novella to me amidst a swarming
group of Middle Eastern students at the School
of Oriental and African studies, in London. My
wife and I were living there at the time, and it is
from there that we watched the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process break down, burst into flames, de-
volve into a political impasse—tragic and deadly—
which has claimed the lives, so far, of thousands
Boaz Gaon reading from his poetry of Israeli and Palestinian men, women and chil-
dren. Hundreds of children have been killed since
and more will perish in the future, which still—amazing as it may sound—does not seem bright-
er than it seemed then, just before the breakdown of the Camp David peace talks which has
plunged the region—or put differently, our lives and the lives of my children—into enduring dark-
ness.
Dr. Elad-Buskila was surprised: Had I really not heard of Ghassan Kanafani? And of “Return to
Haifa” in particular, one of the most important texts in modern Arabic literature? Cleverly con-
cealing the gist of the story, so as not to ruin the shock of the forthcoming artistic experience, he
concentrated instead on Kanafani’s delicate and rare portrayal of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, in
the novella. “Remember,” he said, “that Kanafani wrote the novella in 1968, only a year after the
Six Day War, the fall of Pan Arabism, and the beginning of the occupation.” Kanafani was also,
in our terms today, a militant: he was the spokesperson of the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine. He was [allegedly] assassinated by the Israeli Mossad in 1972 together with his 14
year old niece. “Read it,” said Ami. And I did.
Ten years later, I can still recall my reaction. Simply put, I was shattered. What do you do, asked
Kanafani, when there’s nothing to be done? What do you say, when nothing’s to be said? What
happens when two people are violently thrown against each other and a reality produces itself
which is so insoluble, so devastating, so plainly cruel and murderous that the words themselves
become powerless?
“There’s nothing to say”, says Saffiyeh, the Palestinian mother of the lost Khaldun, to Miriam,
the adoptive parent of the child raised as an Israeli—Dov. “Words are too weak.” Words will not
bring back her son. Words will not bring back her house, which she built and bled for. And for
Miriam, words will not revive her own lost son, who was murdered in Poland during the Holo-
caust, nor will it relieve her aching fear of her losing her own house, her own child, without whom
she has nothing. Better then, so it seems, to keep silent; to burn quietly in the fires of war; to
watch, as Sa’id says later in the play, as Haifa becomes a tomb; a headstone, to the lives of thou-
sands of children who turn to soldiers who turn to statues, silent and frozen and dead. As I am
writing these words, my children are playing downstairs. One day they will become soldiers and
perhaps one of them—two of them?—will be severely injured, perhaps kidnapped, shot, die. But
there’s nothing to do; there’s nothing to say; the crackle of the fire of war is too holy to silence;
too beautifully unstoppable.
And still, they speak. Sa’id to Miriam, Miriam to Saffiyeh, Saffiyeh to Sa’id and Saffiyeh to Miriam,
with an urgency and desperation that only the tragic twins of history—the Jews of Israel and the
Palestinians of Palestine—can fully understand. No one can better understand Miriam than Saf-
fiyeh, as a bereaved mother. No one knows what Saffiyeh had sacrificed better than Miriam, not
even Sa’id. They talk because they cannot help talking; their need is too great and their pain so
immense and the basic human needs of living, and loving, mothering and fathering so desperate
to flourish, that they do what humans do when they bother to believe their hearts instead of their
political leaders—which is to find themselves in the lives of others. Saffiyeh is Miriam, after all,
and Miriam is Saffiyeh. My own mother, a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Greece, who lost an
entire family, cried at the end of Saffiyeh’s monologue, describing her flight from Haifa in ’48 and
of leaving Khaldun, her baby, behind. Pain is pain is pain, loss is loss is loss; a child buried is a
child buried; the fires of war are not holy and they are not beautiful (and this from a former lieu-
6
 From the Adapter, Boaz Gaon cont.
tenant in the Israeli army): they are cruel and they
are ugly and they aim to cheat us into thinking that
Words Are Powerless.
Eight years after reading the original novella, the He-
- brew adaptation of Return to Haifa opened at The
Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv. A small storm erupted,
, with protestors from the Israeli far right demanding
that The Cameri Theatre shut down the play, blanket
l our words, sanctify silence or else. My mother came
to the play and cried. School buses filled with Israeli
and Palestinian schoolchildren came to the play and
were transfixed. In July 2008 the Bereaved Parents
- Circle, an Israeli and Palestinian organization of Scene from the Cameri’s original
— mothers and fathers who have lost their children and production of Return to Haifa
s siblings in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, came to the
- play, sat in silence, and at the end of the play, stood outside of the theater for another two hours
e with tears in their eyes and immeasurable longing in their hearts. All that I have learned, since
- the Fall of 2000, the fall of Peace and the blossoming of War, has been burned into their minds,
their hearts, their skin; that the comfort of silence is a lie; that there is no such thing as “nothing
- to say;” that it is the resort of deceiving cowards, who have lost too much or too little, to convince
us that all that we can do, as parents, as Humans, is to noisily add more children to the fire.
o Boaz Gaon, Tel Aviv, December 2010
-
On the adaptation of “Return to Haifa” for the Israeli stage
e Early in the adaptation process, director Sinai Peter and
, I reached a decision about what it is that we would want
Return to Haifa, the play, to achieve. We did not want
an intellectual experience—but a heightened emotional
one. We did not want lengthy manifestos during which
each side—as if such a thing exists—would boldly and
ecstatically represent one hundred years of achieve-
t ment, either Jewish or Palestinian. What we did want
was to reproduce the experience that Sinai and I had
when reading the original novella; that of a heart shat-
tered, pain exposed, frustration revealed and truth(s)
exposed. For the Cameri production of Return to Haifa to work, for an audience mostly Jewish
and Israeli to respond, we would need to concentrate on the almost unbearable tension which
builds between the Palestinian parents who gave birth to Khaldun, and the Jewish parents who
- adopted and named Dov, leading up to the inevitable, fateful, tragic, heart piercing encounter. I
shared this sentiment with the surviving members Ghassan Kanafani’s family (safe-guardians of
the Kanafani estate) who currently reside in Beirut and Denmark. To my relief, they allowed me
- to proceed. And we did, remaining faithful to the original setting and spirit of the novella while
changing several elements to heighten the dramatic tension.

In the original novella, Miriam loses a brother in the Holocaust. We felt that losing a son would
; raise the bar dramatically and worsen her fear of losing her only source of human comfort; her
adoptive son whose name she takes from the murdered son. Furthermore, the original novella
ends with Sa’id calling for arms; calling for another war, yearning for his other son, Khaled, to join
the Palestinian Fedayin and repossess what has been stolen. But our play opened in 2008, four
e decades of war later, with thousands of Israelis and Palestinians paying the price of this endur-
- ing illusion; that War is the Solution. What was needed instead, we felt [interpreting Ghassan
Kanafani’s most poignant plea], was a cry of pain and accusation; a call to put an end to cruelty
and injustice; almost a plea. At the end of the play, an opportunity arises. Dov, formerly Khaldun,
e invites Sa’id and Saffiyeh to spend the night in their lost house in Haifa. What then happens,
during that night, is anyone’s guess. Do the truths which are revealed to the characters blossom
or die? Do they continue talking through the night or retreat back into silence? We do not know.
n We do know, though, what should happen, what must happen, what we would like the following
morning to look like. Or so we hope.
-
7
Plot Synopsis of Return to Haifa
Scene One
The play opens in 1967 as a Palestin-
ian couple, Sa’id and Saffiyeh, make
their way from Ramallah to Haifa.
They intend to visit the home they fled
in 1948, just prior to the end of the
British mandate and the start of the
Arab-Israeli war. The couple is drawn
by more than an abandoned house—in
the chaos of escape they left behind
their infant son, and do not know what
happened to him.

As they near their old home, the scene

flashes back to April 1948. Polish Jew
Ephraim Goshen meets with an official
from the Jewish Agency at the same
house, recently abandoned. Having
fled Europe after the war and then
spending seven months in a refugee
camp with his wife Miriam, Ephraim
pleads for a house of their own. The
clerk, Artzi, explains that only families
with children will be given a house and
since Ephraim and Miriam are child-
less—their son died in the Holocaust—
they won’t be approved. Ephraim per-
sists, and Artzi admits he may have a
solution.

Scene Two
We return to 1967, as Saffiyeh and
Sa’id arrive at the house. We return to
1948, as Ephraim is thrilled to show
Miriam the house they have just been
Scenes from the Cameri’s original production of granted. She is overjoyed but anxious—
RETURN TO HAIFA what happens if the Jewish Agency
changes their mind? As the couple begins
to discuss possible renovations, a baby is heard crying upstairs. Ephraim struggles to explain to
his distraught wife exactly what he agreed to in order to secure the house, and the scene flashes
to 1967. Sa’id and Saffiyeh stand outside the door of their old home, hesitating to ring the bell.

The scene returns to 1948, as Ephraim explains that to earn the house he agreed to care for the
orphaned child, whose parents—he has been told—are dead. Miriam, still haunted by the loss
of her own child, falters. Ephraim assures her that this is God’s way of asking their forgiveness.
Miriam agrees to keep the child, but “only until the morning.”When light comes, they will have to
decide what they will do. Ephraim heads to the market for supplies while Miriam sings a Polish
lullaby to the sleeping infant.

Scene Three
It is again 1967, and Sa’id and Saffiyeh remain on the doorstep. They discuss what has changed
about the house and look for hints about its current residents. Finally, the door opens and Miri-
am greets them. She tells them she knew they must be the house’s former residents; she could
tell by the way they “stroked the soil.” Unable to resist any longer, Sa’id asks about their lost son,
calling him by his original name—Khaldun. Miriam avoids the subject, and then lies about the
boy’s fate, claiming he was killed by Arabs while serving in the IDF. Saffiyeh explains that they
only want to see him, just once. They reach a standoff when Sa’id and Saffiyeh refuse to leave.
Miriam retreats into the house and Miriam and Ephraim argue—each blaming the other for their
current predicament. Finally Miriam invites Sa’id and Saffiyeh inside. She’s received worried
calls from the neighbors and it’s getting dark. “We’ll all catch cold” she says. They will wait for her
“Dubinka” inside.
8
Plot Synopsis of Return to Haifa cont.
Scene Four
The scene begins in
a flashback to 1954.
Ephraim is searching
for his young son, now
named Dubinka. An argu-
ment between Miriam and
“Dov” sent him fleeing to
the woods surrounding
their home, and Ephraim
beseeches him to come
home. “You’ve got a moth-
er who loves you. And a
father” he pleads, “And a
home. Everything’s fine.”

Back in 1967, Sa’id, Saf-

fiyeh and Miriam await
Dov’s return. Sa’id and
Miriam argue about what
really happened in 1948, while Saffiyeh longs to know more about “Khaldun.” The argument
reaches a climax, and Sa’id retreats to the porch. The two women are left alone to talk about the
child they have both loved.

They hear someone outside. It is Artzi, from the Jewish Agency, who is now a senior official in
the Haifa municipality. Miriam introduces the unknown couple as relatives of her gardener. Artzi
reminds Miriam of the debt she owes for municipal taxes and encourages her to sell the house
to a private contractor. She refuses, and he leaves in a huff claiming that “the house is killing
her!” Sa’id storms outside again, still nursing his anger.

Saffiyeh and Miriam, alone again, learn more about each other. Saffiyeh, for the first time in the
play, shares with Miriam the events of that fateful day in 1948: she was putting “Khaldun” to
sleep when the war erupted, unexpectedly. As she ran to the street to quiet the shouting horde,
she was swept away by hundreds of people fleeing their homes in the direction of the water. At
the docks she was reunited with Sa’id and they were forced onto a boat. When they reached
Beirut they begged the Lebanese soldiers to let them go back for their child, and were told they
could return when the war ended. But they weren’t allowed back, until now. When Saffiyeh
finishes, Miriam tells her own heart-breaking tale, of losing her only son in the Holocaust. Sa’id
returns, frantic. A soldier is approaching the house. A voice is heard from outside: “Mom! Ima,
are you there?”

Dov enters the house, dressed in his Israeli paratrooper uniform. Miriam tries to explain what
has happened—to ease the shock. But Dov reacts with anger. He has grown to resent the biologi-
cal parents who seemingly abandoned him, and accuses them of “taking the house keys, but
the baby… me… you left behind.” Miriam is embarrassed by her son’s behavior and she repri-
mands him for his conduct. He is chastened by his mother’s firm words. The group sits down for
tea and as they talk, it becomes clear to Sa’id and Saffiyeh that Dov’s place is in Haifa, not in
Ramallah. Too much has changed for their “Khaldun” to return to them and live as a Palestinian.

Sa’id asks if Dov will defend Israel in the next war. Dov answers that there will never be another
war in the Middle East, but Sa’id speaks of a future filled with fighting. As they finally prepare
to leave, Dov invites Sa’id and Saffiyeh to stay the night—a drive back to Ramallah, in the dark,
would be a dangerous undertaking. He offers to drive them back himself, in the morning. Saffi-
yeh and Miriam go to prepare an extra bed. Left alone, Sa’id breaks down, and begs Dov to come
to him, just once. As they are about to embrace, Ephraim enters the stage.

We are now both in 1954 and in 1967. Both fathers speak to the boy that is both Dov and Khal-
dun, and he, as a child, answers. Both swear to love the child, and to quell his boyish fears. Dov,
the child, begins to fall asleep just as Miryam and Safiyeh enter the stage. They all watch the boy
try to sleep. The future remains an unanswered question.

9
About Ghassan Kanafani, Author of Return To Haifa
“After a little while he realized that he was driving the car through Haifa with the feeling that noth-
ing in the streets had changed. He used to know Haifa stone by stone, intersection by intersec-
tion…Oh, he knew Haifa well, and now he felt as though he hadn’t been away for twenty years. He
was driving his car just as he used to, as though he hadn’t been absent those twenty bitter years.”
- Ghassan Kanafani, “Return to Haifa”

Ghassan Kanafani, the famous Palestinian journalist, novelist, and short story writer, was born in
Akko in the North part of Palestine on April 9, 1936 and lived in Jaffa until May 1948. When the
Arab-Israeli war started, Kanafani fled with his family first to Lebanon and then to Syria, where
they settled as refugees. After finishing his secondary education he studied Arabic literature at
the University of Damascus, during which time he joined the Arab Nationalist Party (later, the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.) Kanafani worked as a teacher in Kuwait for a few
years, then returned to Beirut in 1959 and became a spokesperson for his party, writing prolifi-
cally in both literature and journalism. He died in 1972 when his booby-trapped car exploded,
killing him and his niece in Beirut.

By the time of his untimely death, Kanafani had published 18 books and written hundreds of
articles on culture, politics, and the Palestinian people’s struggle. His books were re-published
posthumously in several editions in Arabic. His novels, short stories, plays and essays were also
collected and published in four volumes. His writing has been translated into 17 different lan-
guages and published in more than 20 countries; and has been adapted for film, radio plays and
theatrical performances. His novella “Men in the Sun” (1962) was made into a film and trans-
lated into several languages, including English. The film was banned in many Arab countries for
pointing an accusing finger at the treatment of the Palestinian refugees. Another of Kanafani’s
novellas, “All That’s Left to You,” is considered one of the earliest and most successful modernist
experiments in Arabic fiction.

Parking at the Washington DCJCC

N
17th Street

16th Street

15th Street

14th Street

Q Street
WASHINGTON DCJCC PARKING LOT
WASHINGTON
Limited parking available.
DCJCC P
COLONIAL PARKING 1616 P Street between THEATER J
16th & 17th Streets, just 2 blocks away! P Street
P
Parking-1616 P St. (Colonial Garage)

10
 About Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and
the third-largest city in the country, with a popu-
lation of over 265,000.
The city’s name first appeared in third cen-
tury Talmudic literature and, although its ori-
gin remains obscure, it’s been suggested that
“Haifa” is related to the Hebrew words hof yafe,
which mean ‘beautiful coast’.
Haifa’s history has been set around its strategic
location on a natural harbor on the Mediterra-
nean Sea. Haifa’s historical roots can be traced
back to the 4th Century CE when a small fishing
and trading port was built there. The Persian
occupation during the 6th Century CE acceler-
ated the development of Haifa’s costal area. In
1099 the Crusaders laid siege to the city and
sacked it, destroying the docks and shipyards.
The city was later attacked again by the Mam-
luke invaders. Haifa flourished again under Ot-
Haifa, 1948 toman rule in the 16th Century.
By the early 19th Century, Haifa’s Jewish community began to increase in tandem with the rise
of Zionism. In 1898 Theodore Herzl visited Haifa and imagined what lay ahead for the fledgling
city: “Huge liners rode at anchor…a serpentine road led up to Mt Carmel,” and “at the top of
the mountain there were thousands of white homes and the mountain itself was crowned with
imposing villas.” His predictions have proved amazingly accurate.

Haifa’s modern revival truly got under way with the construction of the Hejaz railway between
Damascus and Medina in 1905, and the later development of lines to Akko and the south of the
country. Land was reclaimed from the sea to create a neighborhood of offices and warehouses,
and Haifa rapidly became the country’s shipping base, naval center and oil terminal. Much of
this development took place during the British Mandate—the British were the first to exploit
Haifa’s naturally sheltered position as a harbor, bucking the ancient trend of favoring Caesarea
and Akko.
As the country’s major new port, Hai-
fa was the first sight of Israel for ship-
loads of immigrating Jews. Prior to
the British withdrawal from Palestine,
Haifa became a Jewish stronghold
and it was the first major area to be
secured by the newly declared State
of Israel in 1948. The city earned a
reputation for liberalism, which, to a
certain extent, it still maintains. The
mostly secular Jewish community
enjoys a better than average relation-
ship with the local Arab population,
who are mainly Christian.
In recent years Haifa has shifted
its economy from heavy industry to
technology. This culminated in 2004
when two professors at Haifa’s Tech- Jewish immigrants arriving in Haifa following World War II.
nion were awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry after describing the manner in which cells
destroy unwanted proteins. IBM also maintains a strong presence here, with a research labora-
tory staffed by 600 people.

Source: Adapted from the Lonely Planet Guide to Israel and the Palestinian Territories

11
VOICES FROM A CHANGING MIDDLE EAST: PORTRAITS OF HOME
Additional Readings & Performances Complementing RETURN TO HAIFA

ARGENTINA by Boaz Gaon

Friday, January 21, 2:00 pm (Tickets $5*)
A new work by the adapter of RETURN TO HAIFA •Directed by Sinai Peter
Featuring Noa Baum, Jenifer Deal, Rick Foucheux, Erez Kahana, Michael Kramer,
Alexander Strain and Michael Willis
The Israeli daughter of a “disappeared” Argentinean Jew visits the former
Ambassador to Argentina hoping to discover what became of her father 20
years earlier during the junta’s rise to power.
A RAILWAY TO DAMASCUS by Hillel Mitelpunkt
Monday, January 24, 7:30 pm
By the acclaimed author of THE ACCIDENT • Directed by Sinai Peter
Featuring Dan Crane, Lindsay Haynes, Erez Kahana, Michael Kramer, Jennifer Men-
denhall, Jay Saunders and Michael Tolaydo
Haifa, 1942. With the German army approaching and tensions between
Jews and Arabs on the rise, the British contemplate retreat. Sara is caught
in a swirl of betrayal, fanaticism, and fear.
THE PROMISE by Ben Brown
Monday, January 31, 7:30 pm
Directed by Jason Schlafstein
Featuring Norman Aronovic, Conrad Feininger, David Bryan Jackson, Michael Kramer,
Mark Krawzyk, Jason Lott, Paul Morella, Marni Penning, Bob Rogerson and Jerry Whiddon
England, 1917. Chaim Weizman entreats Lord Arthur Balfour and battles
with Edwin Montagu in this “even-handed look back at history...As welcome
as it is quietly fascinating” (The Telegraph).
TO PAY THE PRICE by Peter-Adrian Cohen
Saturday, February 5, 8:00 pm
Directed by Robert Kalfin
Featuring Frank Anderson, Roger Clark, George Kareman, Dan Sickles and Grace Zandarski
A theatrical biography of Jonathan “Yoni” Netanyahu (brother of Benja-
min), the only Israeli fatality of the 1976 rescue of Jewish hostages at the
Entebbe airport in Uganda.
I’M SPEAKING TO YOU CHINESE by Savyon Liebrecht
Monday, February 7, 7:30 pm
By the author of APPLES FROM THE DESERT • Directed by Allison Stockman
Featuring Noa Baum, Stephen Patrick Martin, Helen Pafumi and James Whalen
At the Israeli Embassy Tickets must be purchased by February 4. Must have photo ID.
The story of an Israeli family’s struggle after the Holocaust. Dark desires,
secret love affairs, and the price of real estate make up the landscape of
this funny, heart-breaking memory play.

All Readings and Performances $10* or Buy a Festival Pass for only $50!
For more information or to purchase, Call (800) 838-3006 or visit [Link]

12
VOICES FROM A CHANGING MIDDLE EAST: PORTRAITS OF HOME
Additional Readings & Performances Complementing RETURN TO HAIFA

WRESTLING JERUSALEM by Aaron Davidman

Saturday, February 12, 8:00 pm
Directed by Aaron Posner
Featuring Aaron Davidman
This tour-de-force solo performance depicts one man’s journey
from a summer camp in upstate New York to the Middle East;
from S’derot to Ramallah; from idealism, to despair, to new hope.
THE HOUR OF FEELING and URGE FOR GOING
Two plays by Mona Mansour
Monday, February 14, 7:00 pm
Directed by Lise Bruneau
Featuring Rasha Zamamiri
In 1967, a Palestinian academic arrives in England where he
delivers a career-defining lecture. Presented with its sequel (pre-
sented last spring) depicting family life in a Lebanese refugee
camp.
Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Peace Café !
VIA DOLOROSA by David Hare
Saturday, February 19, 8:00 pm
Originally directed for Theater J by Nick Olcott
Featuring David Bryan Jackson
A reprise of our acclaimed production of master playwright David
Hare’s journey to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. As relevant as it
was a decade ago when it launched our Peace Café forum.
THE ADMISSION by Motti Lerner
Sunday, February 27, 7:30 pm
From the acclaimed author of BENEDICTUS •Directed by Sinai Peter
Featuring Dan Crane, Lindsay Haynes, Stephen Patrick Martin,
Jennifer Mendenhall, Jay Saunders, Salma Shaw and Michael Tolaydo
Giora, a battle-wounded professor, is engaged to Neta but still in
love with Samia. Searching for truth about his father’s recently
revealed war-time past, he threatens to break the family apart.

The Jewish Federation

NATIONAL OF GREATER WASHINGTON
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS

The 2011 Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival: Portraits of Home is supported in part by an
award from the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from The Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington to support Israel Programming through the Arts. This engagement of The Cameri Theatre
is a DC Performing Arts Presenters Initiative project, made possible through funding by the Mid Atlantic
Arts Foundation with support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The Cameri The-
atre’s Residency is also supported by the Fisher Family Foundation Visiting Artist Endowment Fund.

13
About the Artists
Raida Adon (Saffiyeh) has degrees from the Art Department of
the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, as well as
the Academy of Dance and Music in Jerusalem. Her acting credits
include Snow White, Cinderella, the Red Shoe etc. at the Arab Chil-
dren’s Theater Z’Beni; The Diwan and Pasatine at the Acre Alterna-
tive Theater Festival, where she was singled out as an outstanding
creator and actress; Jericho at Year Nought and The Something at
The Alternative Theater Festival in Egypt and The Eyes that See at The
Palestine Al-Chakawati Theater in Jerusalem. At The Cameri Theatre,
she performed in Plonter, Witches and Hebron. Her television appearances include “Neigh-
bors,” “Army Training,” “Zinzana,” “Tranquility,” “The Block,” “Magen David Adom 101,” “Timrot
Ashan” and “Hashiva Lachaim.” She has also acted in the Palestinian films The Three Lost
Diamonds and The Olive Season which won first prize in the Egyptian Film Festival in 2003.
Other films include Yellow Asphalt, which won first prize at the Haifa Film Festival in 2000, and
first prize in Germany; The Trumpet in the Wadi, which won first prize at the Haifa Film Festival
in 2001; The Ninth Month, Islands on the Beach; Whispering Embers and the Documentary
film Yasmin which won First Prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Suheil Haddad (Sa’id) has performed at the Jerusalem Khan Theatre

and the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. He is one of the founders of the
Arab-Hebrew Theatre of Jaffa, where he has also performed. He won
the Critics Prize at the Locarno Film Festival for his performance in
Avanti Popolo; an award at the Valencia Film Festival for his leading
role in The Milky Way; and an award at the Akko Festival of Alternative
Theatre for his monodrama Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the
Koran. He is currently performing at the Al-Midan Arab Theatre in Haifa.
He is an editor and producer at Israel’s Educational Television channel.
His works include a documentary for the Arab audience, We
Were There, on the visit of an Arab-Jewish delegation to the Auschwitz death camp.

Erez Kahana (Dov) participated in acting and directing workshops at

London’s Drama Centre and Actors Centre. He has performed in the
Theater for Children and Youth, The Kibbutz Theater, Goshen Theater,
and the Arab-Hebrew Theater of Jaffa, where he appeared in Peer Gynt
Goes on a Journey. At the Teatro dell’Orologio in Rome he appeared
in Isabel Allende’s House of Spirits, and spent five seasons in the
city. In London he appeared in Close to Home, and as a dancer-actor
was a member of the Cargo Dance Ensemble that performed all over
Europe. Television and cinema credits include Sabbaths and Festivals
and Skirt of Tears (First Prize at the Haifa Film Festival). He made a
guest appearances in “It’s All Honey,” “Our Song,” “Altalena” and “Cause for Concern.” He
has appeared in 20 commercials in Israel and abroad. He has also appeared in Games in the
Backyard and as Raffi in Johnnie Walked. In Israel, he appears in a TV series, and hosts a
weekly radio program.

Rozina Kambos (Miriam) born and studied in Romania. Among her

roles: Lady Macbeth, Hecuba in The Trojan Women, Jenny in The
Threepenny Opera and Toinette in The Imaginary Invalid. Ms. Cambos
immigrated to Israel in 1983. For the Beersheva Theater, she has
played Hella in The Master and Margarita, Rosina in The Barber of
Seville, Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew, Titania and Hippolyta in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Fania Fénelon in Playing for Time.
Among her roles at Habimah National Theatre are Dunyasha in The
Cherry Orchard, Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Fraulein Kost
in Cabaret, Anita in A Small Family Business, The Mother in Nights
of Honey and Terror, Gorgeous Teitelbaum in The Sisters Rosenzweig, Serafina in The Rose
Tattoo, Anna in Anna Weiss (1997 Klatchkin Prize), Veronica in Veronica’s Room, Ella Margolin
in Along the Walls (Outstanding Actress Award, 1997 ) and Agonizing Mother in Walkers In The
14
 About the Artists cont.
Dark (Best Actress, Israeli Theatre Awards 1998). She has recently won the Best Supporting
Actress Award for her role in the film The Human Resources Manager. Since 1997, she has
performed at The Cameri Theatre. Among her favorite roles are The Aunt in Dona Rosita the
Spinster, Lily Chatterton in Two Into One, The Baroness in The Italian Straw Hat, Her Ladyship
in The Dresser, Matilda in Caviar and Lentils, Margaret the governess in The Father, as well as
many leading roles in Israeli plays, television series and films.

Michael Teplitsky (Clerk) is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy

of Theatre, Music and Cinema, and the Beit Zvi School of the Perform-
ing Arts in Israel. He has performed at the Orna Porat Theatre for Chil-
dren and Youth, Habima National Theatre, the Yiddishspiel Theatre,
the Malenki Theatre, Gesher Theatre, Tmuna Theatre, and the Cameri
Theatre of Tel Aviv. International projects include The European Shake-
speare, A Midsummer Nights’ Dream at the Dusseldorf Municipal
Theatre; Courage at the London Aspect Theatre; Don Quixote at the
Bochum Municipal Theatre in Germany; and an Israeli-Russian project,
The Immigrant Position. He gained first prize for his monodrama Con-
trabass at the Teatronetto Theatre Festival, and has acted in films and commercials.

Nisim Zohar (Ephraim) started his acting career with the Haifa reper-
tory company and at the Haifa Theater Club. Upon receiving a grant
for most promising young actor, he lived for some years in New York
where he attended the H.B. Professional workshop and studied film-
making at the N.Y.U. At the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv he appeared in
King Henry the Fourth, Ubu Roi, Live Like Pigs, The Visit, Coriolanus,
and Julius Caesar. In recent years he has performed mainly at the Beit
Lessin Theatre, including Bianca, The Odd Couple and Born Yester-
day. He has recently performed at the Cameri Theatre in A Flea in Her
Ear, Return to Haifa, and Fiddler on the Roof. He has also written/
translated/performed scripts for cinema and three mono-dramas: As I Like It, Lenny Bruce,
and My Mother’ s Soup, which he also performed in the United States, England, Scotland, and
Holland. He is the author of two books: Aubergines and Okra ,a collection of short stories and
recipes, and a novel My Mother’s Soup.

Boaz Gaon (Playwright) received an Msc in Media and Communica-

tions from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
He received his BA in Theatre Studies from Tel Aviv University. He is
currently a Dramatic Writing professor at the Minshar Arts School, in
Tel Aviv and Head of Drama and Story department at HSCC, a leading
TV production company. Boaz formerly served as Senior writer and
New York and London correspondent for Ma’ariv Israeli newspaper
and an Investigative reporter for Channel 2 television. His dramatic
writing includes Traitor, an adaptation of Ibsen’s Enemy of The People
for the Be’er Sheva Theater; Mismatch, for the Haifa Theater and
Branja at the Beit Lessin theater. He was the Winner of the 2009 festival for new Israeli plays.
Other plays by Gaon include Family package, The Israeli Family, a comedy for the Haifa Theater
(nominated for Best Entertainment Show, 2004 and read at Theater J in 2007). Gaon’s work
has also been seen at The Odessa Branch Denver Arts Center, Theatrefest 2002. His play
Dress Rehearsal, won the Best Play Award at Akka Israeli fringe Festival. He recently published
the non fiction book Where America Ends – my life as an Israeli in New York. Other work in-
cludes Gymax’s yellow bus, a novel.
Sinai Peter (Director) is a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Drama
Department. He has acted in the Haifa Municipal Theater, in Beit Les-
sin and in the at Children and Youth Theater. Together with The San
Francisco Mime Troupe’s team, he wrote the play Seeing Double (Re-
cipient of the Obbi prize in 1990). As a director, he has to his credit
The Swan, Arturo Ui, Clearing, The Graduate and Chimps at the Haifa
Theater. He directed the American play Machinal at The Khan Theater
of Jerusalem and Unsung Heroes in Haifa Theater—a theater project

15
 About the Artists cont.
based on civilians’ experience during the recent Lebanese war. In 2007 he directed Pangs of
the Messiah by Motti Lerner (an American premiere) at Theater J. In 2008 he directed Return
To Haifa at the Cameri Theatre. In 2009 he returned to Theater J where he directed the Ameri-
can premiere of Hillel Mitelpunkt’s The Accident. From 1984 through 1986, Peter served as
Artistic Director of Neve-Tzedek Theater in Tel Aviv. From 2000 through 2004, he was Artistic
Director of the Haifa Municipal Theater. Since 1990 he has taught drama at the Kibbutzim
Seminar’s School of Performing Arts in Tel Aviv.

Frida Shoham (Scenic Designer) is a graduate of the Design Program at the Tel Aviv Univer-
sity School of Theatre Arts. She has designed sets for more than 100 productions, including
Southern Australia, The Free City, Good American Boy, Saturday Sunday Monday, Guys and
Dolls, The Silence, and Unlikely Heroes at the Haifa Municipal Theatre; Sonia Mushkat, Love
Letter, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Forgiveness, Then We Embraced, Oscar and Aunt Rosa,
Abandoned Property, Autumn Sonata, and Driving Miss Daisy at the Habima National Theatre;
New Song, Downpour, The Master of Two Servants, Juno and the Paycock, and Stolen Water at
the Beersheba Municipal Theatre: The Anchor, Marvin’s Room, and Holy Water at the Beit Les-
sin Theatre; The Investigation, and Light and Shadow at the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv; What
We Talk About When We Talk About Love at the Fringe Theatre; Mezritch at the Tzavta Theatre;
and a variety of theatre productions for children and youth. Monodramas include, The Child
Behind the Eyes, Lea Goes Out On The Streets, The Pessoptimist, The Anchor, Visitor in the
Cherry Orchard, A Little Soul Searching, Jacques, Julie Christie’s Eyes, and Berta and the Art of
Maintenance. At Mediatheque: The Mother-of-Pearl Color, and design of the Derech HaTeatron
[Through Theatre] project (arts wall, through props). She is also director of the Stage Design
Program at the Kibbutzim College of Education School of Performing Arts.

Klyph Stanford (Lighting and Projection Designer) is delighted to be back at Theater J where
he was Projections Consultant for last season’s Mikveh. Other recent design work includes
scenery for A Girl’s Guide To Washington Politics at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, scenery for
Black Nativity, scenery and lighting for Five Flights, and scenery, lighting and Projections for
The Woman Who Amuses Herself at Theater Alliance, lighting for Henry VIII at Folger Theatre,
scenery for The Piano Lesson at Hangar Theatre, lighting and projections for El Bola, Cuba’s
King of Song, and lighting for El Retablillo de Don Cristobal at Gala Hispanic Theatre, and
scenery and projections for Hysteria (Helen Hayes Nomination) at Rep Stage. Mr. Stanford is a
proud member of United Scenic Artists.

Ofra Confino (Costume Designer) is a graduate of the Design Program at the Tel Aviv Universi-
ty School of Theatre Arts. She holds a MFA in set and costume design from New York University.
She has designed costumes for various theatres in Israel. Her work includes designs for the
Jerusalem Khan Theatre: The Seagull, The Love of Don Perlimplín, Belisa in the Garden, The
Illusion and The American Princess; for the Beit Lessin Theatre: Tyre and Jerusalem, I’m Speak-
ing To You Chinese, Apples from the Desert, and Driver-Artist; for the Cameri Theatre of Tel
Aviv: Oil Town (a coproduction with the Haifa Municipal Theatre), Antigone (a coproduction with
the Habima National Theatre), The Glass Menagerie, The Father, The Ketuba, Thrill My Heart,
The Servant of Two Masters, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Grocery Store (a coproduction with
the Beit Lessin Theatre), Festen (a coproduction with the Habima National Theatre) and His
Reputation Precedes Him (a coproduction with the Haifa Municipal Theatre); for the Habima
National Theatre: The Spotted Tiger, and The Policeman Azoulay and for the Haifa Municipal
Theatre: Every Good Boy Deserves Favor.

Mika Dany (Music) studied theater at Tel Aviv University and the Body Politic studio in Chicago,
Illinois. She studied composition with Shosh Reisman, Reuven Sarussi, and Prof. Julet Sarai
(The Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest), and at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contem-
porary Music; she studied voice training with Prof. Chana Hacohen. Between 1981 and 1992
she performed in a variety of theatre productions.

Michelle Elwyn (Properties) has designed the properties for Theater J’s The Odd
Couple, Lost in Yonkers, Something You Did, Mikveh, Pangs of the Messiah, Accident, The
Seagull on 16th Street, Honey Brown Eyes, David, Speed the Plow, Either Or, Sleeping Arrange-
ments, Picasso’s Closet and The Disputation. Other props design projects nclude: The Picture
of Dorian Gray, Permanent Collection, Camille, A Prayer for Owen Meany at RoundHouse The-
atre; Hamlet, Arcadia, A Winter’s Tale, Henry IV Part I, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure
16
 About the Artists cont.
for Measure at Folger Theatre; Two-Bit Taj Mahal at Theater of the First Amendment; Meet John
Doe, Jitney at Ford’s Theatre; Assassins at Signature Theatre; Afterplay, The Life of Galileo; The
Shape of Things, Privates on Parade, Hambone at Studio Theatre. Her work includes costume
crafts at Washington National Opera and Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, FL, as well as scenic paint-
ing and sculpture at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Theater of the First Amendment, Folger
Theatre Group, Arena Stage, Asolo Theatre, Playwrights’ Horizons, NYC, McCarter Theatre,
Princeton, NJ, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT And Opera Theatre of Rochester. She has
also codesigned stage sets for Marsha Norman’s Getting Out at Florida Studio Theatre and the
Ringling Museum of Art’s Medieval Fair.
Jason Schlafstein (Assistant Director) is thrilled to return to Theater J as the Assistant Direc-
tor of Return to Haifa and Associate Producer for the Voices of a Changing Middle East Festival.
Outside Theater J, he is the Assistant Director for If You Give a Cat a Cupcake at Adventure
Theatre and is currently directing a staged reading for Doorway Arts Ensemble. He most re-
cently co-produced and co-directed Become What You Are at the Writer’s Center. Other recent
credits include directing The Hunchback Variations and Suburban Motel: Featuring Loretta for
1st Stage, serving as Casting and Associate Director for Freud Meets Girl by Wayward Theater,
Assistant Director and Interim Production Manager for The Odd Couple at Theater J, and As-
sistant Director for If You Give A Pig A Pancake at Adventure Theatre. He was the assistant to
the Artistic Director at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company for the 2009-2010 season. Thanks
to Delia, and love to Kelly.
Ari Roth (Artistic Director) is enjoying his 14th season as Artistic Director at Theater J where,
together with a dedicated staff, he has produced 95 full productions, including 33 English
language world premieres, and many more workshop presentations. Also a playwright, Mr.
Roth has seen his work produced across the country, as well as at Theater J, where produc-
tions include Goodnight Irene, Life In Refusal, Love & Yearning in the Not-for-Profits, Oh, The
Innocents, and a repertory production of Born Guilty, originally commissioned and produced
by Arena Stage, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky, together with its sequel, The Wolf in
Peter (recently presented as The Born Guilty Cycle by the Epic Theatre Ensemble). His plays
have been nominated for five Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Production, and two
Charles A. MacArthur Awards. He is a 1998 and 2003 recipient of a National Endowment for
the Arts playwriting grant, three-time winner of the Helen Eisner Award, two-time winner of the
Avery Hopwood, four-time recipient of commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish
Culture and recipient of the Mertyl Wreath Award from Hadassah. He was recently named one
of The Forward 50, a recognition from The Forward newspaper honoring fifty nationally promi-
nent “men and women who are leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.”
He has taught for the University of Michigan for 14 years, currently for their “Michigan in DC”
program, as well as for Brandeis, NYU and Carnegie Mellon Universities.

Theater J Staff
\
Artistic Director Ari Roth
Managing Director Sarah Rayer
Associate Producer Delia Taylor
Director of Marketing & Communications Grace Overbeke
Director of Community Outreach & New Media Becky Peters
Director of Literary & Public Programs Shirley Serotsky
Director of Patron Services Tara Brady
Development Associate Gavi Young
Casting Director Naomi Robin
Technical Director and Master Carpenter Tom Howley
MCCA Technical Operations Director Daniel Risner
Construction Crew Ellen Houseknecht
Load-in Crew Ellen Houseknecht, Kevin Laughon, Cathryn Salisbury-Valerien and Meaghan Toohey
Front of House Raha Behnam, Bonnie Berger, Elizabeth Heir, JauNelle Hugee and Hadiya Rice
For a full list of Theater J staff bios, visit [Link] and click on “About Us”

is honored to have arranged the performer visas on this production for Boaz Gaon, Sinai Peter
and the distinguished actors and staff of The Cameri Theatre.
Robert A. Remes, Suerah Shirazi
17
 Next Up At Theater J
T
p
e

S E N j

C HO8–27and Directed
Adapted

THEarch bybyfrom
Aaron Posner
the novel
M Chaim Potok

Featuring Rick Foucheux, Edward Gero

With Aaron Davidman,
Joshua Morgan and Derek Thompson

“Stunning! A great universal work!”

-Robert Aubrey Davis, Around Town
For Tickets, Call (202) 488-3300
or visit [Link]

Presented by Arena Stage

at the Mead Center
for American Theater
on the Fichandler Stage

MaPHOT
rch OG
23– RAP
Apr H 51
A New Play
il 2
By Anna Ziegler
4
Directed by Daniella Topol
Featuring Elizabeth Rich
With Clinton Brandhagen,
James Flanagan, Tim Getman,
Michael Glenn and Alexander Strain

“A fascinating scientific
suspense story!”
-CurtainUp, Los Angeles

DISCOVERY.
DESTINY.
DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID.
For Tickets, Call (800) 494-TIXS
or visit [Link]
Originally commissioned for Active Cultures Theatre

18
 Friends Of Theater J
Theater J is, at its core, a playwrights’ theater and as such, we have named our giving levels in honor of Jewish
playwrights and two of their director/producers. We gratefully acknowledge our current donors who have support-
ed us for the 2010–2011 season to date. We ask our many long-time supporters and new friends of the theater to
join them in underwriting this exciting season. (This list is current as of January 3, 2011.)
Executive Producing Arthur Miller Mentor Ben Hecht Booster
Show Sponsor ($1,500 - $2,999) ($75 - $174)
($25,000 and above) Susan & Dixon Butler Susan Apter
The Robert M. Fisher Mimi Conway & Dennis Houlihan Sharon Bernier
Memorial Foundation Lisa Fuentes & Thomas Cohen Karen & John Burgess
The Jewish Federation of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Wallace Chandler
Greater Washington Marjan & Andy Shallal Helen Darling & Brad Gray
National Endowment for the Arts Margot & Paul Zimmerman Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb &
The Shubert Foundation Ms. Minna Scherlinder Morse
David Mamet Muse Stuart Fischer
Wendy Wasserstein Grand Angel ($1,000 - $1,499) Anne & Al Fishman
($15,000 - $24,999) Mara Bralove & Ari Fisher Kit Gage & Steven Metalitz
Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg The Center for Cultural Judaism, Inc. Renee Gier
Patti & Jerry Sowalsky Myrna Fawcett Morton Goren
The George Wasserman Ann & Frank Gilbert Jack Hahn
Family Foundation Marjory Goldman Morton Halperin
Laine & Norton Katz Carol & Robert Hausman
Harold Clurman Champion Angel Betsy Karmin & Manny Strauss
($10,000 - $14,999) Peggy Heller
Rona & Allan Mendelsohn Helene & Allan Kahan
Carolyn & Warren Kaplan Janet Solinger
The Jacob & Charlotte Dana & Ray Koch
Lehrman Foundation Adrienne Kohn & Garry Grossman
Neil Simon Stage Benefactor
Trish & George Vradenburg Beth Kramer
($500 - $999)
Irene & Alan Wurtzel Martin Krubit
Steven des Jardins
Michael Lewis
Tony Kushner Collaborating Angel Ina Ginsburg
Faiga G. Levine
($7,500 - $9,999) Ira Hillman & Jeremy Barber Hannah & Tim Lipman
Esthy & James Adler Linda & Steven Hirsch Madeline & Gerald Malovany
Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen Noreen Marcus & Jay Sushelsky
The Max & Victoria Dreyfus In Memory of MJ Bear Nancy & Richard Millstein
Foundation Trudy & Gary Peterson Caroline & Michael Mindel
Marion & Larry Lewin Anne & Richard Solomon Mona & Leonard Mitnick
Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins Barbara & Stanley Tempchin Tena Nauheim & David Harrison
Ellen & Bernard Young Betty L. Ustun Joan & Ludwig Rudel
Beverly Walcoff
Joseph Papp Producing Angel Froma & Jerome Sandler
Julie & David Zalkind
($5,000 - $7,499) Anne & Barry Schenof
Patty Abramson & Les Silverman Sholom Asch Admirer Margaret Sohn & Harvey Cohen
Anne & Ronald Abramson ($350 - $499) Virginia & James Vitarello
Joan& Peter Andrews Iris & Michael Lav Mindy & Sheldon Weisel
Michele & Allan Berman Yoav Lurie Stephen Werner
Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation Ellen & Gary Malasky
Louie & Ralph Dweck
Lois & Richard England Paddy Chayefsky Champion
Kovler Foundation-Judy & Peter Kovler ($175 - $349)
Zena & Paul Mason Anonymous
Faye & Jack Moskowitz Ronald Bleeker
The Omega Foundation Goldie Blumenstyk
Elaine Reuben Rosalind & Donald Cohen
Margaret Hahn Stern & Stephen Stern Peter & Shelly Dreifuss
Natalie Wexler & James Feldman Paula Seigle Goldman
Rosa D. Wiener Gayle & David Greene
Marvin Weissberg Shoshana & Peter Grove
Judy & Leo Zickler Neal Krucoff
Dianne & Herbert Lerner
Lillian Hellman Supporting Angel
Tina Martin & Mita Schaffer
($3,000 - $4,999)
Natalie & Paul Abrams Sue Morss
The DC Commission on the Arts and Barbara Rappaport
Humanities Erica & Douglas Rosenthal
Lois & Michael Fingerhut Ms. Terry Schubach
Dr. Kenneth & Cheryl Gorelick Fund Beverly & Harlan Sherwat
Al Munzer & Joel Wind Sandra & Dale Stein
Diane & Arnold Polinger Marjorie & Allan Weingold
Loretta Rosenthal T. Michael Wight
The Abe & Kathryn Selsky Foundation
Joan Wessel
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 Washington DCJCC Donors
The Washington DCJCC wishes to thank all those who made contributions to the 16th Street J to help
support our programs during the 2010 fiscal year (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). Your support has been
invaluable in allowing us to create and sustain programs of excellence throughout the year.
$100,000 + Thelma & Melvin Lenkin Lori & Les Ulanow
Ann Loeb Bronfman Marion & Larry Lewin Joan Wessel
The Robert M. Fisher Faye & Jack Moskowitz Rosa D. Wiener
Memorial Foundation Diane & Arnold Polinger Ellen & Bernard Young
The Jewish Federation of Deborah & Michael Salzberg Rory & Shelton Zuckerman
Greater Washington Rhea Schwartz & Paul Wolff
The Abe & Kathryn $2,500 - $4,999
$50,000 - $99,999 Selsky Foundation Anonymous
The Morris & Gwendolyn Francine Zorn Trachtenberg & Rabbi & Babs Abramowitz
Cafritz Foundation Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Natalie & Paul Abrams
DC Office on Aging Trish & George Vradenburg Amy & Stephen Altman
Melanie Franco Nussdorf Natalie Wexler & James Feldman Larry Axelrod
& Lawrence Nussdorf Carolyn & William Wolfe Joan & Alan Berman
Howard & Geraldine Polinger Irene & Alan Wurtzel Elizabeth Berry
Family Foundation Judy & Leo Zickler Rita & David Brickman
ServeDC - The Mayor’s Office on Nicholas Chocas
Volunteerism $5,000 - $9,999 Cyna & Paul Cohen
David Bruce Smith Academy of Motion Picture Margery Doppelt & Larry Rothman
United Jewish Endowment Fund Arts and Sciences Exxon Mobil Corporation
American Jewish World Service Myrna Fawcett
$25,000 - $49,999
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Lois & Michael Fingerhut
Jamie & Joseph A. Baldinger
Ammerman & Andrew Ammerman Joanne Fungaroli
Diane & Norman Bernstein
Melinda Bieber & Norman Pozez Marsha Gentner & Joe Berman
DC Commission on the
Max N. Berry Debra Goldberg & Seth Waxman
Arts & Humanities
Ann & Donald Brown The Aaron & Cecile
Louie & Ralph Dweck
Naomi & Nehemiah Goldman Foundation
Brenda Gruss & Daniel Hirsch
Cohen Foundation Roberta Hantgan
Tamara & Harry Handelsman
Sara Cohen & Norman Rich Horning Brothers Corporation
Stuart Kurlander
Rose & Robert Cohen Betsy Karmin & Manny Strauss
National Endowment for the Arts
CrossCurrents Foundation Connie & Jay Krupin
The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
The Max & Victoria Dreyfus Barbara Kurshan
Robert H Smith* Family Foundation
Foundation, Inc. Susan & Samuel Lehrman
Patti & Jerry Sowalsky
Embassy of Israel Sandra & Arnold Leibowitz
Lois & Richard England Edward Lenkin
$15,000 - $24,999
Federal Emergency Geoffrey Mackler
Lisa & Josh Bernstein
Management Agency Zena & Paul J. Mason
Ryna, Melvin, Marcella & Neil Cohen
Marilyn & Michael Glosserman Alfred Munzer & Joel Wind
Ginny & Irwin Edlavitch
Cheryl Gorelick PNC Bank
Susan & Michael Gelman
Deborah Harmon & Robert Seder Points of Light Institute
Alexander Greenbaum
G. Scott Hong Posner-Wallace Foundation
Martha Winter Gross & Robert Tracy
Humanities Council of Toni Ritzenberg
Carolyn & Warren Kaplan
Washington,DC Loretta Rosenthal
Barbara & Jack Kay
William Kreisberg Debra & Jonathan Rutenberg
Arlene & Robert Kogod
Jacqueline & Marc Leland Sandra & Ivan Sabel
Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
Joy Lerner & Stephen Kelin Charles & Lynn Schusterman
Charlotte & Hank Schlosberg
Elyse & Jeffrey Linowes Family Foundation
Schoenbaum Family Foundation
George Wasserman Family Foundation, Inc. Linda Lipsett & Jules Bernstein Sanford Schwartz
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Sprint Foundation
Hunger Saul I. Stern*
$10,000 - $14,999
Linda & Sid Moskowitz Katherine & Thomas Sullivan
Patty Abramson & Les Silverman
Kathy & Thomas Raffa Theatre Communications
Esthy & Jim Adler
Renay & William Regardie Group, Inc.
Michele & Allan Berman
Elaine Reuben The Washington Post Company
Susie & Kenton Campbell
Rae Ringel & Amos Hochstein Matthew Watson
Deborah Carliner & Robert Remes
Beth Rubenstein & Evan Markiewicz Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Debra Lerner Cohen &
Lynn & John Sachs Judith & Herbert Weintraub
Edward Cohen
Evelyn Sandground & Bill Perkins
Lois & Richard England
Emily Schoenbaum $1,000 - $2,499
Family Foundation
Tina & Albert Small Jr. Sandy & Clement Alpert
Rena & Michael Gordon
Barbara & Michael Smilow American Technion Society
Susy & Thomas Kahn
Mindy Strelitz & Andrew Cornblatt Agatha & Laurence Aurbach
Judy & Peter Kovler
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 Washington DCJCC Donors cont.
Dorothy Bennett Rachel Jacobson & Eric Olsen Paula & Bruce Robinson
Linda & Michael Berg JCC Association Joan & Barry Rosenthal
Tracy & Adam Bernstein Sally Kaplan Chaya & Walter Roth
Suanne & Richard Beyda Laine & Norton Katz Jane Nathan Rothschild
Lynn & Wolf Blitzer Aviva Kempner Sharon Russ & David Rubin
Frances & Leonard Burka Ceceile Klein Victor Shargai
Susan & Dixon Butler Linda Klein Michael Singer
Jane & Calvin Cafritz Bette & William Kramer Ann Sislen
Ruth & Mortimer Caplin Lisa Landmeier & Hugo Roell Richard Solloway
Mimi Conway & Dennis Houlihan Sandra & Stephen Lachter Jane & Daniel Solomon
Toby Dershowitz Dianne & Herbert Lerner Margaret Hahn Stern & Stephen Stern
Faith Diamond The Samuel Levy Family Marsha E. Swiss & Ronald M. Costell
Nava & Mark Ely Foundation Embassy of Switzerland
Diana Engel Steven Lockshin Tabard Corporation
Gayle & John Engel Steven Lustig Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation of
Laura & Michael Faino Ellen & Gary Malasky Greater Washington
Jane & Charlie Fink Peter Mancoll Rita & David Trachtenberg
Susan & Jay Finkelstein Cathryn & Scot McCulloch United Way of the National Capital Area
Linda & Jay Freedman Rona & Allan Mendelsohn Marion & Michael Usher
Geico Philanthropic Foundation Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Lise Van Susteren & Jonathan Kempner
Richard Gerber Lindsay & Aaron Miller Cynthia Wolloch & Joseph Reid
German Embassy Patrice & Herbert Miller Margot & Paul Zimmerman
Donna & Jon Gerstenfeld Shirlee Ornstein
Sarah & Bernard Gewirz Glenna & David Osnos
Cathy & Michael Gildenhorn Peggy Parsons Due to space limitations, only donors of $1,000 or more
Carol & Henry Goldberg Ruth & Stephen Pollak are listed. The Washington DCJCC would like to thank
Marjory Goldman Toby Port all of our many donors for the important impact they
have on our work.
Paula Seigle Goldman Ravsak: The Jewish Community
Shoshana & Peter Grove Day School
Erwin Gudelsky Hillary & Jonathan Reinis * of blessed memory
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Carol Risher

21
 About the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv
The Cameri, Tel Aviv’s Municipal Theatre
that was founded in 1944, is Israel’s biggest
theatre and one of the country’s six public
theatres. Each year The Cameri stages up
to ten new productions, together with 20
productions from previous years, that are
performed before audiences totaling more
than 1,000,000 in Tel Aviv, throughout Is-
rael and all over the world—some 1,700
performances every year. The Cameri has
40,000 subscribers. So far, The Cameri has
produced some 500 productions on its
Director General: Noam Semel various stages. The theatre’s company in-
Artistic Director: Omri Nitzan cludes 100 of Israel’s finest actors, and its
plays are directed by celebrated directors
from Israel and abroad.

In 2003 The Cameri moved into its new and

sophisticated home in the Tel Aviv Perform-
ing Arts Center complex, adjacent to the New
Israeli Opera, the Municipal Library and the
Tel Aviv Museum. The new Cameri Theatre’s
five auditoriums constitute a modern, vibrant
and active theatrical center.

Six years ago, in a step almost unequalled

for an institution of the arts, The Cameri The-
atre was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime
Achievement and Special Contribution to So-
ciety and the State of Israel. In their decision
the judges noted: “The sixty-year-old Cameri
Theatre is a young, involved, responsive, socially-oriented theatre that is attentive to the reality in
which we live and responds to current needs. The Cameri Theatre is engaged in fostering and de-
veloping original Israeli drama and strengthening ties with the finest culture and modern drama
in the world. The Cameri Theatre strives towards excellence on the level of artistic performance
in all its branches: acting, directing, sets and music. It nurtures individuality in terms of content,
spirit, and character, fosters and encourages young actors and advances them.
The Cameri Theatre strives to broaden the circle of audiences and reaches out to new audi-
ences, including performances in the periphery and on the confrontation line, and in its new
home it constitutes an artistic and cultural attraction to all social strata and age groups in Israeli
society.”

In the theatre’s productions—original Israeli plays and plays from world drama—emphasis is
placed on social, value and political issues that are at the center of the Israeli public’s life. Even
the classical plays included in the Cameri’s repertoire are selected because their subjects are
close to our heart and on our public’s agenda.

The theatre has a Society of friends headquartered in Tel Aviv with branches in London and New
York. In its activities, The Society supports the theatre’s wide-ranging activities and assists in
advancing projects such as “The Peace Foundation”—bringing young Israelis and Palestinians to-
gether to see one of the theatre’s productions; “Theatre in Education”—bringing high school and
university students to see plays; helping bring special needs audiences to the theatre; subsidiz-
ing tickets for senior citizens and assisting with the simultaneous translation of our productions
into foreign languages (English, Russian and Arabic).

The Institute of Israeli Drama is also part of The Cameri Theatre. The Institute, founded by the
Cameri’s director general Noam Semel, aims to advance Israeli drama in Israel and abroad, and
to deepen awareness of the importance of original drama for the emergent Israeli culture. The
Institute holds international conferences, at which the works of Israeli playwrights are presented
to conference participants.
22
 About Theater J
e Hailed by The New York Times as “The Premier Theater for Premieres,” and
t nominated for over forty Helen Hayes awards, Theater J has emerged as one
c of the most distinctive, progressive and respected Jewish theaters on the
p national and international scene. A program of the Washington DCJCC, the
theater works in collaboration with other components of the Morris Cafritz
e
e Center for the Arts: the Washington Jewish Film Festival, the Ann Loeb Bron-
- fman Gallery, and the Literary, Music and Dance Department.
Theater J produces thought-provoking, publicly engaged, personal, pas-
sionate and entertaining plays and musicals that celebrate the distinc-
tive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural
s
- legacy. Acclaimed as one of the nation’s premiere playwrights’ theaters,
s Theater J presents cutting edge contemporary work alongside spirited
revivals and is a nurturing home for the development and production of
new work by major writers and emerging artists exploring many of the
pressing moral and political issues of our time. Dedicated above all to a
pursuit of artistic excellence, Theater J takes its dialogues beyond the
stage, offering an array of innovative public discussion forums and out-
reach programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social
elements of our art. We frequently partner with those of other faiths and
communities, stressing the importance of interchange among a great
variety of people wishing to take part in frank, humane conversations
about conflict and culture.
Performing in the 240-seat Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater in the vibrant
Dupont Circle neighborhood, Theater J works with some of the world’s most
distinguished authors for the stage. It has produced world premieres by
Richard Greenberg, Thomas Keneally, Robert Brustein, Joyce Carol Oates
and Ariel Dorfman, with many debuts from emerging writers like Stefanie
n Zadravec and Sam Forman. The late Wendy Wasserstein’s play Third, which
- began at Theater J, received its New York premiere at Lincoln Center Theatre,
while Neena Beber received an OBIE for her New York production of Jump/
e Cut. Theater J’s diverse body of work features thematically linked festivals
including its ongoing “Voices From a Changing Middle East” series. In 2009
Theater J received a special citation in The Washington Post recognizing
Theater J’s Israel-related programming. With hit productions ranging from
- Talley’s Folly and The Disputation to Pangs of the Messiah, The Price, Honey
Brown Eyes (Winner of the 2009 Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for
Outstanding New Play), Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears, The Rise
and Fall of Annie Hall, Zero Hour (for which Jim Brochu won the 2010 Helen
Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a non-resident production) In Dar-
n fur, Mikveh and New Jerusalem, it’s no surprise that Washingtonian Maga-
zine notes, “Theater J productions keep going from strength to strength.”
Winner of the 2008 Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Dis-
cipline, Theater J offers a number of additional programs including Artis-
w tic Director’s Roundtables, Peace Cafés, Tea at 2 (a monthly reading se-
- ries) and the Passports Educational Program. Theater J has garnered
d support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Theatre Communica-
- tions Group (TCG) and The Shubert Foundation. Theater J is a member of
the Cultural Alliance, the League of Washington Theatres, TCG and the
Association for Jewish Theatre. Photos by Stan Barouh

Josh Lefkowitz and Maureen Rohn

e Washington DCJCC in The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall
d 1529 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20036 Robert Prosky in The Price

d Info: (202) 777-3210 or Alexander Strain and Michael

theaterj@[Link] Tolaydo in New Jerusalem
[Link] Holly Twyford in Lost in Yonkers
23