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PRESS RELEASE
1501 14TH ST NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20005
202.232.7267
STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DAVID MUSE
CONTACT:
LIZ O’MEARA-GOLDBERG
PUBLICIST
202.232.7267 x360
[email protected]
DATE: October 10, 2014
STUDIO THEATRE BRINGS JOSHUA HARMON’S FEROCIOUS COMEDY
BAD JEWS TO DC
“The best comedy of the season!” —The New York Times
Bad Jews
by Joshua Harmon
directed by Serge Seiden
begins November 5, 2014
Studio Theatre’s 2014-2015 season continues with Bad Jews, Joshua Harmon’s sensational
comedy. “Bad Jews was a runaway hit Off Broadway, and for good reason: it’s ferocious, daring,
and extremely funny,” says Artistic Director David Muse. “It’s a great time in the theatre, but also
gets to something real about these three twenty-something cousins, who range from observant
to secular Jews, as they try to honor the memory of their Holocaust survivor grandfather.”
ABOUT THE PLAY
The night after their grandfather’s funeral, three cousins engage in a verbal battle royale over a
family heirloom. In one corner is “Super Jew” Daphna: volatile, self-assured, and unbending. In
the other, Liam: secular, entitled, and just as stubborn. And in the middle, Liam’s brother Jonah
tries to stay out of the fray and honor his grandfather’s memory on his own. A savage comedy
about family, faith, and legacy.
ABOUT JOSHUA HARMON
Joshua Harmon’s play Bad Jews received its world premiere at Roundabout Underground in
October 2013. It was the first production Roundabout transferred to its Laura Pels Theatre (Outer
Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Award nominations, Best Play). Bad Jews will receive more than
a dozen productions around the country this season, and had its UK premiere this summer in a
critically acclaimed production at Theatre Royal Bath. Mr. Harmon’s other work has been produced and developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Hangar Theatre, Ars Nova, and Actor’s Express, where he was the 2010-2011 National New Play Network
Playwright-in-Residence. He has received fellowships from MacDowell, Atlantic Center for the
Arts, SPACE at Ryder Farm, and the Eudora Welty Foundation. Mr. Harmon recently graduated
from the Playwrights Program at Juilliard and is under commission from Roundabout Theatre
Company and Lincoln Center Theater.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
• Serge Seiden, Studio’s Producing Director, directs. His recent Studio credits include The Apple
Family Plays, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The Golden Dragon, Superior Donuts, and In the Red
and Brown Water.
• Set Designer Luciana Stecconi’s previous designs for Studio include The Night Watcher, An
Iliad, Lungs, The History of Kisses, Tynan, and In the Red and Brown Water. Ms. Stecconi received
the 2010 Washington DC Mayor’s Art Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist.
• Lighting Designer Daniel MacLean Wagner served as Resident Lighting Designer at Studio
Theatre from 1984-1997, designing more than 50 productions. His recent designs at Studio
include The Apple Family Plays and 4000 Miles.
• Costume Designer Kelsey Hunt returns to Studio, where she recently designed Carrie: The
Musical, Edgar & Annabel, and Skin Tight for Studio 2ndStage. Her other DC-area work includes
Body Awareness at Theater J and In the Red and Brown Water at Georgetown University.
• Sound Designer Palmer Hefferan designed last season’s Edgar & Annabel for Studio 2ndStage. Her regional design credits include Twelfth Night at Center Stage, American Night at Yale
Repertory Theatre, and Heroes at American Players Theatre.
• Dramaturg Adrien-Alice Hansel is Studio Theatre’s Literary Director. At Studio, she has dramaturged the world premieres of Red Speedo, Dirt, Lungs, and The History of Kisses as well as
productions of Cock, Moth, Edgar & Annabel, and The Apple Family Plays, among others.
THE CAST
• Irene Sofia Lucio (Daphna) is making her Studio Theatre debut. She was recently seen in Pygmalion at California Shakespeare Theater. Her other regional theatre credits include Romeo and
Juliet and The Master Builder at Yale Repertory Theatre, and After the Revolution and Golden Gate
at Williamstown Theatre Festival.
• Alex Mandell (Liam) is making his Studio Theatre debut. His DC-area work includes Fallujah
at The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare’s R&J at 1st Stage, and most recently Awake and Sing at
Olney Theatre Center. Regionally, he has appeared at Powerhouse Theater and the Allentown
Shakespeare Festival.
• Joe Paulik (Jonah) is making his Studio Theatre debut. His regional credits include The Power of Duff at Huntington Theatre Company, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Twelfth Night at
Hartford Stage, Moonchildren at Berkshire Theatre Group, and Major Barbara at Guthrie Theater.
• Maggie Erwin (Melody) returns to Studio Theatre, having appeared in last season’s Edgar &
Annabel at Studio 2ndStage. Ms. Erwin was recently seen in She Kills Monsters at Rorschach
Theatre. Her other DC credits include Abominable and Failure: A Love Story at The HUB Theatre,
Sunny and Licorice at Arts on the Horizon, and Aquarium at Imagination Stage.
INFORMATION
Where: Studio Theatre’s Mead Theatre, 1501 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
Dates: November 5 - December 21, 2014
Performances: Tuesday-Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 7pm
Matinees: Saturday and Sunday, 2pm
Ticket Prices: $44-88
Press Performance: Sunday, November 9 at 2pm
EVENTS
Post-Show Discussions with Actors: Sunday, November 16 and Saturday, November 29, after
the 2pm performances
PostScript: Sunday, December 14, after the 2pm performance
Sign-Interpreted Performance: Tuesday, December 9 at 8pm
Captioned Performance: Wednesday, December 10 at 8pm
Audio Described Performance: Sunday, December 14 at 2pm
SUPPORT
Belleville is underwritten by Albert Lauber and Craig Hoffman.
STUDIO THEATRE
Now in its fifth season under the leadership of Artistic Director David Muse, Studio Theatre is
Washington’s premiere venue for contemporary theatre, “where local audiences will find today’s
edgiest playwrights” (Variety). Muse is joined by Keith Alan Baker, Managing Director/Artistic
Director, 2ndStage; Serge Seiden, Producing Director; and Meridith Burkus, Director of Strategic
Initiatives. One of the most respected midsized theatres in the country, Studio Theatre produces
the work of today’s greatest writers, augmented by occasional productions of modern classics,
performed by acclaimed actors in intimate spaces. Throughout the Theatre’s 37-year history,
the quality of its work has been recognized by sustained community support as well as with 312
nominations and 61 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Accessibility: All performances are fully accessible to accommodate patrons with special
needs. FM assistive listening system available. Accessible seats available by reservation. Call
the box office at 202.332.3300.
Location: 1501 14th Street NW (northeast corner of 14th and P Streets).
Parking:
•Studio has a parking partnership with Washington Plaza Hotel at 10 Thomas Circle NW, three blocks south of Studio; patrons who park at the hotel’s parking garage can purchase a $13 voucher at concessions.
•Colonial Parking garages are located at P Street between 14th and 16th Streets NW.
•Street parking is limited; arrive early to increase your options.
Metro Stops: Red Line: Dupont Circle, Orange/Blue Lines: McPherson Square, and Green/Yellow
Line: U Street/Cardozo.
Contact Information:
Tickets: 202.332.3300
Administration: 202.232.7267
Website: STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG
E-mail: [email protected]
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