OBSERVANT’s New York Premiere to Host Post-Show Discussions

The creative team behind Pamela Weiler Grayson’s new play OBSERVANT is excited to announce the lineup of post-show discussions for the timely new play. Post-show discussions will follow five of the performances with playwright Grayson, director Shellen Lubin, and several cast members joining the discussions.

The limited run is scheduled for nine performances between September 12 and 28 at the Chain Theatre in midtown Manhattan. The performance on Thursday, September 19 at 7 p.m. is already sold out. OBSERVANT is headlining Emerging Artists Theatre’s biannual Spark Theatre Festival in New York City.

Post-show discussions:

Monday, September 16 at 7:00 p.m. – Cantor Rachel Goldman of Congregation Beth Yeshurun ​​in Houston, TX, the largest Conservative synagogue in the country.

Wednesday, September 18 at 2 p.m. – Cantor Mo Glazman, Senior Cantor, Temple Emanu-El, New York City’s first Reform Jewish congregation and the world’s largest synagogue.

Thursday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. – Scott Richman, NY/NJ Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Tuesday, September 24 at 7 p.m. – Magda Teter, Professor and Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies at Fordham University and President of the American Academy for Jewish Research.

Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. – Rabbi Bob Kaplan, Executive Director of the Center for Shared Society and Commissioner of the New York Commission on Human Rights, and Mohammad Razvi, Executive Director and Founder of the Council of Peoples Organization (COPO), Brooklyn, NY

About OBSERVANT

In OBSERVANT, three generations of women confront their relationships with their Jewish identity and with each other. Comedy and tragedy intertwine, like braided challah, when a mass shooting in their community tests the bonds of faith and family.

One of the recurring themes of the play is how to confront a violent and chaotic world and try to make things better, when we can’t even get along with our own families or communities, or resolve our own internal conflicts. The Jewish custom of “Tikkun Olam,” which means “repairing the world” or “fixing the world,” reflects this deep desire to make the world a better place, even as we struggle with hatred and extreme tribalism. A very timely theme in the current global and national climate.

The cast includes Yair Ben-Dor (Prayer for the French Republic/MTC), Fady Demian (The Terminal List: Dark Wolf/Amazon), Arielle Flax (The Shidduch Crisis/Independent Film), Rebecca Hoodwin (Fiddler on the Roof/National Tour with Harvey Fierstein), Arielle Beth Klein (Drama Desk nominee Death of a Salesman/New Yiddish Rep) and Melissa Wolff (Harsh and Exciting/Hunger & Thirst Theatre Company).

The creative and production team includes scenic design by Colleen Shea, lighting design by David Castaneda (Irena’s Vow/Broadway), sound design by Grady Gund, costume coordinator Sophia Dorio, production management by Aryn Geier, stage management/direction by Aksel Tang. Produced by Red Lyric Productions in association with Adam Weinstock and Emerging Artists Theatre.

OBSERVANT will run from September 12 to 28. Performances will be on Thursday, September 12 at 7 p.m., Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m., Monday, September 16 at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 18 at 2 p.m., Thursday, September 19 at 7 p.m. (sold out), Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m., Tuesday, September 24 at 7 p.m., Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, September 28 at 7 p.m. Running time: 110 minutes.

Tickets are $40 general admission ($45 at the door) and are available at www.tickettailor.com/events/sparktheatrefestival/1320824. The Chain Theatre is located at 312 W 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10018.

OBSERVANT is proud to have received a 2024 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and was also a semifinalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s 12th National Jewish Playwriting Competition. The play has already had a First Monday reading at Naked Angels in December 2022 and a staged reading at Emerging Artists Theatre’s Fall Spark Theatre Festival in November 2023.

BIOGRAPHIES

Singer Rachel Goldman guest on Monday, September 16 at 7 p.m.

Cantor Rachel Goldman currently serves as the Principal Cantor at the largest Conservative synagogue in the United States, Congregation Beth Yeshurun ​​in Houston, Texas. Cantor Goldman is known for her crystalline, angelic soprano voice and has sung at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and the Hobby Center in Houston. Cantor Goldman is a proud member of the Shul Sisters: A New Cantorial Trio, featuring Cantors Rachel Brook and Laurie Akers. Cantor Goldman tours the country as a concert soloist and musical collaborator. She currently plans to release her debut studio album in early 2025.

Guest singer Mo Glazman on Wednesday, September 18 at 2 p.m.

Hailed by the New York Jewish community as a “marvelous tenor and star attraction,” Cantor Mo Glazman has performed around the world. He has given concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Saint James Theater, Studio 54, and the National Opera Center. He is the principal cantor of Congregation Emanu-El NYC, the largest synagogue in the world.

Scott Richman guest on Thursday, September 19 at 7 p.m.

Scott Richman is the director of ADL’s largest regional office, covering New York and New Jersey. He oversees fundraising, program initiatives, and leadership development aimed at combating anti-Semitism and combating hate in all its forms. He is an experienced advocate dedicated to developing community partnerships and initiatives that ensure justice, equality, and fair treatment for all.

Magda Teter guest on Tuesday September 24 at 7 p.m.

Magda Teter is Professor of History and Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies at Fordham University. She is the author and co-editor of several books, most recently Blood Libel: On the Trail of An Antisemitic Myth (2020) and Christian Supremacy: Reckoning with the Roots of Antisemitism and Racism (2023), as well as articles in English, Hebrew, Italian, and Polish. Her essays have also appeared in the New York Review of Books, Public Seminar, JTA, and elsewhere. Teter’s research has been supported by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the H.F. Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute, the Cullman Center at the NYPL, the NEH, and others. She currently serves as president of the American Academy of Jewish Research.

Rabbi Bob Kaplan guest on Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m.

Rabbi Bob Kaplan is currently the Founding Executive Director of the Center for a Shared Society division of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC). The Center seeks to honor the dignity of others in order to highlight diversity, engaging diverse leaders from New York City’s public, business, faith and nonprofit sectors to help diverse communities thrive, prosper and create a better quality of life, creating an ever-changing New York City with a NEW and complex DIVERSITY. Bob Kaplan is a Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. He has served as a Grief Counselor for the American Red Cross at the Respite Center located at Ground Zero. He has also served as Associate Executive Director of Hillel of New York.

Mohammad Razvi guest on Thursday September 26 at 7 p.m.

Mohammad Razvi is the Executive Director and Founder of the Council of Peoples Organization (COPO), based in Brooklyn, New York. The September 11 attacks changed him in ways he never anticipated and gave him an unforeseen calling. Within five months of September 11, the budding entrepreneur, his wife and children, transformed into a social entrepreneur and founded the Council of Pakistan Organization (COPO), which later became the Council of People’s Organization. The fledgling nonprofit began in a 1,000-square-foot storefront, quickly attracting low-income South Asian immigrants with limited access to city services such as immigration, healthcare, and affordable housing. COPO has become a connecting agent and continues to help low-income immigrant families reach their full potential as New York City residents by providing them with access to equitable social services. COPO empowers marginalized communities to advocate for their needs and is now the largest South Asian Arab Muslim nonprofit in New York City.

Pamela Weiler Grayson’s (playwright) award-winning plays and musicals have appeared on stages nationwide, including Primary Stages, Group Rep/Lonny Chapman Theatre, Cincinnati Lab Theatre, and Emerging Artists Theatre. Urban Momfare (composer/lyricist/book co-author) won Best Musical at the New York International Fringe Festival, earned four stars, and was a Critics Pick from Time Out. The Sustain, co-written with Alice Jankell and composer Aaron Drescher, and developed in Theatre Now New York’s International Musical Writers Lab, was a semifinalist in the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s 2021 National Music Theater Conference. Observant received a 2024 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and is a semifinalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s 12th National Jewish Playwriting Competition. Member of the Dramatists Guild. Education: Brown University, Fordham Law School, New York Theater Workshop and The BMI Musical Theater Workshop. www.pamelaweilergrayson.com

Shellen Lubin (Director) works professionally as a director/playwright, playwright, actor, songwriter/singer, voice teacher and coach, and arts activist and advocate. As a director/playwright, she has recently directed workshops for Theater Breaking Through Barriers and Cosmic Orchid Productions, and When Zaydeh Danced On Eldridge Street (Rael/Lubin/Gandolfo) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage; Between Pretty Places featuring Lubin’s songs at Here Arts Center (NY) and Pacific Resident Theatre (CA); eleven annual Bistro Awards. Her plays and musicals have been produced and workshopped at Manhattan Class Company, The Public Theater, Hubbard Hall, West Coast Ensemble, American Jewish Theatre, et al., and two songs were featured in Milos Forman’s first American film, Taking Off. SDC, AEA, DG www.shellenlubin.com

Emerging Artists Theatre’s Spark Theatre Festival NYC (formerly New Works Series) began in 2006 and focuses on new works, new talent, and new voices. This biannual festival, held in the fall and spring, presents over 50 new dance works, plays, solo shows, cabarets, and musicals. www.emergingartiststheatre.org

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