New Yiddish Rep has announced full casting for its upcoming staging of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, the once-notorious play recognized for presenting the first lesbian kiss on Broadway in 1923.
The play is at the center of Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s Broadway-bound Indecent, which is set to begin previews in early April 2017 at the Cort Theatre.
New Yiddish Rep will present God of Vengeance in Yiddish with English supertitles at La MaMa December 22-January 22, 2017. Shayna Schmidt and Melissa Weisz will star as the lesbian lovers, and will be joined by Rachel Botchan, Shane Baker, Luzer Twersky, David Mandelbaum, Caraid O’Brien, Amy Coleman, Mira Kessler, Eli Rosen, and Tony nominee Eleanor Reissa, who also directs.
The revival will officially open December 25.
The play tells the story of a brothel owner’s attempt to marry off his daughter to lead a more religious life, only to have her drawn back into the world he tried to shield her from. The landmark show received two staged readings from New Yiddish Rep earlier this summer, directed by Reissa (Those Were the Days), as part of the Jewish Plays Project’s OPEN: The Festival of New Jewish Theater at the 14th Street Y.
The creative team for the La MaMa revival will be made up of Vicki Davis (set and costumes) and Jesse Freedman (sound). Mark Brystowski is the production stage manager.
La MaMa is located at 74A East 4th Street, New York. Tickets are $25, $15 for students and seniors. For tickets and more information, visit newyiddishrep.org or lamama.org or call (646) 430-5374.
