Theater J Presents Intimate Apparel

Dear Friends,

Lynn Nottage takes the often-overlooked people – those on society’s fringes, the marginalized, the forgotten ones – and gives them center stage: never more so than with the play that really launched her career, Intimate Apparel.

Here, on the crowded streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side at the turn of the 20 th century, we meet Esther, the lonely seamstress; Mr. Marks, the fabric merchant; George, the laborer; Mayme, the entertainer; Mrs. Dickson, the business owner; and Mrs. Van Buren, the socialite. Each of these characters, even the wealthy ones, are struggling to be seen for who they are, and each is fighting for a chance at love.

In this play, worlds and people collide, as they often do in big cities. It is a reminder that the people around us each have their own histories and narratives to tell.

Theater has the moral responsibility to shed light on our history, lift-up the voices and stories of our time, and inspire our future. It is a beautiful mission, made more so when combined with Judaism’s rich tradition of storytelling. We are so excited to bring Lynn Nottage’s words to our stage for the very first time.

And we will continue to bring new and vital stories to this stage for the rest of the season. Next up is a special presentation of The Pianist of Willesden Lane. We’re bringing it back to Theater J after our sold-out run at The Kennedy Center. We have packages available for the remaining plays of the season, which include, the laugh-out-loud comedy Two Jews Walk Into A War… and the urgent Gloria: A Life, a portrait of the unstoppable Gloria Steinem. Please consider subscribing for our 2022 – 2023 season if you have not done so already.

Thank you for being here today. I love hearing from our audience members, so if you have any thoughts you’d like to share, please feel free to email me at david@theaterj.org. Thank you for being on this journey with Theater J. See you at the theater!

With gratitude,

David Lloyd Olson, Theater J Managing Director

LEADING PRODUCER The Bridge Fund, The Government of the District of Columbia DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Covenant Foundation

SPONSORING PRODUCER Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation Sari R. Hornstein The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Nussdorf Family Foundation Revada Foundation of the Logan Family Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan Share Fund The Shubert Foundation Arthur Tracy Fund George Vradenburg Amy Weinberg and Norbert Hornstein

SUPPORTING PRODUCER The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman Bruce A. Cohen Ginny and Irwin Edlavitch Patti and Mitchell Herman Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind Helene and Robert Schlossberg Barney Shapiro and Susan Walker Patti and Jerry Sowalsky

THANK YOU TO OUR PRODUCTION ANGELS Susan and Dixon Butler Nancy Firestone* and Patricia Payne Cheryl Gorelick Rae Grad and Manuel Schiffres Karen Lehmann-Eisner Bella Rosenberg Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins David and Peggy Shiffrin Les Silverman Patti and Jerry Sowalsky Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin Robert Tracy and Martha Winter Gross Dr. Kathryn Veal Joan S. Wessel Judy and Leo Zickler

This production is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

AARON & CECILE GOLDMAN THEATER • TRISH VRADENBURG STAGE

THEATER J David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director

INTIMATE APPAREL

OCTOBER 19–NOVEMBER 13, 2022

Playwright...................................................Lynn Nottage

Director........................................................Paige Hernandez^

Esther............................................................Renee Elizabeth Wilson*

Mrs. Dickson...............................................Aakhu Tuah Nera Freeman*

Mrs. Van Buren...........................................Susan Lynskey*

Mr. Marks.....................................................Yoni Bronstein*

Mayme.........................................................Awa Sal Secka*

George.........................................................Manu Kumasi*

Production Stage Manager...................Anthony O. Bullock*

Assistant Stage Manager.......................Katie Moshier

Assistant Stage Manager.......................Shee Shee Jin

Covid Safety Manager/ Production Assistant................................Ileana Blustein

Set Designer................................................Paige Hathaway+

Lighting Designer......................................Harold F. Burgess II+

Sound Designer.........................................Cresent Haynes

Costume Designer....................................Moyenda Kulemeka+

Projection Designer..................................Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor

Props Designer...........................................Pamela Weiner

Dialect Coach............................................Joy Jones

Intimacy Coordinator..............................Cliff Williams III

Casting Director........................................Jenna Place

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Theater J, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829

^The Director is a Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

Photography, video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.

Yoni Bronstein* (Mr. Marks) is thrilled to be making his Theater J debut in Intimate Apparel. He graduated from Columbia University’s M.F.A. Acting program in 2019 and came to the DC area in early 2020. Credits include A Page of Talmud and Last Tree in Jerusalem with 24/6; Crazy Meshuge Hurricane Earthquake with New Yiddish Rep; and Middletown and Mad Forest with Columbia. Thank you to Paige, Lynn Nottage, the cast and crew, and everyone at Theater J. Love to all my family in New York, Connecticut, Tennessee, Baltimore, and Houston. For MW.

Aakhu Tuah Nera Freeman* (Mrs. Dickson) Theater J: Something You Did (Lenora) REGIONAL: Arena Stage: The Great White Hope (Clara), All My Sons (Sue), The Royal Family (Della), Intelligence (Elaine). Everyman Theatre: Flyin’ West (Miss Leah), Soul Collector (Mrs. Coleman), Fences (Rose). The Kennedy Center: HERstory: Love Forever (Isys), She A Gem (Ms. T.), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Sookie), The Great Quillow (Tailor), Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing (Anne), Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (Mom), Color Me Dark (Olive). Theatre Alliance: Insurrection: Holding History (Gertha/Mistress Motel), The Bluest Eye (Mrs. Breedlove). Mosaic Theater: Fabulation: Or The Re-education of Undine (Grandma/ Ensemble). Olney Theatre: Proof (Claire). Training: Howard University, American University, Shakespeare & Company.

Manu Kumasi* (George) Manu’s heart smiles because he’s back in DC. He’s also very honored to make his Theater J debut. Selected previous work includes NYC: Soulagraphie (La MaMa, E.T.C.). REGIONAL: Twelfth Night (Yale Repertory Theatre), Lost in The Stars (Washington National Opera/The John F. Kennedy Center), Darius & Twig (The John F. Kennedy Center), Hamlet (Annapolis Shakespeare Company), Measure for Measure (Shakespeare Theatre Company). TV/FILM: EVIL (Paramount+). MFA Yale School of Drama. Instagram: @manu.kumasi

Susan Lynskey* (Mrs. Van Buren) is delighted to return to Theater J, with beloved memories of The Sisters Rosensweig and Body Awareness. Just before the pandemic, Lynskey made her Off-Broadway debut(s) as the title role in The Jewish Wife (New Light Theater), and as Margaret Thatcher, in Handbagged (59E59, NYC). REGIONAL: Manke in Paula Vogel’s Indecent (Arena Stage/Kansas City Rep/CenterStage) (Helen Hayes Nominated); Truvy Jones in Steel Magnolias (Cincy Playhouse/ IRT); ROE (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep) (Kennedy Prize winner, Helen Hayes Nominated). TV/FILM: Godfather of Harlem (Epix TV), Eileen Kelner in Thespian (Amazon). Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University and serves nationally as a Disability-in-Performance Access-Artist-Advocate. Is a 2022 winner of a DC Commission Individual Artist Award. Represented by HCKR Agency in NYC. Susan is delighted to collaborate with Paige and this top-drawer cast. Susan is profoundly grateful for the unceasing love and support of her parents and her chosen family (onstage and off). Her work tonight is dedicated to groundbreaking work and legacy of DC's African Continuum Theatre and the extraordinary art and artists it fostered. UPCOMING: Gloria Steinem in Gloria: A Life directed by Holly Twyford in March 2023.

Awa Sal Secka* (Mayme) West Coast: Berkeley Rep: Goddess (Grio). Signature: Gun and Powder (Flo), Blackbeard (Kali Maa), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon), Broadway in the Park, Signature Vinyl. Ford's: Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), The Wiz (Glinda/Dorothy u/s). Round House: School Girls (Ama), Caroline, or Change (Dottie). Kennedy Center: Me Jane (Maisie), Chasing the Wind (Abby). Imagination Stage: Cinderella (Cinderella), Charlie Brown (Lucy). Artscentric: L5Y (Cathy), Aida (Aida), Memphis (Felicia). Center Stage: Glorious World (Lady 3). ATMTC: James and the Giant Peach (Sponge). Studio: Silence! (Ardelia). OTC: The Joy That Carries You (Co-writer), Dessa Rose Concert (Dessa), Children of Eden Concert (Eve), Avenue Q. Upcoming - Ford's: A Christmas Carol (Fred's Wife). STC: Goddess (Grio).

Renee Elizabeth Wilson* (Esther) is beyond ecstatic to make her Theater J debut in Intimate Apparel. Selected theater credits include: Moon Man Walk at Constellation Theatre Company; Native Son and Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theatre Company; Nollywood Dreams (U/s & performed) at Round House Theatre; Seven Guitars (U/s) at Arena Stage; Kings (U/s) and Skeleton Crew (U/s & Performed) at Studio Theatre; God Is A Verb with Hook and Eye Theater Company, and Red Shoes at Wits Theatre; She is a graduate of The Duke Ellington School of the Arts and has a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Instagram: @actpoetic88 and @bodied_by_renee

Lynn Nottage (Playwright) is a playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first, and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her work includes, Floyd's (retitled- Clyde's) (Guthrie Theater), the musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (The Atlantic Theater), Mlima’s Tale (Public Theater), By The Way, Meet Vera Stark; Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics’ Circle); Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; and POOF! Her play Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Evening Standard Award, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Nomination) moved to Broadway after a sold-out run at The Public Theater. Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, Steinberg "Mimi" Distinguished Playwright Award, and PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award, among many others. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. She is also an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Columbia School of the Arts, and co-founder of the production company, Market Road Films.

Paige Hernandez^ (Director) is a multidisciplinary artist who is critically acclaimed as a performer, director, choreographer and playwright. As an AEA equity actress, Paige has performed on many stages throughout the country. She has collaborated with the Lincoln Center and has been commissioned by several companies including the National New Play Network, the Smithsonian, The Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse and the Glimmerglass Festival. She is the recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council as well as four Helen Hayes nominations for choreography, directing and performance. Paige has also been named a “classroom hero” by The Huffington Post, a “Citizen Artist Fellow” with The Kennedy Center, "40 under 40" by The Washington Post and one of “Six Theatre Workers You Should Know” by American Theatre Magazine.

She is elated to be the Associate Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre in her hometown of Baltimore, MD. With her company B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT, Paige continues to develop and tour original work internationally. paigehernandez.com

Paige Hathaway+ (Scenic Designer | she/her) Previous Theater J credits include: Nathan the Wise, Talley's Folly, Becoming Dr. Ruth. DC AREA: Arena Stage: The Right to be Forgotten; Signature: The Upstairs Department, Rent, Ain't Misbehavin', John, The Gulf; Woolly Mammoth: Familiar; Olney: Dance Nation, South Pacific; Round House Theatre: School Girls..., Curious Incident..., The Book of Will; Kennedy Center: Me… Jane. REGIONAL: The Muny: Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Matilda, Cinderella; Cleveland Play House: The Three Musketeers; Asolo Rep: Sweat. UPCOMING: Arena Stage: The High Ground; Everyman: Baskerville. EDUCATION: University of Oklahoma: BFA in Scenic Design; University of Maryland: MFA in Scenic Design. Local USA 829. Instagram: @paigehathawaydesign. paigehathawaydesign.com

Harold F. Burgess II+ (Lighting Designer) Recent credits for Theatre J include: Trayf, Broken Glass, Another Way Home, and The Sisters Rosensweig. Other DC area credits include: Nine Night, Nollywood Dreams, We’re Gonna Die, Throw Me On The Burnpile and Light Me Up, A Boy and His Soul, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Round House Theatre; Breath Boom and My Children! My Africa! at Studio Theatre; Aubergine, Thurgood, and Grounded at Olney Theatre Center; Big River at Adventure Theatre; and Unexplored Interior at Mosaic Theatre Company. Regional credits include Sense & Sensibility, Flyin’ West, Steel Magnolias, An Almost Holy Picture, Pipeline, Murder on the Orient Express, Radio Golf, The Importance of Being Earnest, Sweat, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Death of a Salesman at Everyman Theatre; productions for Rep Stage, Imagination Stage, Northern Stage (VT), and several local universities. A recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist award in 2020, Harold holds an MFA from the University of Maryland, where he is currently the Director of the College Park Scholars Arts program. Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. Website: haroldburgessdesign.com

Crescent Haynes (Sound Designer) In 2012, Cresent received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts Technology, with a focus in Sound Design. In 2014, she received her first theatre review for her work as Sound Designer on the production Not About Nightingales, directed by Eric Ruffin, describing her sound design as “an omniscient, foreboding force, ambitious in scope…” Since then, her credits include: BLKS, A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth Theater), Show Way, HER-story (Kennedy Center), Fabulation (Mosaic Theater Company), The Laramie Project (Duke Ellington School of the Arts), N (Keegan Theatre), Use All Available Doors (Pinky Swear Productions), Hope in the Hood (Amazing Grace Conservatory) and more. Cresent Haynes is also a freelance Live Audio Engineer and Visual Artist. She aspires to one-day design on Broadway and continue touring with various performing artists as their Live Audio Engineer, all while continuing to fill spaces with her original art exhibits and paintings. Training: Howard University. Website: linktr.ee/cresentrochelle

Moyenda Kulemeka+(Costume Designer) is a Costume Designer based in the DC area. Recent credits include: Dance Nation at Olney Theatre Co.; John Proctor is the Villian at Studio Theatre; Daphne's Dive and Detroit '67 at Signature Theatre; Mlima's Tale, The Phlebotomist and The Brothers Size at 1st Stage; In His Hands, Mary's Seacole and Fabulation, or the Re-education of Undine at Mosaic Theater; A Chorus Within Her at Theater Alliance; Cinderella at Synetic Theater; Working, A Musical presented on Black Lives Matter Plaza; and La Tía Julia y el Escribidor and Exquisita Agonía at GALA Hispanic Theatre, among others. Moyenda holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, IATSE. Photos of her work can be found at moyendadesigns.com

Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor (Projection Designer) is a multimedia artist and designer with a focus on interactive and impactful video design for live performance. He has a passion for being hands-on in the creation of new work. Zavier spends his time experimenting with motion graphics, visual art, video editing, and sound design. Zavier also operates a multimedia production company known as ZALT Productions, a creative entity that enables people and businesses to fully realize their potential through design. Zavier is eager to connect with creatives in the DMV. Learn more by searching #ZALTproductions. Instagram: @zaltslaw. zavier.myportfolio.com

Anthony O. Bullock* (Production Stage Manager) is the Resident Production Stage Manager for the 22-23 season. Past Theater J projects include Nathan the Wise, Compulsion or the House Behind, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Wanderers, Sheltered, Occupant, Love Sick, The Jewish Queen Lear, and Actually. NYC credits include The School for Lies with Classic Stage Company and workshops with Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals. DC credits include Shakespeare Theatre Company (Red Velvet, Our Town), Arena Stage (The Pajama Game), Baltimore Center Stage (SOUL: The Stax Musical, Twisted Melodies), Signature Theatre (Billy Elliot), and Studio Theatre (The Children, The Hard Problem, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, Jumpers for Goalposts, Laugh). Other regional credits include Barrington Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre, TheatreSquared, among others. He received his BFA from Oklahoma City University. He is a proud member of AEA.

THEATER J LEADERSHIP David Lloyd Olson (Theater J Managing Director) made his stage debut at age five at the Marcus JCC of Atlanta preschool and is now proud to be one of the leaders of the nation’s largest professional Jewish theater. He most recently serving as managing director of Quintessence Theatre Group in northwest Philadelphia. He was manager of the executive office and board engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company where he supported the transition of the theater’s artistic directorship from Michael Kahn to Simon Godwin. He was a founding company member of Pointless Theatre in Washington, DC, where he served for ten years as managing director, during which time the company was awarded the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the Helen Hayes Awards. He was an Allen Lee Hughes management fellow at Arena Stage and served as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Valmiera, Latvia. He has twice been the recipient of a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities fellowship program grant and was on the host committee of the 2016 Theatre Communications Group national conference. He attended the University of Maryland where he received a B.A. in theater from the College of Arts and Humanities and a B.A. in government and politics from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. He is a member of Adas Israel Congregation.

INTIMATE APPAREL STAFF Head Electrician: Garth Dolan Scenic Charge Artist: Meaghan Toohey Light Board Programmer: Danielle Shaw Qlab Operator: Ian Greene Light Board Operator: Ileana Blustein Load-in Crew: Justin Metcalf-Burton, Anna Feinerman, Tad Howley, Jonathan Dahm-Robertson, Jen Shillingburg Electricians: Elizabeth Berriman, Michael House, Moira Todd

Special Thanks: Jacqueline E. Lawton, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Bradley S. Bergeron

EDLAVITCH DCJCC LEADERSHIP Edlavitch DCJCC Chief Executive Officer: Dava Schub Chief Financial Officer: Craig Mintz Chief Operating Officer: Bini W. Silver Senior Director of Institutional Advancement: Emily Jillson

THEATER J STAFF Managing Director: David Lloyd Olson Producing Director: Kevin Place Associate Artistic Director: Johanna Gruenhut

External Affairs Development Manager: Emily Gardner Director of Patron Experience: Jasmine Jones EDCJCC Arts Marketing Coordinator: Lena Barkin EDCJCC Arts Outreach Coordinator: Jacob Ettkin Ticket Office Manager: Tabitha Littlefield EDCJCC Creative Director: Molly Winston House Managers and Ticket Office Associates: Mitchell Adams, Robert Reeg, Hadiya Rice, Sam Rollin, Jill Roos, KJ Moran Velz, and Mary-Margaret Walsh

Production Resident Production Stage Manager: Anthony O. Bullock Director of Stage Operations: Danny Debner Technical Director: Tom Howley Head Electrician: Garth Dolan Resident Casting Director: Jenna Place Resident Props Designer: Pamela Weiner

Education & New Play Development Education Programs Assistant: Jen Jacobs Expanding the Canon Rosh Beit: Sabrina Sojourner Expanding the Canon Commissioned Writers: Zachariah Ezer, Harley Elias, Carolivia Herron,

Jesse Jae Hoon, MJ Kang, Thaddeus McCants, and Kendell Pinkney Teaching Artists: Dr. Debra Caplan, José Carrasquillo, Evan Casey, Sarah Corey, Felicia Curry, Kimberly Gilbert, Eric Hissom, Naomi Jacobson, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, Chad Kinsman, Kate Eastwood Norris, Cody Nickell, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Jenna Place, Aaron Posner, Howard Shalwitz, Dani Stoller, Holly Twyford, Erin Weaver, and Em Whitworth

Founding Artistic Director: Martin Blank

Theater J is a nationally-renowned, professional theater that celebrates, explores, and struggles with the complexities and nuances of both the Jewish experience and the universal human condition. Our work illuminates and examines ethical questions of our time, intercultural experiences that parallel our own, and the changing landscape of Jewish identities.

As the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, we aim to preserve and expand a rich Jewish theatrical tradition and to create community and commonality through theatergoing experiences.

The Edlavitch DCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.

Theater J is dedicated to taking its dialogues beyond the stage, offering public discussion forums which explore the theatrical, cultural, and social elements of our art throughout the year. Below are the events planned during the run of Intimate Apparel. Guests and times subject to change. All events are free and open to everyone.

Sunday, October 30 following the 2:00 PM performance CREATIVE CONVERSATION: An insider’s reflection on the creative process. Artists answer questions and offer insight about design, inspiration, rehearsal, and collaboration.

Wednesday, November 2 following the 7:30 PM performance CAST TALKBACK: Join members of the cast to ask your burning questions about their artistic practice and the production.

Sunday, November 6 following the 2:00 PM performance SUNDAY SYMPOSIUM: Hear from experts on topics related to each production. Theater J invites specialists in their fields to delve deeper into the significance of a play’s history, cultural context, or theme.

By Johanna Gruenhut, Associate Artistic Director

In Intimate Apparel, Esther understands the unavoidable facts of getting dressed: that, in the absence of a natural default, it must be done some way, with some kind of specificity. Even if a person says that they don’t care about what they wear, they must still choose what to wear every day, and doing so will always reveal something about them. Quite a lot, in fact: group membership from the broadest down to the most granular levels, including gender, profession, class, and on and on. Esther also understands that people push back against this by trying to choose clothing to individuate themselves. As a seamstress, Esther negotiates for her clients between group identity, circumstances, lifestyle, and individuality, and for this, they trust her.

The raw materials for her work, the fabric, comes from Mr. Marks, a religious Jewish man with Hasidic ties. Esther and Mr. Marks befriend one another and discover that in many ways they are cut from the same cloth, so to speak: two people with a lived understanding of how the rules of society may disregard genuine human connection.

Perhaps it is the unavoidability of getting dressed that has caused Jewish law and custom to step in frequently and pervasively. The kippah, women’s head coverings, the tallit and the tzitzit, all these garments identify the wearer and have religious meaning and ritual uses.

Hasidic Jews, like Mr. Marks, and Haredi (ultra-orthodox) Jews more broadly, even use their clothes to mark identity at a subgroup level. But there is quite a bit more to the traditions of dress in these communities. For one, their clothes are meant to possess tzniut. The term roughly translates to “modesty.” But in its original biblical context the word is more like an adverb, not an adjective. It’s more a description of behavior than of appearance. In other words, Hasidic Jews appreciate something Esther surely does too: clothes support, even evoke, behavior. Modesty in dress breeds modesty of action.

The clothing worn by orthodox Jews also have the benefit of marking the rhythms of ritual and practice.

On Shabbat, different clothes are worn. Special clothes mark the high holidays in the same way that a new suit or a new dress might in more secular communities.

Maybe most instep with some of Esther’s clients, Hasidic dress is above all else aspirational. The specificity of a group’s garments—a shtreimel (a furry hat), a kapote (a type of coat), and a bekishe (a frock-like coat)—are meant to replicate what was worn by the sect’s great founding rabbi and his earliest followers. The hope is dressing like one’s ancestors will inspire the same deep commitment to Judaism. Again, clothing as a call to action.

Among the more arcane fashion prescriptions in Judaism is a law—i.e. not a custom, but a commandment that appears in the Torah—called shatnez. This is a prohibition against combining linen and wool in garments. The purpose? No one really knows. This is among a small group of commandments, including the laws for kosher food, where the rabbis conclude that if it has a specific purpose (and it may not), we will not know it until the time of the messiah. For now, the purpose is nothing more (nor less) than a demonstration of faith, human understanding be damned. We may not understand. But it is a good metaphor for this play.

Theater J is dedicated to producing work that illuminates ethical questions of our time, examines the changing landscape of Jewish identities, and celebrates inter-cultural experiences. It is because of you, our community, our audience, our supporters, that Theater J has grown to be “the nation’s most prominent Jewish theater” (American Theatre Magazine). Less than half of Theater J’s budget comes from ticket revenue. We are reliant on generous gifts from audience members like you, who see the value of having a thriving Jewish cultural center in the heart of the city.

We invite you to join your friends and neighbors in supporting our work. With your gift, you’ll be recognizing the vital role Theater J plays in our community–a place where the stories of immigrants are proudly told, where we ask that theater engage both the head and the heart, and where we produce art that reminds you of who you are.

Theater J accepts contributions by mail, phone, online, or through stock donation. Checks can be made payable to Theater J and mailed to 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. For more information or to make a donation visit TheaterJ.org/Donate or contact Emily@theaterj.org or call 202.777.3225.

In order to ensure our work is accessible to people of all socio-economic backgrounds, Theater J has launched the Community Access Ticket program. This allows DC, Maryland, and Virginia EBT cardholders to purchase tickets to any* performance for $5 per person!

HOW IT WORKS:

Bring a valid DC Capital Access card, Maryland Independence Card, or Virginia EBT card with a photo ID to the ticket office to purchase tickets.

Reservations can be made in advance by calling the ticket office at 202-777-3210 or emailing a photo of the EBT card and photo ID to theaterj@theaterj.org with subject line “Community Access Tickets” to have your theaterj.org account setup to purchase Community Access Tickets online.

EBT funds cannot be used as payment.

*Tickets are subject to availability and cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid only on Theater J-produced productions.

A maximum of 4 tickets can be purchased per card per performance.

By Chad Kinsman

Although Intimate Apparel measures the physical and emotional distances between people in 1905 New York, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play also intimates the world beyond the character’s private bedrooms and boudoirs.

The play weaves together threads of immigration, imported materials, and globalized labor to capture the rush towards modernity at the start of the 20th century.

Between 1890 and 1900, New York City’s population more than doubled, from 1.5 to 3.4 million. It would grow another 40% to 4.8 million the following decade. The growth came largely from Southern and Eastern

European immigrants, as exampled by Mr. Marks, an Orthodox Jewish man from Romania. By 1905, four out of five New Yorkers were immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Additionally, New York and other northern cities experienced a dramatic increase in their Black populations during the first seven decades of the 20th Century, called the Great Migration. Between 1890 and 1900, New York’s Black population tripled. In 1902, it stood at 60,000, more than half of whom were born outside the city. Esther moved to New York from North Carolina when she was seventeen. Mayme came from Memphis.

With the start of the Gold Rush in 1849, the US government sought to shorten the trip between the East and West Coasts: a 15,000-mile voyage around Chile’s Cape Horn. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects in history, the Panama Canal cost ten years (1904-1914), $11 billion of today’s dollars, and the lives of 25,000 workers. One in every five workers was from Barbados, like George. West Indians were heavily recruited with the promise of riches. Instead, they found themselves working in a dense, wild jungle subjected to weather, disease, deadly fauna, the most tedious and dangerous jobs, and unsanitary and inequitable living conditions for half the wages of white American and European workers.

Mr. Marks and Esther bond over their appreciation of beautiful, imported fabrics like Scottish wool, fruit-dyed Japanese silk, and Valenciennes lace from France. These sumptuous materials are improvements from the fabrics and labors which shaped the lives of their respective ancestries. As an African American, Esther is only one or two generations removed from her enslaved forbearers, on whose backs American cotton became a worldwide commodity. Forced off their lands throughout Europe, many Jewish people took up itinerant trades like tailoring and peddling, professions they continued after immigrating to the US. By 1900, 60% of employed New York Jews worked in the garment industry.

Parenting can be an isolating experience. With less time, more responsibilities, and an ever-growing list of questions, parents often face diminished connections when they are most needed. There begins the work of the EDCJCC’s Parenting Center: helping community members of all stripes form a network of support, guidance, and enrichment for planning their families and raising their children.

“I love serving as a connector,” say Miriam Szubin, the EDCJCC Director of Children and Family Programming, “I love matchmaking friendships among our new parents, recommending nannies to families looking for childcare, and helping folks find the right class or set of resources.”

Gymnastics and ballet instruction, as well as a course on Getting Ready for Preschool, are among the most attended classes for children. Seminars on toilet training, sleep training, and tantrums are the most popular with parents. Szubin measures success both in the popularity of offerings and in the formative impacts on communities and individuals: what shared experiences were created at a coffee or park meetup? What critical decisions were informed by an adoption workshop or an author talk?

The absolute highlight for Szubin is the Musical Infants course she leads: “Every week, I get to spend an hour singing with brand-new babies and reassuring their brand-new parents that they are doing okay and that all the hard things they are experiencing are normal and will get easier.”

Demand for courses has skyrocketed as parents and children alike have become eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and returned to meeting in person. Musical courses were successful over Zoom at the height of the pandemic and many parent workshops remain on Zoom so that busy parents do not have to add travel time into their schedules.

The Parenting Center “has been my hub for everything kid-related from early pregnancy to post-delivery and now into the toddler years,” says Shannon, the mother of a four-year old. “The people I met in my Beyond the Bump group, and in classes such as Musical Infants, are some of my closest friends today. I love that our kids have been playing together from the very beginning and some of them are now entering preschool together.

For more information on the EDCJCC's parenting center visit edcjcc.org/parenting

—Mona Golabek

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Theater J and the Edlavitch DCJCC commit to being an inclusive, safe, and welcoming space for all. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations from either patrons or staff. Please visit our website at theaterj.org to learn more about our policies and procedures.

Our building sits on the traditional homeland of the Nacotchtank (Anacostan), farmers and traders who lived along the banks of the Anacostia River. Beginning in 1608, European settlers decimated the Nacotchtank with disease, warfare, and forced removal. By the 1700s, the survivors fled to join other tribes to the north, south, and west, including the Piscataway Peoples, who continue to steward these lands from generation to generation. We know this acknowledgement is only a small step towards justice, and we ask that all of us learn about the past and present and invest in the future of our country’s Indigenous communities wherever we are.

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit actorsequity.org.

Theater J, as part of the Edlavitch DCJCC, embraces inclusion in all of its programs and activities. Theater J strives to make our productions accessible to all by providing the following to meet the needs of our patrons, and to enhance their experience at the theater. For more information, please contact our Director of Patron Experience at 202.777.3268 or contact our ticket office at theaterj@theaterj.org.

ACCESSIBLE SEATING: The Edlavitch DCJCC has ramp access from the Q Street entrance and all our restrooms are ADA accessible. In the Goldman Theater, removable seats provide patrons with the opportunity to be seated with their companions while sitting in their wheelchair.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING: Assistive listening devices are free-of-charge and offered on a first-come, first-served basis at all performances.

OPEN CAPTIONING: Open Captioning is offered during one performance of each Theater J production.

LARGE PRINT PROGRAMS: Large print programs are available at our Ticket Office, located on the first floor.

Theater J respects and welcomes gender diversity. Please use the restroom which makes you most comfortable or most closely fits your gender identity or expression. An allgender restroom is located on the Lower Level.

Theater J dedicates this production of Intimate Apparel to the memory of Nancy Firestone, who passed away on October 3, 2022.

Nancy was a dedicated Theater J Council member and beloved member of the Theater J community. In addition to her love of theater, Nancy was an accomplished judge, serving as a Senior Judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims. She was appointed to the bench in 1998 by President Bill Clinton. Prior to joining the bench, Nancy was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice. She graduated from Washington University in 1973 and received her J.D. in 1977 from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Law School. Nancy has been an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center since 1985.

Nancy touched the lives of many in her professional career and personal life with her dedication to her passions and her lively, warm spirit. Nancy was a great friend to many in the Theater J community and is survived by her daughter Amanda Firestone Duvall (Christopher), her spouse and love of 38 years (Patricia Payne), her sister Susan Portnoy (Michael) and her many extraordinary friends. Nancy will be dearly missed by Theater J and the entire DMV community. May her memory be a blessing.