Produced in partnership with TheaterWorks Hartford
Dear Friends of Theater J,
Welcome to José Rivera’s Your Name Means Dream. I was first introduced to José’s work when I read Marisol in college. The year after graduation, I was in New York working at Playwrights’ Horizons, and it was a true honor to get to know him as he premiered his gorgeous play Cloud Tectonics.
Watching a José Rivera play is a deep dive into exploring what it means to have a soul. Over his long and impressive career as a writer, José tackles this question with profound depth, sensitivity, humor, and imagination. He investigates this essential question as a dramatist committed to rendering nuanced and surprising characters who defy expectations and encourage us to confront our understanding of humanity.
This play is set in the near future, but this future might be closer than we think. We live in a world where we are increasingly dependent on AI. We have technological devices that serve as companions for people who live alone, and just weeks ago, an article in The New York Times revealed that many spiritual leaders rely on AI to assist them in writing their sermons. As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, the question of what defines “human” and what roles are appropriate for AI to take on becomes more pressing.
Part of our mission at Theater J is to examine the ethical questions of our time. How we use AI will reveal how we develop as a society. Throughout the run of the play, we will have several post-show conversations with rabbis, illuminating how we might see the play through a Jewish lens. If you have a ticket to a show where there isn’t a post-show conversation, you are welcome to return for a post-show conversation at any time. I also invite you to read David Zvi Kalman’s article in the program, which discusses the implications of AI for our sense of personhood.
I want to thank José Rivera for joining us in Washington to direct his beautiful play and to Naomi Jacobson and Sara Koviak, two stellar actors who embody these characters with complexity and compelling force. Thank you for being here, and I hope you enjoy the performance.
With gratitude,
Hayley Finn, Theater J Artistic Director
CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
Join us for powerful pre and post show discussions! These conversations are free and open to the public. Discussions take place in the Goldman Theater unless otherwise noted.
A CONVERSATION WITH JOSÉ RIVERA
Sunday, March 16 after the matinee
ENGAGE THE EXPERTS: A CONVERSATION WITH DR. DAVID ZVI KALMAN
Sunday, March 23 after the matinee
The progress of technology moves faster than religion, but some of the questions central to AI ethics have been considered by Judaism for centuries. For example, what makes us uniquely human? A scholar of both Jewish law and the history of technology, David Zvi Kalman has written extensively on the relationship between Judasim and AI and joins us onstage to respond to the play and share his expertise.
A RABBI RESPONDS: A CONVERSATION WITH RABBI EMMANUEL CANTOR
Thursday, March 27 after the 7:30 PM show
Jewish wisdom and values can be a powerful tool to unpack the challenges and possibilities of AI. Join us for a thought provoking conversation at the intersection of faith and technology with the Den Collective's, Rabbi Emmanuel Cantor.
ENGAGE THE EXPERTS: A CONVERSATION WITH STACEY PELIKA
Saturday, March 29 after the matinee
In this conversation, we'll connect the themes of Rivera's play to another sector that benefits from AI: education. How can educators embrace AI's potential, but also manage risk? Stacey Pelika, a lead on the National Education Association's Taskforce for AI in Education, joins us onstage to respond to the play and share her expertise.
PRE SHOW CONVERSATION: LED BY THEATER J'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS MANAGER, HESTER KAMIN
Sunday, March 30, 1:15 PM in Kay Community hall
Join us to discuss the themes of our plays and how they relate to our own experiences and the issues of our times.
CREATIVES IN CONVERSATION: A POST SHOW DISCUSSION WITH NAOMI JACOBSON AND SARA KOVIAK
Sunday, March 30 after the matinee
A RABBI RESPONDS: A CONVERSATION WITH RABBI TZVI HAMETZ
Friday, April 4 after the matinee
Jewish wisdom and values can be a powerful tool to unpack the challenges and possibilities of AI. Join us for a thought provoking conversation at the intersection of faith and technology with Rabbi Tzvi Hametz, Director of Educational Technology and Innovation at Berman Hebrew Academy.
A RABBI RESPONDS: A CONVERSATION WITH RABBI HEALY SHIR SLAKMAN
Sunday, April 6 after the matinee
Jewish wisdom and values can be a powerful tool to unpack the challenges and possibilities of AI. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation at the intersection of faith and technology with Rabbi Healy Shir Slakman, Assistant Rabbi and Director of Spiritual Arts at Temple Micah.
LEADING PRODUCER
Covenant Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
SPONSORING PRODUCER
Cathy Bernard
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Sari R. Hornstein
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Dianne and Herb Lerner
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind
Patricia Payne
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan
Hank Schlosberg*
Shapiro Family Foundation, Inc.
Share Fund
The Shubert Foundation
George Vradenburg
Helaine Zinaman and Roselyn Abitbol*
SUPPORTING PRODUCER
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Bruce A. Cohen*
Patti and Mitchell Herman
The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation ◦
Nussdorf Family Foundation
Helene and Robert Schlossberg
PRODUCTION ANGELS
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Dr. Kathryn Veal
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Susan and Dixon Butler
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Michele and Allan Berman
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.
Theater J gratefully acknowledges these donors who have supported Theater J since January 2024 through February 2025. *of blessed memory
AARON & CECILE
THEATER J
Hayley Finn, Artistic Director David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director
Video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.
Your Name Means Dream runs 2 hours with an intermission.
Your Name Means Dream had its world premiere at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia in 2023.
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater, 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
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.
Naomi Jacobson* (Aislin) Theater J: Mad Dancers (2003), Another Way Home, The Disputation (with Theo Bikel), premieres of Life Sucks, G-D’s Honest Truth, Seagull on 16th Street, and a unique staging of Becoming Dr. Ruth, which she’s taken to four cities. A Woolly Mammoth company member, and Affiliated Artist at Shakespeare Theatre, she’s worked at most DC theatres, one off-Broadway gig, and traveled regionally to the Guthrie, the Goodman, and many other states. Naomi’s received three Helen Hayes Awards, the LuntFontanne Fellowship, Anderson-Hopkins Award, and a DC Individual Artist grant. Film/TV: A few. Voice-over: NPR, PBS, Discovery Channel, the Smithsonian. Resume at NaomiJacobson.com. Special thanks to Dr. Randall Wagner.
Sara Koviak* (Stacy) created the role of Stacy in Your Name Means Dream: CATF (World Premiere), NJ Rep; workshops: Sundance, Goodman, Rattlestick, NYTW; upcoming: TheaterWorks, Luna Stages. Other: Rivera’s The Hours Are Feminine (World Premiere Off-Broadway) and Lovesong: Imperfect, Paula Vogel’s Bard at the Gate for McCarter Theater, and T41 for Signature Theatre. Classical dancer in four World Premieres at The Metropolitan Opera, in Peter And The Wolf and Cinderella at Lincoln Center, and aerial soloist in Pippin for Goodspeed and Nat’l Tour. TV/Film: The Civet, Reverie: a Dream, The Fall of a Sparrow, Flying, A Possession, The Undoing (HBO). Sara is an accomplished choreographer and dance educator. SaraKoviak.com
José Rivera (Playwright/Director) José Rivera’s Obie Award-winning plays Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, have been produced around the country and translated into a dozen languages. Other plays include Cloud Tectonics, Massacre (Sing to Your Children), Boleros for the Disenchanted, Another Word for Beauty at the Goodman Theatre Sueño, Sonnets for an Old Century, School of the Americas, Brainpeople, Adoration of the Old Woman, The House of Ramon Iglesia, Each Day Dies with Sleep, Lovesong (Imperfect), The Hours are Feminine, and A Lunar Rhapsody. Your Name Means Dream received its world premiere at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. His “The Motorcycle Diaries” screenplay was nominated for 2005 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, a BAFTA and Writers Guild Award, and took top screenwriting prizes in Argentina and Spain (Goya Award). His film “On the Road” premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and “Trade” was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. Other films include “The 33” and “Letters to Juliet.” Rivera wrote and directed the award-winning short films “The Fall of a Sparrow” and “The Civet.” Rivera co-created and produced “Eerie, Indiana,” (NBC) and was a consultant and staff writer on “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” (Showtime) 2019. He was the head writer of the Netflix series based on One Hundred Years of Solitude, which the London Telegraph called “a spellbinding adaptation of an unfilmable novel.
Misha Kachman+ (Set Designer) has worked at Arena Stage, Asolo Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Rep, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Court Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre Center, Opera Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Round House Theatre, Seattle Opera, Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Theatre for a New Audience, The Wilma Theater, Woolly Mammoth, 59E59 Theaters and many other companies in the United States and abroad. Misha’s previous Theater J credits include Prayer for the French Republic, The Odd Couple, The New Jerusalem, Lost in Yonkers, Race, Our Class and This Much I Know, among many others. Mr. Kachman is a Helen Hayes Award recipient and a Company Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Misha serves as Professor and Head of MFA in Design at University of Maryland. For more information, visit MishaKachman.com.
Risa Ando (Costume Designer) is a costume designer, born and raised in Japan, and she has worked in various theater communities internationally including Japan and Ireland. Selected design credits include: The Niceties (Collective Consciousness Theatre); Draupadi (Rattlestick Theater); A View from the Bridge (Long Wharf Theatre); The Salvagers (Yale Repertory Theatre); Mamma Mia! (Forestburgh Playhouse); Switch No Otoko (Éclo, Tokyo); Dracula (Gekidan IjinButai, Tokyo); The Best Place For Love (Fire & Ice Production, Dublin); Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles (Wonderland Productions, Dublin). She holds an MFA from David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. RisaAndo.com
Alberto Segarra+ (Lighting Designer) Recent DC credits: Romeo & Juliet at Folger Theatre, Garbologist at Theatre Alliance, Constellation at Constellation Theatre, and The Scenarios at Studio Theatre. Other credits include: The Honey Trap (Helen Hayes Award) at Solas Nua, Lend Me a Soprano, and The Joy That Carries You (Helen Hayes nomination) at Olney Theatre Center, Passing Strange at Signature Theatre, Blood at the Root (Helen Hayes Award) at Theatre Alliance, and Look Both Ways Kennedy Center/Theatre Alliance TYA (Helen Hayes nomination), The Three Musketeers and What the Constitution Means to Me at Cleveland Play House, The Lehman Trilogy at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Camelot at Village Theatre, and Jane Eyre at Alley Theatre.
David Remedios+ (Sound Designer) Theater J: Debut. DC: Invisible Man (Studio Theatre, Helen Hayes Award nomination). Recent: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life... (Merrimack Rep); A Christmas Carol, The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth (Elliot Norton Award, Commonwealth Shakespeare); Redeemed (59E59); Tornado Tastes Like Aluminum Sting (Contemporary American Theater Festival); The Hours Are Feminine (INTAR); Dinner for One and We Had a Girl Before You (Norton Award, Greater Boston Stage). Regional: Northern Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, Everyman, Huntington, Portland Stage; City Theatre, Alley Theatre, Trinity Rep, Geva, American Repertory Theatre, Theatre for a New Audience, among many others. RemediosSound.com.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Miranda Korieth* (Production Stage Manager) is a Ohio University Alumni 2020 BFA in Stage Management. She is excited to return to Theater J in her new role as PSM. Her other Theater J credits include A Hatmaker's Wife (ASM). Some additional credits include: Signature Theatre: Job (ASM), Arena Stage: Data (Deck Crew), Studio Theatre: At the Wedding (ASM), Fat Ham (Wardrobe), Fun Home (Youth Supervisor), Woolly Mammoth Theater: My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion (ASM). Other theater's to mention are: Great Lakes Center for the Arts, and Tantrum Theater. When not pursuing her passion of stage management she is crafting, reading, hiking, watching TV, or playing with her pets.
Pamela Weiner (Resident Properties Artisan): is an area native and local prop designer. Selected Theater J credits include: Prayer for the French Republic, This Much I Know, Two Jews Walk Into a War, Intimate Apparel, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Occupant, and Jewish Queen Lear. She is the Associate Properties Director at Signature Theatre.
TheaterWorks Hartford: Led by Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, produces engaging contemporary theater and is committed to the power of storytelling in creating community at their historic Pearl Street home. Founded in 1985, TWH has produced over 200 plays including world premieres of Mathew Lombardo's High (with Kathleen Turner), Mark St Germain’s Relativity (with Richard Dreyfuss) and William Finn’s Make Me A Song among others. Visit us at twhartford.org.
The Bralove Group at Morgan Stanley is proud
The Bralove Group at Morgan Stanley 7500 Old Georgetown Road, 10th Floor Bethesda, MD 20814 301-657-6376
Hayley Finn (Theater J Artistic Director) (she/her/hers) is an accomplished director and producer with over twenty-five years of experience in professional theatre across all aspects of the profession, including producing, directing, casting, education, fundraising, and has been instrumental in creating national partnerships for theatres across the country. Prior to joining Theater J, she was the Associate Artistic Director at the Playwrights’ Center, where worked with some of the nation’s leading playwrights and, in her tenure, produced over 1,000 workshops. She also served as a Co-Artistic Director of Red Eye Theater from 2019-2023 where she co-produced and curated the New Works 4 Weeks Festival—an annual four-week festival that commissions 11 artists each year to make new performance works—and co-led the fundraising and development of a new 150-seat black box theater in Minneapolis.
She has directed nationally and internationally, including at Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY), Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland), Ellis Island (New York), Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), HERE Arts Center (New York, NY), History Theatre (St. Paul, MN), Flea Theater (New York, NY), The Kitchen (New York, NY), LAByrinth Theater Company (New York, NY), Marin Theater Company (Mill Valley, CA), New Dramatists (New York, NY), O’Neill Theater Center (Waterford, CT), Pillsbury House (Minneapolis, MN), People’s Light (Malvern, PA), Public Theater (New York, NY), Playwrights’ Horizons (New York, NY), Red Eye Theater (Minneapolis, MN), Six Point Theater (St. Paul, MN), South Coast Repertory Theater (Costa Mesa, CA), and the Nine Gates Festival in Prague. Finn was Assistant Director on several Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Most recently at Theater J she directed the regional premieres of Jonathan Spector's This Much I Know and Joshua Harmon's Prayer For the French Republic.
Finn is an Alumna of the Drama League Director’s Program, recipient of the Ruth Easton Fellowship, TCG Future Leader Grant, National Endowment for the Arts support, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. She received her BA and MA from Brown University.
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 served as managing director of Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia where he oversaw the organization’s largest ever fundraising campaign and the doubling of their annual foundation support. 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 has also held positions at Arena Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Pointless Theatre. He was an Allen Lee Hughes management fellow at Arena Stage, a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Valmiera, Latvia, and the recipient of two DC Commission on Arts and Humanities Fellowship program grants. He proudly serves on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre (alljewishtheatre.org) and the board of Adas Israel Congregation.
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWISH THEATER COMPANY IN THE NATION.
– THE WASHINGTON POST
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 theater-going 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.
All of the programs at the Edlavitch DCJCC are supported in part by a generous gift from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
DEEPEN YOUR IMPACT
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. 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.
WAYS TO GIVE
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 Emma Wesslund at ewesslund@theaterj.org or call 202.777.3225.
EDLAVITCH DCJCC LEADERSHIP
Edlavitch DCJCC
Chief Executive Officer: Jennifer Zwilling
Chief Finance and Administrative Officer: Charlie Winters
Chief Experience Officer: Jesse Bordwin
Senior Director of Institutional Advancement: Emily Jillson
THEATER J STAFF
Artistic Director: Hayley Finn
Managing Director: David Lloyd Olson
Production
Production Manager: Mark T. Berry
Technical Director: Tom Howley
Associate Producer: Charlotte La Nasa
Technical Coordinator: Willow McFatter
Company Management Associate: Grace Carter
Head Electrician: Garth Dolan
Resident Properties Artisan: Pamela Weiner
Properties Assistant: Aiden Galbraith
Set Design Assistant: Sofía Olivar
External Affairs
EDCJCC Arts Marketing Manager: Jill Gershenson
Director of Donor Engagement: Emma Wesslund
Ticket Office and Front of House Manager: Nino Porter
Publicist: Kendra Rubinfeld and Travis Hare, Kendra Rubinfeld PR
Graphic Design: Molly Winston
House Managers and Ticket Office Associates: Sophia Bonde, Steve Chazanow, Emily Eason, Allen Eldridge, Lily Goldberg, Sarah Moosadzeh, Robert Reeg, Hadiya Rice, Kaneeka Rice, Sam Rollin, Alia Schreiber-Goldstein, and Mary-Margaret Walsh.
Education & New Play Development
Education Programs Manager: Hester Kamin
Expanding the Canon Rosh Beit: Sabrina Sojourner
Expanding the Canon Commissioned Writers: Harley Elias, Zachariah Ezer, Caroliva Herron, Jesse Jae Hoon, MJ Kang, and Kendell Pinkey
Teaching Artists: Becca Berman, Erin Cleary, Nikki Crawford, Noah Israel, Jen Jacobs, Caraid O'Brien, Aaron Posner, Lynette Talya Rathnam, Sharyn Rothstein, Howard Shalwitz, Jamie Steinman, Holly Twyford, and Erin Weaver.
Founding Artistic Director: Martin Blank
YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM STAFF
Head Electrician: Garth Dolan
Light Board Programmer: Ben Harvey
Audio Engineer: Kaitlyn Sapp
Associate Audio Engineer: Levi Manners
Light Board Operator: Willow McFatter
Sound Board Operator: Taylor Stewart
Wig Consultant: Frank Labovitz
Load-in Crew: Barrett Doyle, Matty Griffiths, David Higgins, Josh Lucas, Willow McFatter, Taylor Stewart
Scenic Charge Artist: Danielle Harris
Special thanks to our voiceover artists: Rebecca Ballinger, Zach Brewster-Geisz and Jared Graham
2024–2025 THEATER J COUNCIL
Mara Bralove, Chair
Mindy Gasthalter
Ann Gilbert
Cheryl Gorelick
Rae Grad
Patti Herman
Aimee Imundo
Daniel Kaplan
Arlene Klepper
Liz Kleinrock
Kenneth Krupsky
Stephen Lachter
Karen Lehmann-Eisner
Ellen Malasky
Meredith Margolis
Howard Menaker
Alfred Munzer
Sherry Nevins
Patricia Payne
THEATER J HONORARY COUNCIL
Patty Abramson*
Michele G. Berman
Bunny Dwin
Lois Fingerhut
Marion Ein Lewin
Paul J. Mason
Evelyn Sandground
Hank Schlosberg*
Saul Pilchen
Bella Rosenberg
Mita M. Schaffer
Robert Schlossberg
Terry Singer
Stuart Sotsky
Manny Strauss
Bob Tracy
Kathryn Veal
Trish Vradenburg*
Patti Sowalsky
Irene Wurtzel
EDLAVITCH DCJCC 2024–2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Johanna Chanin, President
Eva Davis, Vice President
Meredith Margolis, Vice President
Janis Schiff, Vice President
Janet B. Abrams
Olufunmike Adeyemi*
Andrew Altman
Joan Berman
Michele G. Berman
Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Jennifer Bradley
Jaclyn Lerner Cohen
Sara Cohen
Eva Davis
Jonathan Edelman
Myrna Fawcett
Meg Flax
Brian Gelfand
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Ginny Edlavitch
DIRECTORS EMERITI
Stephen Altman
Rose H. Cohen
Jill Granader
Martha Winter Gross
Daniel O. Hirsch
Jonathan Grossman, Treasurer
Amie Perl, Assistant Treasurer
Benjamin Loewy, Secretary
Daniel Glickman
Dina Gold
Debra Goldberg
David Goldblatt
Rena Gordon
Brad Lackey
Joshua Maxey
Alyssa Moskovitz
Sid Moskowitz
Alfred Munzer
Alyson Myers
Melanie Franco Nussdorf
Amie Perl
Arnold Polinger
Shannon Powers
Norm Rich
Ilene Rosenthal
Michael Salzberg
Max Sandler
Rhea Schwartz
Michael Singer
Tina Small
Mimi Tygier
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Jessika Wellisch
Eric Zelenko
Jennifer Zwilling, Chief Executive Officer, Ex Officio
Stephen Kelin
William Kreisberg
Saul Pilchen
John R. Risher Jr.*
Lynn Skolnick Sachs
VICE PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Lee G. Rubenstein
HONORARY DIRECTOR
Barbara Abramowitz
Deborah Ratner Salzberg
Mindy Strelitz
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg
Robert Tracy
Ellen G. Witman
BASED ON THE WOMEN OF HAMLET
MARCH 4–APRIL 6, 2025
WORLD PREMIERE!
Experience Hamlet from the perspective of its female characters. It’s a story with hope, humor, and the possibility of better endings.
GET TICKETS AT FOLGER.EDU/ROOM
Commissioned and co-produced with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
BY LAUREN M. GUNDERSON DIRECTED BY KAJA DUNN
THEATER J
SUMMER MUSICAL THEATER CAMP
Rising 2nd – 9th graders
Leap into the magic of musical theater this summer. Young artists entering 2nd–9th grade will spend the day singing, dancing, acting, and learning the history of musical theater in America. Each session will culminate with a performance for families and friends, followed by a celebration. There’s no place like Theater J!
SUMMER 2025 DATES
Three Week Camp (The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition): June 30 – July 17
One Week Camp Session 1 (Summer Spooktacular): July 21 – 25
One Week Camp Session 2 (Kids in Charge!): July 28 – August 1
One Week Camp Session 3 (Fairy Tale Fantasy Week): August 4 – 8
Registration Now Open! theaterj.org/summer-camp
Please contact Hester Kamin at hester@theaterj.org with any questions.
PHOTO BY MIKKI SCHAFFNER
Optical Human Illusions
– By David Zvi Kalman
Can an AI have a soul? Would we even want it to? And why does the question itself bother so many people?
In the Jewish tradition, human beings are said to have been created in the image of God, and it is by virtue of that single fact that their value is effectively unlimited. “Whoever destroys one life is as though they had destroyed the entire world,” says the Mishnah, an early rabbinic text. Other beings are valuable, but humans are permanently set apart. The Qur’ān says something similar. The vast majority of humans recognize that other humans have a value unmatched by any other being.
But why might that be? For most of our history, the answer has been straightforward: Humans are valuable because we are unique. We are toolmakers; we have speech; we have culture; we can organize; we can dream. Even when discoveries in the animal world or previous homo species made us qualify some of these claims, the sheer bulk of our uniqueness was never in doubt. To be human is to be unique; to be unique is to have value.
But it’s not so simple anymore, is it? In the space of decades the Land of Human Uniqueness has been submerged under AI’s rising sea levels, transforming it into mere islands. We are no longer the only ones who can calculate, or play chess, or speak, or paint. Perhaps AI does these things differently than we do—but functionally, it doesn’t matter. Our own human architecture encourages us to take AI’s human mimicry at its word. Much as science forced faith into a “God of the gaps,” AI has forced our self-understanding into a “humanity of the gaps,” forced to reside in whatever crannies AI has not (yet) reached. We have grown to begrudge AI its abilities—because we rightly worry that a loss of uniqueness will lead to a loss of human value. This is not a stray anxiety. It is deadly serious.
In José Rivera’s remarkable and moving play, Your Name Means Dream, this dynamic literally takes center stage. Robots are designed to be human companions, and humans resent that they are not important enough to merit flesh and blood. In expecting that they should treat robots like humans, humans are ultimately treated like robots: machines to be serviced, and nothing more. Perhaps the humans have souls—but functionally, it doesn’t matter.
There is another way. When the Torah says that humans were created in the image of God, it provides no explanation. Our value does not require us to dance or write plays or go to Mars; it simply is. In fact, the axiomatic nature of our value allowed the rabbis to extend worth to others: to fetuses, to animals, even to the angels and demons that occupied their world. Human AIs cannot diminish our value because human value cannot be diminished.
In asserting our own value, we replicate the very image-of-God story that has held us for so long. Humanity’s resemblance to its Creator does not diminish the latter; so too, the manufacture of AI in our own image recognizes us humans as the very reason it matters at all.
We should probably tell our AIs this story. If we do we might hope that our creations will see in us something divine in turn.
David Zvi Kalman is the host of Belief in the Future, a podcast about religion and technology. He is a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and a senior advisor at Sinai and Synapses. He writes at jellomenorah.com
COMING NEXT
THE BERLIN DIARIES
By Andrea Stolowitz | Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova
June 4 – 22, 2025
Oregon Book Award-winning playwright Andrea Stolowitz opens the pages of her great-grandfather’s journal to discover a previously unknown genealogy in The Berlin Diaries. How do you find home when a family history is scattered like the torn pages of a journal entry released to the wind? Two performers become generations of characters in an attempt to stitch together clues and restore memories formerly lost to time.
How do people become verschollen, lost, like library books, leaving only the dusty outline – a life reduced to negative space? Stolowitz searches for clues that propel her forward and backward in time, pursuing a family history formerly lost to war. In a breathtaking journey around the world, what will remain lost and what will be found at the intersection of national history and private lives?
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 information, please contact our ticket office at 202.777.3210 or boxoffice@ edcjcc.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 available at our Ticket Office. They are free-ofcharge and offered on a first-come, first-served basis at all performances.
OPEN CAPTIONING
Captions will be offered at three shows this production. Contact the Ticket Office for selected dates. Captioning sponsored by Dianne and Herb Lerner
LARGE PRINT PROGRAMS
Large print programs are available at our Ticket Office, located on the first floor. Or read a low vision digital program on your mobile device by scanning the QR code outside the theater.
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.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
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
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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.
PHOTOS:
• Page 2: Hayley Finn. Photo by Josh Olson
• Page 4: (Top to Bottom) Danielle Skraastad, Ethan J. Miller, and Dani Stoller in Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. Ari'el Stachel in Out of Character. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. Sara Kapner, Jake Horowitz, and Michael Perrie Jr. in Hester Street A play by Sharyn Rothstein, with original music and songs by Joel Waggoner, based on the film by Joan Micklin Silver. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography. (Left to Right) Firdous Bamji, Ethan J. Miller, and Dani Stoller in This Much I Know by Jonathan Spector. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
FRIENDS OF THEATER J
Theater J gratefully acknowledges the following donors who have given to Theater J from January 1, 2024 through February 12, 2025.
Leading Producer ($100,000+)
Covenant Foundation+
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Sponsoring Producer ($25,000–$99,999)
CANVAS
Cathy S. Bernard 0
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Sari R. Hornstein
Daniel Kaplan and Kay Richman+
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Supporting Producer ($18,000–$24,999)
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Bruce A. Cohen*
Leading Angels ($10,000–$17,999)
The Theodore H. Barth Foundation Inc.
James Beller and Christopher Wolf
Andrea Boyarsky-Maisel
James A. Feldman and Natalie Wexler
Cheryl Gorelick
Marion Ein Lewin
Sponsoring Angels ($6,000–$9,999)
Michele and Allan Berman
Susan and Dixon Butler
Myrna Fawcett
Ann Gilbert ¶
Rae Grad and Manuel Schiffres
Meg and John Hauge
Supporting Angels ($3,000–$5,999)
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Bonnie and Louis Cohen
Clark-Winchcole Foundation
Bunny Dwin
Lois and Michael Fingerhut
Patricia and David Fisher
Mindy Gasthalter ¶
Martha Winter Gross and Robert Tracy
Bonnie and Alan Hammerschlag
Enthusiasts ($1,000–$2,999)
Alliance for Jewish Theatre
Joyce and Fred Bonnett
Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt
Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen
Marcy and Neil Cohen, Ryna Cohen
Linda Goldsmith and Howard Berger
Nancy and Marc Duber
Enrique and Suzanne Fefer
Susan Gilbert and Ronald Schnechter
Admirers ($500–$999)
Anonymous
Friends at Temple Beth Ami
Shimmy Braun
Michelle and Glenn Engelmann
Arlene Farber Sirkin and Stuart Sirkin
Gail Ginsberg
Jinny Goldstein
Helaine Harris
Connie Heller
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation Theater for Youth Fund Δ
Dianne and Herb Lerner 0
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind Δ +
Patricia Payne
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
Hank Schlosberg*
Shapiro Family Foundation, Inc. Δ
Share Fund Δ
Patti and Mitchell Herman Δ 0
Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin Nussdorf Family Foundation
M. Craig Pascal
Diane and Arnold Polinger
Bella Rosenberg ¶ +
April Rubin and Bruce A. Ray
Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins
Daniel Hirsch and Brenda Gruss
Anna Jenefsky and Wynn Segall
Karen E. Lehmann
Sherry Nevins
Nora Roberts Foundation
Steven and Ilene Rosenthal
Arlene and Martin Klepper
Barry Kropf
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Paul and Zena Mason
Howard Menaker and Patrick Gossett ¶ +
Jeff Menick
Undine and Carl Nash
Saul and Nancy Pilchen
Mita M. Schaffer
Rhea Schwartz
Dr. Jesse Goodman
Michael Gross
Garry and Beth Grossman
Aimee Imundo and Neil Gurvitch
Mary Lynne Martin
Alan McAdams and Ellen Dykes
The Matthew Korn & Cynthia Miller Family Foundation
Morgan Stanley Foundation
Lucia and Frederic Hill
The Frank and Marta Jager Foundation
Jean and Michael Kaliner
Andrea Kasarsky
Aviva Kempner
Kyle Kerr
William Kreisberg
Nancy Limprecht and Rick Haines
Elysa and Peter Graber-Lipperman
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
George Vradenburg 0
Helaine Zinaman and Roselyn Abitbol*
Helene and Robert Schlossberg 0
The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation
The Leshowitz Family Foundation, Terry Singer +Δ
April Rubin and Bruce A. Ray
Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin
Dr. Kathryn Veal +
Judy and Leo Zickler
Leslie Sewell and James Jaffe
Barney Shapiro and Susan Walker
Les Silverman
Richard Solloway
Stuart Sotsky
Patti and Jerry Sowalsky
Mimi Tygier and Robert Rubin
The George Wasserman Family Foundation
Joan S. Wessel
Bernard and Ellen Young
Jason Najjoum
Trina and Lee G. Rubenstein
Ruth and Samuel Salzberg Family Foundation
Peggy and David Shiffrin
Philip Teitelbaum
Ziva and Aaron Tomares
Helene Weisz and Richard Lieberman
Meredith Margolis and Gary Goodweather
Winton Eaheart Matthews Jr.
Ilene Meiseles
Donald and Lynne Myers
Gary Mintz
Vicki Robinson
June and Marvin Rogul
David Sellers
Elisse Walter
¶ Denotes a member of the EDCJCC’s Community Pillars program. These supporters have committed to leaving a legacy by including Theater J in their estate planning.
+ Denotes support of our New Play Development programs
Δ Denotes support of our Family and Education Programming
0 Denotes support of a special project during the 2024-2025 season.
EDLAVITCH DCJCC DONORS
The Edlavitch DCJCC wishes to thank the following donors who enable us to serve the community. This list includes all fiscal year 2025 gifts to date (July 1, 2024 – March 3, 2025) from donors who made commitments or donations of $1,000 or more. The Edlavitch DCJCC thanks all our donors for the important impact they have on our work.
$500,000+
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington Samuel G. Rose
$250,000 - $499,999
Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation
$100-000 - $249,999
The Aviv Foundation, Inc.
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
$50,000 - $99,999
Covenant Foundation
Susie and Michael Gelman, The Morningstar Foundation
$25,000 - $49,999
Michele and Allan Berman
CANVAS
Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt
Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Ginny and Irwin Edlavitch
Lois and Richard England Family Foundation
Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation
Rena Gordon
$10,000 - $24,999
Janet Beth Abrams
The Theodore H. Barth Foundation Inc.
Suevia and Rudolph B. Behrend Fund
James Beller and Christopher Wolf
Cathy S. Bernard
Bookey Family Foundation
Andrea Boyarsky-Maisel
Clark-Winchcole Foundation
Sonnie Dockser
Embassy of Israel
Myrna Fawcett
$5,000 - $9,999
Monica and Gavin Abrams
Joan and Alan Berman
Stuart and Martha Bindeman Charitable Trust
Deborah and Charles Both
Mara Bralove and Ari Fisher
Susan and Dixon Butler
Susie and Kenton Campbell
Charles E. Smith Family Foundation
CIBC Private Wealth Management
Sara C. Cohen and Norm J. Rich
Cyna and Paul Cohen
Cozen O'Connor
Jonathan Edelman
David and Patricia Fisher
Meg and Samuel Flax
Mindy Gasthalter
Ann Gilbert
$2,500 - $4,999
Jesse Abraham
Stephen and Amy Altman
The Family of H. Max & Josephine F. Ammerman and Andrew R. Ammerman
Anonymous
Joy and Leonard Baxt
Joan Bialek and Louis Levitt
Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Daniel Hirsch and Brenda Gruss
Sari R. Hornstein
Nussdorf Family Foundation
Revada Foundation of the Logan Family
The Harris Ornstein Family
The Kay Family Foundation
The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation
Dianne and Herbert Lerner
Sid and Linda Moskowitz
Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind
Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation
Jim Feldman and Natalie Wexler
Rhoda and Daniel Glickman
Robert and Jill Granader Family Foundation
Patti and Mitchell Herman
Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg
Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
The Leshowitz Family Foundation, Terry Singer
Zev Lewis
Marshfield Associates
Dina Gold
Cheryl Gorelick
Martha Winter Gross and Robert Tracy
Michelle and Jonathan Grossman
Meg and John Hauge
Anna Jenefsky
Arlene and Martin Klepper
Sandra and Stephen Lachter
Joy Lerner and Stephen Kelin
Marion Ein Lewin
Ellen and Gary Malasky
Meredith Margolis and Gary
Goodweather
Philip Margolius
Paul and Zena Mason
Carol Mates and Mark Kahan
Sherry Nevins
Trina and Lee G. Rubenstein
Rose and Robert Cohen
Susan Cohn
Cornerstone Research, Inc.
Bunny Dwin
Lois and Michael Fingerhut
Jay Freedman
Tova Geller
Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation
Share Fund
The Tepper Foundation
Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan
Ilene and Steven Rosenthal
Rhea Schwartz
Shapiro Family Foundation
Richard Solloway
George Vradenburg
Helaine Zinaman and Roselyn Abitbol
The Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation
M. Craig Pascal
Saul and Nancy Pilchen
Diane and Arnold Polinger
Bella Rosenberg
April Rubin and Bruce A. Ray
Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins
Janis and Philip Schiff
Helene and Robert Schlossberg
Anna Salzberg and Joshua Hoffman
Barney Shapiro and Susan Walker
Les Silverman
Tina and Albert Small, Jr.
Stuart Sotsky
Manny Strauss and Betsy Karmin
Mindy Strelitz and Andrew Cornblatt
Mimi Tygier and Robert Rubin
Heidi Wachs
The George Wasserman Family Foundation
Diane Abelman Wattenberg
Jessika and David Wellisch
Ellen and Bernard Young
Judy and Leo Zickler
Eric and Kathryn Zimmerman
Morgan and Josh Genderson
Rae Grad and Manuel Schiffres
Bonnie and Alan Hammerschlag
Sandra Hoexter
William Kreisberg
The Kresge Foundation
Barry Kropf
Kenneth and Amy Eisen Krupsky
Gary Laden, Esq.
Kimberly and Bruce Levin
Saskia and Benjamin D. Loewy
Johannah and Jeremiah Lowin
Dan Mendelson and Jennifer Loew
Mendelson
$1,000 - $2,499
Alliance for Jewish Theatre
Clement and Sandra Alpert Designated Endowment Fund
Anonymous
Rabbi Melanie Aron
David and Deborah Astrove
Alison Baraf and Aryeh Portnoy
Debbie and Paul Berger
Sherry and David Berz
Justin Bohn
Susan and Steven Bralove
Marian and James Brodsky
Carol and Robert Burman
Jacqueline and Edward Cohen
Dave Connick
Janet and Michael Cornfeld
Joel Croft
Charles and Rochelle Curtis
Toby Dershowitz
Jessica Dodson and Jeremy Levine
Kathy and Jody Dreyfuss
Ilana Drimmer
Nancy and Marc Duber
Seth R. Eaton and Karen Bonnie Eaton
Enrique and Suzanne Fefer
Leesa Fields and Jonathan Band
Daniel Freeman and Rebecca Zylberman
Carl and Undine Nash
Patricia Payne
Amie Perl and Evan Goldman
Mita M. Schaffer
Ann Schwartz
Dolores Seigel
Ellen Gertsen
Audrey Goldstein
Dr. Jesse Goodman
Elysa Graber-Lipperman
Lois and Hadar Granader
Ronit Greenstein
Garry and Beth Grossman
Jerry Grossman
Susan and Allen Hanenbaum
Mariana Levinas Huberman
Aimee Imundo and Neil Gurvitch
JCC Association of North America
Irene and Lou Katz
Richard Kaufmann
Aviva Kempner
The Matthew Korn & Cynthia Miller Family Foundation
Karen E. Lehmann
Edward Lenkin and Roselin Atzwanger
Hal and Melanie Marcus
Kenneth & Ellen Marks
Mary Lynne Martin
Alan McAdams and Ellen Dykes
Cathy and Scot McCulloch
Rona and Allan Mendelsohn
Jean and Richard Meyer
Nell Minow and David Apatoff
Francine Zorn Trachtenberg and Stephen
Joel Trachtenberg
United Way of the National Capital Area
Wealthspire Advisors
Joan S. Wessel
Janice White
Gary Mintz
Jason Najjoum
Joan Nathan
Nancy and Samuel Raskin
Renay and Bill Regardie
Bruce Rosenblum
Linda Rosenzweig and Sandy Bieber
Iris and Gene Rotberg
Steve and Ann Roth
Becky Schneider, Michael Stecher and Family
David Schnitzer and Claire Bergeron
Pat and Bob Shapiro
Myrna Sislen
Patti and Jerry Sowalsky
Susan Rubin Suleiman
Ann Swerdel Tides Center
Ziva and Aaron Tomares
Allison and Daniel Turner
Lise Van Susteren and Jonathan Kempner
Dr. Kathryn Veal
Bunny Weinstein
Jeff Weiss
Sylvia & Peter Winik
Janet and Robert Wittes
Anita Wolke and Ken Brooks
With the support from our community of donors, the Edlavitch DCJCC remains the premier address in our nation's capital for an expanding, diverse, and vibrant urban Jewish community. To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Edlavitch DCJCC today, please visit edcjcc.org/donate or contact Emily Jillson at 202-777-3231 or ejillson@edcjcc.org.
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 6:00 PM 1529 SIXTEENTH STREET, NW
