March 19–May 10, 2009
Written by Motti Lerner
Translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris
Directed by Jennifer Green
Set in 2012 amidst the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, Motti Lerner’s Pangs of the Messiah is an apocalyptic yet fiercely humane drama about eight West Bank Jewish settlers pitted against an Israel they feel has betrayed them. The play focuses on a religious family that finds itself torn between fighting to stay in their settlement and obeying their government’s decision to dismantle it. Left hanging in the balance is the legacy of their beliefs.
Rabbi Shmuel | Bernard Beck*
Amalia | Susan V. Adler
Menachem | Larry Baldacci
Benny | Brent T. Barnes
Tirtzah | Dana Black
Nadav | James Elly
Chava | Stacie Green
Avner | Mark Hines
Understudy for Benny, Nadav | Adam El-Sharkawi
Understudy for Shmuel, Menachem | Andy Gwyn
Understudy for Tirtzah, Chava | Sarah Ibis
Understudy for Avner | Ben Johnson
Understudy for Amalia | Heidi Katz
*Member of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
Producer | Malik Gillani
Producer | Jamil Khoury
Playwright | Motti Lerner
Translator | Anthony Berris
Director | Jennifer Green
Production Manager | Alexandra Herryman
Stage Manager | Michelle Dane
Scenic Designer | Kurt Sharp §
Costume Designer | Carol J. Blanchard §
Lighting Designer | Rebecca A. Barrett
Projection Designer | Mike Tutaj
Composer and Sound Designer | Robert Steel
Props Master | Jesse Gaffney
Dialect Coach | Jason Martin
Dramaturg | Jennifer Shook
Production Dramaturg and Assistant Director | Kefáh Crowley
Casting Coordinator | Isaac Sernoffsky
Technical Director | Jason Pikscher
Assistant Stage Manager | Dietrich McGaffney
Assistant Costume Designer | Tammy Hannon
Assistant Lighting Designer | Alex Buholzer
Wardrobe Supervisor | Laura Klauser
Community Outreach Coordinator | David Chack
House Manager | Amanda Vevers
Press and Archive Photographer | Michael Brosilow
Video Production Services | The Stage Channel
*Member of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
§ Member of United Scenic Artists, the union of professional designers, artists, and craftspeople.
Dramatizing the spectre of Jewish civil war unleashes pangs of my own, by Jamil Khoury
Review "Pangs of the Messiah/Silk Road Theatre Project," New City Stage, March 30, 2009
Review "Great script transcends an uneven performance," Chicago Tribune, March 30, 2009
Review "West Bank Lear Disenchanted," Chicago Reader, April 2, 2009
