Bad Jews closes Off Broadway

By: Jan. 03, 2014
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After a sold out run at Roundabout Underground's Black Box Theatre, Joshua Harmon's hit comedy Bad Jews moved upstairs to the Laura Pels Theatre for our 2013-2014 Season. This production played a total of 100 performances from first preview on September 19 through the extended closing date of December 29. Original cast members Tracee Chimo, Philip Ettinger, Molly Ranson and Michael Zegen came back to our stage under the direction of Daniel Aukin.

Production image featuring Philip Ettinger, Molly Ranson, Tracee Chimo and Michael Zegen. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Bad Jews was named "the best comedy of the season" by The New York Times and received rave reviews from The Huffington Post, New York Magazine, New York Post and Time Out New York. Audience members also raved about this riotous and poignant play; one couple said "we loved it for its humor, honesty and killer dialogue," and another supporter told us it was "extraordinary-funny, sad and dynamic."

Throughout the show's run we asked audience members which character's point of view they most identified with and why. We installed a display in the Bruce Mitchell Lobby inviting audience members to write a comment on a speech bubble and place it in support of "Team Daphna", "Team Liam", or "On the Fence" between the two.

Installation in the Bruce Mitchell Lobby.

After one month of performances the tally was On the Fence - 39; Team Daphna - 30; Team Liam - 15 and after the show's run our audiences were split between Daphna and On the Fence. Below are some audience responses we received.

Team Daphna

"As generous & touching as the gift to Melody was it should have stayed within the blood family."

"Very romantic of Lima, but it is misplaced in view of the heritage of the chai"

On the Fence

"It's about remembering their grandpa's survival no matter what."

Team Liam

"The more diverse our family and background is, the fabric of our society only gets richer and more complex"

"We are all humans and Melody should have the chai as much as Daphna"

Following the performance on October 24, Michael Schulman of The New Yorker hosted a talkback featuring leaders of NYC Faith Communities, Bad Jews playwright Joshua Harmon & actors Tracee Chimo, Philip Ettinger and Michael Zegen. The discussion also offered some very interesting insights on family, faith and legacy.

Did you see Bad Jews? Leave a comment below to let us know which side of the debate you were on.


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