Tracey Erin Smith's THE BURNING BUSH! Plays At Festival Of Jewish Theater 6/3-11

Burning Bush Productions presents The Burning Bush!, Tracey Erin Smith's audacious full-length version of her two award-winning hit solo shows The Burning Bush! and Two in the Bush!. Directed by Anita La Selva, the comedy about a ‘stripping Rabbi' saving souls one lap dance at a time performs June 3 through 11, 2009 as part of Untitled Theater Company #61's The Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas.

"Yentl" meets "Showgirls" in this one-woman road show about a female Rabbinical student who stumbles into a strip club and discovers her true calling: spreading Jewish wisdom with her posse of exotic-dancing back-up preachers. All goes smoothly until they take their ‘stripping-Rabbi' show on the road to seniors' homes and are forced to run for it in the RV they call the Bush Mobile. With the aid of religious guru and comic Jackie Mason and Madonna's inspirational lyrics, the ladies find that love, hope and mysticism are always just around the corner.

Hailed as "equal parts hilarious, captivating and smart" by Eye Weekly and "reverent and irreverent" by NYTheatre.com, Tracey Erin Smith's one-act solo shows The Burning Bush! and Two in the Bush! won Best of Toronto Fringe in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Each play also garnered the Audience Choice Award at the Frigid Festival. This production marks the New York premiere of the full-length version.

Tracey Erin Smith graduated from Vancouver's Studio 58 Theatre School. She was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award (Vancouver's Tony) for The One that Got Away. She is a rabbinical student at the Rabbinical Seminary International in New York. The Burning Bush! is currently in pre-production as feature film with Jackie Mason, who appears as a character in the play, slated to play himself.

Anita La Selva's credits include Two in the Bush! (Toronto Fringe, NYC Frigid Festival, Vancouver Chutzpah Festival) and A Soldier's Story, named one of NOW Magazine's Best of Fest for Outstanding Director and Production. The creative team includes Drew Jurecka (original music), Rebekah Wolkstein (violinist), Trevor Schwellnus (lighting design) and Erika Connor (costume design). The stage manager is Michael Haltrecht.

Scheduled June 3 through 11, The Burning Bush! performs Wednesday, June 3 at 9:00 pm; Friday, June 5 at 8:30 pm; Saturday, June 6 at 11:00 pm and Thursday, June 11 at 10:00 pm at Theatre 3 (311 West 43rd St., 3rd Floor; between 8th and 9th Ave.; Subway: A/C/E or 1/2/3 to 42nd) as part of Untitled Theater Company #61's The Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas. Tickets are $18 at www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/654165 or phone: 866.811.4111. For more information about the festival, visit http://www.untitledtheater.com.

Description: "Yentl" meets "Showgirls" in this one-woman road show about a ‘stripping Rabbi' saving souls one lap dance at a time. Part of Untitled Theater #61's The Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas

Dates: Wed., June 3rd at 9:00 pm; Fri., June 5th at 8:30 pm; Sat., June 6th at 11:00 pm & Thur., June 11th at 10:00 pm

Location: Theatre 3, 311 West 43rd Street - 3rd Floor, between 8th and 9th Ave., Subway: A/C/E or 1/2/3 to 42nd St.

Tickets: $18 at www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/654165 or phone: 866.811.4111

Public Information: http://www.theburningbush.ca or http://www.untitledtheater.com

Running time: 100 minutes with one intermission

 

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