Arts Judaica to Present Staged Reading of Adam Pasen’s FREE RADICALS at The Edge Theatre
New play examines Jewish immigrant politics in 1920s America.
Arts Judaica will present a staged reading of Free Radicals, a new play by Adam Pasen, on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 7 p.m. at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago. Tickets are $15 and available now.
Set on a Chicago elevated train platform in the 1920s, Free Radicals begins when a young Jewish woman fleeing communist Russia meets the progressive American son of Russian Jewish immigrants. Their encounter sparks a decades-long battle of ideas — spanning politics, philosophy, and identity — that challenges the meaning of what it is to be American.
Pasen, a Chicago native and television writer known for his work on Power Book IV: Force, explores the ideological divides of Jewish life in early 20th-century America and the broader tensions between assimilation, idealism, and cultural belonging.
Arts Judaica Artistic Director Elayne LeTraunik directs a cast that includes Jacob Simon, Rachael Fox, and Nathan Kabara, with Sophia Klevit as assistant director.
“Free Radicals is both an intellectual duel and an emotional reckoning,” says LeTraunik. “It’s a play that asks who we are — and who we become — when our ideals collide with our heritage.”
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Adam Pasen has written for the past two seasons of STARZ’s Power Book IV: Force and is a graduate of the Ph.D. Playwriting program at Western Michigan University. His Chicago productions include Tea with Edie and Fitz (BroadwayWorld Chicago Award for Best New Work) and Badfic Love. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Center National Ten-Minute Play Award and has been published in The Best American Short Plays series from Applause Books. Born into an interfaith household, Free Radicals marks Pasen’s first play exploring the Jewish side of his family.
ABOUT ARTS JUDAICA
Arts Judaica is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to Jewish arts, culture, and history. Through theatrical productions, concerts, and educational programs, the company preserves and celebrates Jewish heritage while promoting dialogue and understanding across communities.
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