An absurdist tale about a love triangle gone wrong, Yaacobi & Leidental is a comic escapade through the failings of friendship and love.
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's U.S. premiere of Yaacobi & Leidental, a funny, provocative romp with music written by Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin featuring songs by Alex Kagan, opened over the weekend in Los Angeles. Tel Aviv-based director Yonatan Esterkin helms a new translation by Naaman Tamuz that was recently commissioned by the Levin estate, and Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam is music director.
An absurdist tale about a love triangle gone wrong, Yaacobi & Leidental is a comic escapade through the failings of friendship and love. Even as we laugh at the antics of brash Yaacobi (Ilia Volok), insecure Leidental (Michael Redfield) and not-as-sweet-as-she-looks Ruth Shekhash (Sera Heywood-Rakhimova), we are reminded of our own shared human frailty in the face of desire and suffering. The cheerful songs, accompanied by Arunasalam on piano, stand in stark contrast to the cruelties visited on one another by these three friends.
Check out the photos, below.
Performances of Yaacobi & Leidental through April 30. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to OdysseyTheatre.com.
Photo Credit: Jenny Graham
Ilia Volok and Michael Redfield
Ilia Volok and Michael Redfield
Ilia Volok and Michael Redfield
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Ilia Volok and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Ilia Volok and Michael Redfield
Ilia Volok and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Ilia Volok and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Ilia Volok and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova, Michael Redfield, and Ilia Volok
Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Michael Redfield
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Michael Redfield
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Ilia Volok, Sera Heywood-Rakhimova, and Michael Redfield
Ilia Volok, Sera Heywood-Rakhimova, and Michael Redfield
Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Michael Redfield
Michael Redfield and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Ilia Volok and Michael Redfield
Sera Heywood-Rakhimova and Ilia Volok
Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam and Sera Heywood-Rakhimova
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