Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company Opens HANDLE WITH CARE, 4/13-5/5

The Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company will close its 18th season with the laugh-out-loud comedy Handle With Care by Jason Odell Williams.

Receiving its regional premiere, Handle With Care is the story of Ayelet, a young Israeli woman who is dragged by her grandmother on a road trip through America in search of a dream. A strange itinerary through small Virginia towns, a botched DHL delivery, a surprise blizzard, and a strong language barrier all eventually lead Ayelet to find what she didn't know she was looking for: her destiny.

MJTC would like to welcome two new actresses to the MJTC stage for Handle With Care. Linda Kelsey will be playing the role of Edna, Ayelet's grandmother. Ms. Kelsey is best known for the role of Billie Newman in Lou Grant. Other TV roles include: ER, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, The Twilight Zone, Streets of San Francisco, and Eleanor and Franklin. Local theater credits include Park Square Theatre (Mary Queen of Scotts, Eleemosynary, Biography, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Belle of Amherst, Doubt), Guthrie Theater (When We Are Married). Miriam

Schwartz will play the role of Ayelet. Ms. Schwartz is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program. Past credits include Sonya in Uncle Vanya, Jenny in In Game or Real, Arden in Cinephilia, and multiple roles in Clandestino.

Dustin Bronson and Ryan Lindberg return to the MJTC stage to round out this dynamic cast. Mr. Bronson last appeared in Photograph 51 with MJTC. Other theatre credits include Park Square Theater (Of Mice and Men) and Illusion Theater (My Antonia, Autistic License). Ryan Lindberg previously appeared with MJTC in Goats, Moonlight and Magnolias, The Gospel According to Jerry, Modern Orthodox, and Twilight of the Golds. Other theater credits include Guthrie Theater (Six Degrees of Separation), Milwaukee Shakespeare (The Taming of the Shrew), Walking Shadow (Robots vs. Fake Robots, Squawk), and Gremlin Theatre (Corleone). Hayley Finn will direct Handle With Care. Previously at MJTC she directed Compulsion or the House Behind, The Last Word..., and The Gospel According to Jerry. Ms. Finn is the Resident Director and Lab Producer at the Playwrights' Center. Other directing credits in the Twin Cities include Hiding In The Open (History Theatre), ADY (Pangea World Theater), and Permanence Collection (Walker Art Center). She holds both a B.A. and M.A. from Brown University.

Handle With Care will run April 13 through May 5, 2013.