THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JERRY Opens At MJTC 4/16-5/8

The Gospel According to Jerry by Richard Krevolin and Irwin Kula will receive its world premiere at Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company April 16-May 8, 2011. This poignant comedy is the final production of MJTC's 16th season.

Jerry Silver is a divorced rabbi in a Yankees baseball cap searching to fill a personal void. Nia Thompson is a reserved African American woman desperate to lose weight. Their lives intersect when Nia signs up for an overeaters' anonymous group that Jerry is leading for a master's degree. A heartwarming relationship unfolds in this funny, new play that takes a contemporary look at spirituality, bias, stereotypes, and Jewish-African American connections.

The role of Jerry will be played by Ryan M. Lindberg, and the role of Nia will be played by Greta Oglesby. Ryan will be familiar to MJTC audiences from Moonlight and Magnolias (David O. Selznick), The Twilight of the Golds (Rob), Modern Orthodox (Ben), and most recently, the solo performance piece, Goats. Other stage credits include the Guthrie Theater, Walking Shadow Theater, Gremlin Theatre, and Milwaukee Shakespeare. MJTC is pleased to welcome Greta Oglesby to the MJTC stage. Greta will be familiar to audiences from her work as Caroline in Caroline or Change, and Mother Shaw in Crowns, both at the Guthrie Theater; and Bernice in The Piano Lesson, Mae and Mother in Dinah Was, and Bertha in Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Penumbra Theatre. Other stage credits include Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, and in New York, American Songbook Series @ Lincoln Center, and understudy for Lena in A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway. Haley Finn, resident director at The Playwrights' Center, directs The Gospel According to Jerry.

Tickets for The Gospel According to Jerry are Wednesdays and Sunday evening $18, Thursdays $19, Saturdays $26, Sunday afternoons $22. Student rush tickets are $12. Group discounts are available. All performances are at MJTC's theater home, Hillcrest Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul. For ticket reservations call 651-647-4315, Monday through Friday, 9 am - 4:30 pm, or e-mail info@mnjewishtheatre.org.

Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is a non-profit organization now in its 16th year of presenting professional productions rooted in the Jewish experience and illuminating The Common humanity among us all. The audience for MJTC is almost equally divided between Jews and non-Jews. For further information about MJTC, call 651-647-4315 or visit our website at www.mnjewishtheatre.org; or join our Facebook family at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Paul-MN/Minnesota-Jewish-Theatre-Company/44432069548.

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