Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey to Welcome Diana Rissetto's WARMTH, 5/21

WARMTH, a new American play written by Diana Rissetto (Pigeons, Knishes and Rockettes, Margot Frank: The Diary of the Other Young Girl, Bookstories, Frankly Yours), and directed by Annette Curran, will be presented as part of the Goodwin Holocaust Center at the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey's yearly benefit on May 21st at 7:30pm.

The play was one of three finalists in 2013's New Jersey Playwright's Contest and went on to a publicly-acclaimed, sold-out and extended run at the Grange Playhouse in Howell, New Jersey last summer.

Sweet, innocent, well-meaning Gemma (Marylee Sumeriski) has a happy and wholesome life as a Catholic kindergarten schoolteacher, a hilarious sidekick in her cousin and roommate Luke (Brendan Keffner), plenty of Jewish moms trying to set her up with their sons, and a heart of gold...even though it gets her into trouble sometimes. When she finds herself volunteering with a foundation which helps (and makes scarves for) rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust, Gemma wants to do more than good deeds from overseas and arranges for Magdelone (Lisa Rose Ferrara), an 88-year-old Polish woman, to stay with her for two weeks. As Gemma grows close to Magdelone and her long-lost Jewish-American grandson, Victor (Matthew Gochman), she becomes obsessed with the atrocities of the past and struggles with an odd form of Christian guilt, intent on healing all the world's problems. WARMTH also stars Maria DeAngelo.

WARMTH balances out a lot of heart and modern comedic dialogue with the heartbreaking memories of one old woman's past as one young woman tries to fix the future and, along with her friends, figure out their identities and where they stand in this world.

Tickets range from $18 to $180 for preferred seating. For more information, visit www.JewishSouthJersey.org.

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