Cast Set for OKLAHOMA SAMOVAR by Alice Eve Cohen at La MaMa

La MaMa has revealed the cast for the world premiere of Oklahoma Samovar by Alice Eve Cohen. Directed by Eric Nightengale, this new play, which won the 2021 National Jewish Playwriting Contest, is inspired by Cohen’s great-grandparents, the only Jews in the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. It examines the American immigrant experience by exploring the shifting identity, traditions, and culture clashes that shape five generations of a Jewish family. Running December 5–21, 2025, with an opening set for Monday, December 8, performances take place at La MaMa’s Downstairs Theatre.

The cast for Oklahoma Samovar includes Joyce Cohen as Sylvia, Nadia Diamond as Emily, Sarah Chalfie as Hattie, Sahar Lev-Shomer as Jake, Seren Kaiser as Little Clara, and Alex J. Gould as Ben.

In 1887, two Latvian teenagers flee the Russian Army and become the only Jews in the Oklahoma Land Run. A hundred years later, 20-year-old Emily tries to decipher her late mother’s mysterious request to have her ashes spread on a stranger’s farm, in a place she has never heard of. Based on the playwright’s ancestors, Oklahoma Samovar wrestles with themes of immigration, assimilation, generational trauma, and the transcendent power of mother-daughter love. In the play, five generations put down roots and dig graves, embodying their own Jewish variations on the turbulent and mythologized American Dream. It is a unique and utterly human American story.

“Oklahoma Samovar is based on my family history, which my mother kept secret,” says playwright Alice Eve Cohen. “After my mother died, I searched for and interviewed relatives. I unearthed family photos and artifacts, and discovered  the samovar my great-grandmother carried with her in 1887 when she traveled alone from Latvia at age 17. I learned  that my ancestors were the only Jews in the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. Stylistically, Oklahoma Samovar merges realistic drama with magic realism, ghost story, folklore, storytelling, and puppetry. It’s a story of immigrants and assimilation, and a story about telling stories.”

The creative team for Oklahoma Samovar includes Anna Kiraly (set and puppet designer), Barbara Erin Delo (Costume Designer), Federico Restrepo (lighting designer), Eric Nightengale (sound designer), Eliana Cohen-Orth (assistant director and associate producer), Qingan Zhang (assistant set and puppet designer, props supervisor), Dan Hurlin (puppetry consultant), Tom Driscoll (stage manager), and John Breen (producer).

Twelve performances of Oklahoma Samovar will take place December 5–21, 2025, at La MaMa’s Downstairs Theatre, located at 66 E 4th Street in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of the first performance, December 5, with a press opening on Monday, December 8. The performance schedule is Thursday through Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm with an additional performance at 7pm on Monday, December 8. The anticipated running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. General admission tickets are $30 and $25 for students or seniors. Ten tickets to every performance are $10 each. Tickets are available at www.lamama.org/oklahoma-samovar.