Performances Begin Tonight For THE HANOCH LEVIN PLAYS

New Yiddish Rep will present HANOCH LEVIN SQUARED, a historic repertory engagement of two short plays by Israel's leading playwright, Hanoch Levin, performed in both the original Hebrew and in Yiddish world premieres with English supertitles beginning tonight (Wednesday) at Theater at 224 Waverly (224 Waverly Place, just west of Seventh Ave. between 11th & Perry St.)

The Hebrew cast of THE LABOR OF LIFE features Yiddishpiel Theater star Ronit Asheri, Eli Rosen and Yosi Sokolsky, and the Yiddish cast includes Ronit Asheri, Israeli film star Gera Sandler and Eli Rosen. THE WHORE FROM OHIO is being presented in Hebrew (with internationally acclaimed storyteller Vered Hankin, David Mandelbaum and Eli Rosen) and Yiddish (with Mary Black, David Mandelbaum and Eli Rosen).

Hanoch Levin (1943 - 1999) was Israel's most esteemed playwright. Prolific and controversial, his dark comedies of great psychological insight and poetry have both shocked and entranced his audiences. His 56 plays are as universal as they are Israeli. Levin spent more than three decades trying to strip the nation of self-congratulatory armor and force it to examine what he considered its hypocrisy and self-delusion. Prime Minister Ehud Barak called him ''one of the greatest playwrights that Israel has ever had.''

THE LABOR OF LIFE begins with the hero getting his sleeping wife out of bed in the middle of the night to announce that he's leaving her after 30 years of marriage. The heartlessness of his desertion is evident even in the words with which he tries to comfort her: "Maybe you'll meet a widower, a real estate dealer from Los Angeles, and have a good laugh on me in America." This 1989 play has proven to be one of Levin's most enduring classics.

THE WHORE FROM OHIO has been called poetic, devastating, vulgar, and stylish. Hoibitter, an old tramp, has dreamed all his life about an unattainable high-class prostitute in America. As his 70th birthday approaches, he seeks to give himself a birthday present that suits his pocket: a visit to a street whore.

New Yiddish Rep is dedicated to creating modern theater which speaks to a diverse contemporary audience, including those who never might have thought they could connect to a performance in a language other than their own.

For tickets and more information, including the full performance schedule, visit www.NewYiddishRep.org or call OvationTix at 866-811-4111.