New Yiddish Rep Reveals Cast For THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAIM

Mikhl Yashinsky’s new drama “The Gospel According to Chaim,” the strange tale of a Jewish writer’s quixotic attempt to publish a controversial book, begins previews on Thursday December 21 en route to a world premiere opening on Christmas Eve, Sunday December 24 at 7:30pm.  Playing a total of 21 performances through Sun January 7, “The Gospel According to Chaim” (“Di psure loyt khaim”) is performed in Yiddish with English supertitles.

Yashinsky, 33, who has written what is the first entirely original, full-length American Yiddish drama to be produced for a general audience in seven decades, appears in the cast, which also features prominent actor Melissa Weisz, who starred in New Yiddish Rep’s acclaimed production of “God of Vengeance” in 2016-17.  Also featured are Joshua Horowitz and Sruli Rosenberg, both in their professional theatre debuts.  Weisz, and Rosenberg are both native Yiddish speakers who grew up in Orthodox communities in New York.

The cast, and the director Dmitri Barcomi, co-founder of the new pop-up Museum of Drag, are all part of the burgeoning downtown Yiddish arts and social scene that continues to draw new adherents from multiple backgrounds.

The story of a Jewish writer’s attempts to publish his Yiddish translation of the New Testament, “The Gospel According to Chaim” is Yashinsky’s full-length playwriting debut.  The manuscript the writer printed on his own (because every publisher he approached refused) resides at the Yiddish Book Center where Yashinsky discovered it in 2016.  The Detroit-born Yashinsky currently is in the premiere of “Amid Falling Walls” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Led by artistic director David Mandelbaum, New Yiddish Rep has daringly added several landmark productions to the Yiddish canon in recent years, including acclaimed production of “Waiting for Godot” (2013-14) and “Death of a Salesman” (2015) in Yiddish and the widely praised “God of Vengeance” (2016-17) which premiered at La MaMa and was extended twice.

New Yiddish Rep is credited with being one of the main companies at the forefront of the surprising revival of Yiddish secular culture.  The company trains both actors and non-actor native Yiddish speakers (many of whom are LGBTQ+) who elect to separate from their communities of origin.

Tickets, which are $25, $36 and $45, are available at www.newyiddishrep.org

Performances are Wed at 3pm and 7:30pm; Thu, Fri at 7:30pm; Sat at 3pm & 7:30pm, and Sun at 3pm.  Added performances on Sun Dec 24 at 7:30pm; Mon Dec 25 at 7:30pm, and Tue Jan 2 at 7:30pm.  (Performance on Sat Dec 23 at 7:30pm only.)

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