THE SKETCHY EASTERN EUROPEAN SHOW Announces Cast and Dates for Runs in Both 2023 and 2024

The cast and dates have been announced for the upcoming downtown theatre production of The Sketchy Eastern European Show, a new play by Naren Weiss. The piece, which is directed by Vas Eli (formerly Vasile Flutur) will have a limited engagement on March 23rd, 24th, and 25th of this month. It will then move to a three week run in 2024 from March 7th to the 24th at the same venue.

The piece, which was developed by Weiss during a residency at The Players Theatre, follows an aging Romanian comedian as he attempts to find his footing in an American industry that has seemingly forgotten all about "people like him."

Vas Eli (TFANA's Tamburlaine) will star as Corneliu "Kal" Caliniuc, the protagonist who will stop at nothing to succeed in his one final shot at "making it." Perri Yaniv (Lin Manuel Miranda's Vestments of the Gods) will play Ion "John" Breivik, a DJ from London who code-switches, subverts stereotypes, and challenges what the establishment thinks they want. Rounding out the cast is Rebecca Jimenez (2nd Stage/WP's Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) as Becky.

"I've always been interested in the concept of divide-and-conquer under white supremacy," says Weiss, who grew up in India and identifies as South Asian, Indigenous (Kodava), and white American. "To me, the great tragedy is that it has succeeded to a point where communities paint other communities that would-be-friends into enemies. Having grown up in a certain level of poverty that most Americans would simply not be able to comprehend, I've found that there are other developing countries that outwardly appear to have privilege, but who intrinsically understand the depths of poverty that all members of the Global South can relate to. Ultimately, I'm standing with fellow oppressed communities and am actively looking for allies - not enemies."

View the play's webpage here: https://express.adobe.com/page/6tOk98idf6PLC/

Kal (a thirty-something-year-old, out-of-work, Romanian comedian) fears his window has closed... and with it, all of his childhood dreams of stardom. Then, he stumbles upon John, a charismatic, half-Romanian DJ from London who code-switches, subverts stereotypes, and challenges what the establishment thinks they want. Kal enlists this rising young star's help to put together one last shot at making it... but quickly discovers how in over his head he actually is.

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