Susan Morgenstern News

What becomes of the Jewish soul caught between the American Dream and the Promised Land? America is a place of new opportunities, but for immigrants from Israel and their families, the story is more complicated … and a rich source of dramatic potential.

This is the last chance to vote for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

As the days grow shorter and the leaves begin to change color, people are yearning to return to their normal, pre-COVID lives and traditions. One of the most anticipated of these is always the Fall Party hosted each year by The Braid. This celebration announces the organization's plans for the coming year.  The event will be full of new stories, favorite actors and writers, and great surprises.  Thanks to Zoom, everyone, everywhere can be there to share the excitement.

Growing up, Iranian-Americans like Ora Yashar often saw themselves depicted only as the exotic Other: in her words, “either terrorists or Princess Jasmine.” But Yashar's generation was raised in the United States — Iranian in heritage living their own American stories. “Now we're bridging the gap between our old world and our new,” remarks another millennial Iranian-American, Asal Akhondzadeh.

Two famous genealogists will give you tips on tracing your Jewish roots across the diaspora at a new Sunday Morning with The Braid Zoom event on Sunday, June 13.

He gave Meghan Markle her first kiss, and now everyone wants to know him. She lost some of her hearing when she contracted COVID and worries she won't be able to keep singing lullabies to her four-year-old daughter. He had to tell parents that their sons had just died in Vietnam. She fell in love with a woman at a time when that kind of loving was unacceptable.

Today’s Jewish mother is nothing like the one-dimensional stereotype that plagued her predecessors.  She’s inspiring, collaborative, and successful—and three of them and their successful kids will be featured in a new Sunday Morning with The Braid event (formerly Jewish Women’s Theatre) on May 2, a week before Mother’s Day.

The new show, The Rest Is History, is the culmination of a year of mentoring and creativity from The Braid’s NEXT Emerging Artists’ Fellowship Program.  Each year, a cohort of aspiring young theatre professionals are chosen to explore how to create meaningful Jewish culture from their own perspective, under the guidance and mentorship of The Braid’s artistic director, Ronda Spinak, and veteran director and The Braid’s producing director, Susan Morgenstern.  

The Braid (formerly Jewish Women’s Theatre), the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony Chamber Players (LAJSCP), and Temple Isaiah will honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day with the world premiere of Stories From the Violins of Hope.

Refusing to let COVID deprive audiences of wonderful theatre, the new salon season of The Braid (formerly Jewish Women's Theatre) will kick off its 13th (bat mitzvah) year with an all-new, powerful, and hilarious Zoom show about the time you “just knew” that life was about to change, for better or maybe for worse.

ChaiFlicks, the world's first dedicated streaming service for Jewish and Israeli-themed film/tv shows, is now available and will feature content from the critically acclaimed collection of stories by The Braid/ Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT) that have entertained audiences for the past 13 years.

Performed virtually by invitation to join the National Womena??s Theatre Festival in North Carolina, 'Inside our Time'presents eight selected stories (from a series of 31) performed by four talented and dedicated actors whose only prop is a notebook containing the story being read. Like all JWT Salon series shows, usually performed in homes around the Westside, the story is the focus, told without scenery, props or costumes. And as presented online, I guarantee you wona??t miss those embellishments since the emotional content of each story is presented with such authenticity that you will find yourself identifying with each character as their stories connect all of us, all the time, thanks to the skill of the incredibly talented cast.

The popular and prestigious Women's Theatre Festival (WTF), based in North Carolina but streaming the world over, will include live performances of eight stories from Inside Our Time: Stories from the Sheltering, Jewish Women's Theatre's (JWT) thoughtful and touching look at what COVID-19 is doing to our lives, our families, our communities, and ourselves.

The completely original show composed of more than a dozen scenes explored the eternal question of What is love, anyway? While there may not be one correct answer, the heartfelt theme proved that shame goes away the more we talk and communicate the truth of our own experience with each other. As I listened to characters from all walks of life share their touching, quirky and often hilarious personal stories of our universal need for human connection, how we go about finding that one great love or one-night stand differed greatly from person to person.

Two celebrated Persian-American authors will share highlights from their recently published memoirs and fascinating life histories as Jewish Women's Theatre presents Sunday Morning at The Braid, coming to audiences via Zoom on Sunday, June 28, at 11 a.m. PDT.

Sex, Addiction & Love in the 21st Century, the brand-new salon show from Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT), originally scheduled to open at The Braid in Santa Monica in March, will be available for three nights only via Zoom, beginning June 27.

In an effort to reduce isolation and give solace and smiles to members of its community and beyond, Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT) is now offering free online daily digital stories about feelings and experiences during this uncertain time.

Two prominent Los Angeles judges will be featured in Deborah's Daughters: Jewish Women Judges during Sunday Morning at the Braid, Jewish Women's Theatre's (JWT) performance and panel discussion event on Sunday, February 23 in Santa Monica from 10am to noon.

Mental health is the foundation of healthy relationships, personal and emotional well-being and positive connections to society. But one in five adults suffers from mental illness and they, and the people who care about them, have important stories to tell. Mapping of the Mind, a new salon show from Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT), will bring these stories to life and just might change the way we think about mental health forever.