To Reach Across a River by Marshall Botvinick at Theatre Ariel

Theatre Ariel, Philadelphia’s home for Jewish theatre, presents To Reach Across a River, by Marshall Botvinick, April 29th - May 7th. This new play was a finalist in the 2022 Jewish Plays Project and was developed in part by Theatre Ariel. The play will be presented in Theatre Ariel’s signature “Salon Style” readings. 

The play tells the remarkable story of Yehudis, an Ultra-Orthodox woman living in a world where family is everything. But when she and her husband struggle to have a baby, Yehudis goes on a courageous journey of transformation as she reaches beyond her Hasidic community. To Reach Across a River tells a story as timeless as Sarah’s, as potent as the rescue of Moses from the Nile. Though its setting is the specific world of Orthodox Judaism, its sentiments are universal.

In February of 2023, playwright Botvinick – who is also a director and dramaturg, as well as a Senior Lecturer at University of North Carolina Wilmington – came from his home in Durham, North Carolina, to Philadelphia for a day-long workshop with Theatre Ariel. A rewritten and strengthened script emerged from that development process, and these Salons mark this new draft’s world premiere.

“We were incredibly excited to be able to help Marshall develop this play,” says Theatre Ariel Artistic Director Jesse Bernstein. “The script was already production-worthy, and the work he was able to do as a result of the workshop only strengthened it. It’s a beautiful, touching piece.” 

Esther M. Cohen directs the Salon, which features actors Leah Walton, Seth Reichgott, Ben Behrend and Brittany Onukwhuga.

Performances are Saturday, April 29th at 8pm and Sunday, April 30th at 7pm at Mishkan Shalom, 4101 Freeland Ave in Philadelphia; and Saturday May 6th at 8pm and Sunday May 7th at 2pm at The Greenhill, 1001 City Avenue in Wynnewood. Tickets can be purchased here.