TRAYF Opens Penguin's 2017 Season this Friday

Penguin Rep Theatre, the award-winning professional Equity theatre under the leadership of founding artistic director Joe Brancato and executive director Andrew M. Horn, opens its 40th season with Trayf, a new play by Lindsay Joelle.

Directed by Benjamin Kamine, Trayf tells the story of Zalmy, a member of Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement, who lives a double life: By day, he drives a "Mitzvah Tank" with his best friend Shmuel; by night, he leaves his orthodox community to roller skate and listen to rock and roll music. ("Trayf," pronounced tr?f, is the Yiddish word for "non-kosher," or forbidden).

"Overflowing with humor and heart," says Mr. Brancato, "Trayf asks how hard you have to believe to belong."

The limited engagement of Trayf runs from Friday, May 19 through Sunday, June 11 at Penguin Rep Theatre in historic Stony Point (Rockland County), New York. Official opening is Sunday, May 21 at 2:00 p.m.

Craig De Lorenzo, Jason Liebman, Brendan Titley, and Liba Vaynberg are featured in the cast.

The production has scenic design by Brian Prather, costume design by Lux Haac, lighting design by Christina Watanabe, sound design by William Neal, with casting by Cindi Rush.

Performance days and times are: Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. There is also a special weekday matinee on Friday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Penguin's intimate, 108-seat theatre, which is located at 7 Crickettown Road, is converted from an 1880's hay barn, and offers air-conditioning, wheelchair accessible entrance, rest rooms and seating, and plenty of free parking.

Tickets to Trayf are priced at $44 (including facility fee and service charge). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and young people (30 and under).

On Sunday, May 21, the audience is invited to join the cast and crew for cake and coffee after the performance.

On Friday, May 26, there will be a discussion among the actors and audience following the show.

Before the 4:00 p.m. show on Saturday, May 27, there will be a complimentary tasting catered by Lynch's Restaurant in Stony Point.

Penguin's 2017 season also includes Lee Blessing's Cobb, a powerful play exploring legendary baseball player Ty Cobb's complicated legacy, with Joe Brancato reprising his celebrated staging (June 30 - July 23), Syncopation, a romantic comedy by Allan Knee, author of The Man Who Was Peter Pan, a play commissioned and originally presented by Penguin, which is the basis for the movie and Broadway musical Finding Neverland (August 11 - September 3), and the world premiere of Frederick Stroppel's Fall River, a new take on Lizzie Borden (October 13 - November 5).

Season subscriptions are on sale now and start as low as $116 for the four plays.

To order tickets or for further information, visit Penguin Rep's website at www.penguinrep.org or call 845-786-2873.

Photo credit: Dorice A. Madronero