New Jewish Theatre Presents AWAKE AND SING! Closes 5/8

In what can be labeled a "First," the New Jewish Theatre is proud to boast that the director for the upcoming production of Clifford Odet's 1935 classic Awake and Sing! is Steve Woolf, Artistic Director of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. While Woolf does direct outside of the Rep, he does not direct for other theatres in the St. Louis area. So this is a genuine First for both Woolf and the New Jewish Theatre. Most recently outside of the Rep, Mr. Woolf directed The Diary of Anne Frank at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre (and then went on to direct the Rep's production of the same show). But the upcoming production at NJT was a show that he could not resist. Its realism and grittiness and the strength of the characters appealed to him.

Awake and Sing!, a "kitchen sink drama" depicts through the prism of social realism the domestic situation of a working-class Jewish family, the Bergers, living in a crowded tenement apartment in the Bronx in the 1930's in the midst of the Great Depression. This 1935 masterpiece, originally produced by the famed Group Theatre, is as relevant today as it was when it premiered, with headlines that are germane to both eras: war looms across the ocean, anti-Semitism is on the rise, capitalism is corrupt, the American economy is shaken to its roots, immigrants are uneasy, the family unit is in upheaval. The Berger family, helmed by Matriarch Bessie, desperately copes with their financial hardships while clinging to dreams of a brighter future. Bessie's fierce determination is the glue that holds the family together. This gritty, passionate, funny and heartbreaking masterpiece still grabs you by the collar, reminding you of the price of materialism, and an inhuman society. The Wall Street Journal calls it "One of the greatest of all American plays."

In addition to Director Woolf, the production brings together the talents of some of St. Louis' top actors; Aaron Orion Baker, Gary Wayne Barker*, Jason Cannon*, Julie Layton, Terry Meddows, Bobby Miller*, Jordan Reinwald*, Elizabeth Townsend* and Jerry Vogel*.

The production closes May 8 with a performance at 2:00 PM. Tickets are available online through the NJT website, www.newjewishtheatre.org or by calling the box office at 314-442-3283.