Theatre J Cancels IMAGINING MADOFF After Elie Wiesel Objects

According to The Washington Post Theatre J has canceled its production of the new play 'Imagining Madoff' due to Elie Wiesel's objections. The play, written by Deb Margolin features a fictionalized portrayal of Wiesel.

The play was set to run from August 28 to October 3 and starred Rick Foucheuz. In the play Benie Madoff sits in prison remembering a discussion he has with Elie Wiesel. The play is entirly fictional.

Margolin, an associate professor of theatre at Yale said this in an interview, "[Wiesel] was metaphorically placed in the room with [Madoff] so I could investigate moral complexities about what kind of person could commit the kind of crimes Bernard Madoff committed. . . . It enabled me to look at both ends of the moral spectrum and the points in between. And so I was very sorry to have displeased Professor Wiesel. And quite devastated by his response."

Wiesel, who is a Holocaust survivor and author of 57 books incuding 'Night' which chronicles his experiences in concentration camps during WWII, wrote Margolin a letter calling the play "obscene" and "defamatory." Margolin explains that "his name is synonymous with decency, morality, the struggle for human dignity and kindness, and in contrast to the most notorious financial criminal in the past 200 years. That's why he was there, and I felt I had treated his character with great respect -- the respect that I genuinely have felt for him."

Replacing IMAGINING MADOFF will be SOMETHING YOU DID by Willy Holtzman.

Theater J has emerged as one of the most distinctive, progressive and respected Jewish theaters on the national and international scene. A program of the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, Theater J works in collaboration with the other components of the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts: the Washington Jewish Film Festival and Screening Room, the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, and the Program in Literature, Music and Dance.

For more information on Theatre J visit http://www.washingtondcjcc.org/center-for-arts/theater-j/