Joey Brant needs to have a bar mitzvah immediately. Like, next Tuesday. Except he’s not thirteen, the usual age for the Jewish milestone. He’s in his sixties. A task he thinks he could quickly cross off his to-do list becomes a deep immersion into the faith he no longer follows when he meets Rabbi Michael Levitz-Sharon. Michael’s personal life is hanging together by a thread. Her preteen daughter is being treated for cancer, which has put a strain on her marriage and her beliefs. Between her duties as rabbi, mother, and wife, she doesn’t have much time or energy to spare. So, when she finds Joey in her office on Shabbat asking for immediate help, she refuses. Eventually Joey wins Michael over and they embark on a crash bar mitzvah course, leading the two into a series of reflections on their own faith and family. Through the genuine connection established between Joey and Michael, this sentimental dramedy will charm anyone who has ever questioned why bad things happen to good people.
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2018, Pacific Theatre, Vancouver
2020
Playwrights Canada Press
9780369100689
Winner of the 2017 American Jewish Playwriting Prize.
Winner of the 2017 American Jewish Playwriting Prize.
Historical
'Based on a Persian myth dating back over one thousand years, in the 1970s the fable was adapted into a dramatic narrative by Bahram Beyza'ie. In Beyza'ie's story, Aurash, a naïve and human stablehand, becomes an unwilling player in his country's post-war border treaty. He must determine his people's fate by firing an arrow from the top of a mountain." -- from the publisher
Realistic
Teresa is sexy, seductive, and mentally challenged. Worshipped by her boyfriend, she turns tricks at $5, is addicted to Tim Hortons' doughnuts, lies without thinking, and overflows with endless kindness, but she continues to hold on to her limitless innocence. The Crackwalker captures the music, the dialect, and the unpretty realities of the inner city. First produced thirty years ago, Thompson's striking portrayal of the discarded class in Canada continues to move audiences today.
