This play presents an imagined Passover Seder shared between Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rabbi and Mrs. Abraham Joshua Heschel. It explores the relationship between the Black and Jewish communities through common and different experiences, through the Seder itself, and through moving song and dialogue. Playwright Cantor Steven Stoehr writes:
“I find this play to be timely, at any time. The message of tolerance is old and yet not yet fulfilled. Our faith communities have done much together over the decades but we cannot continue to hang our hats on the relationships once nurtured 60 years ago between Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel. King, like Moses, may have seen the promised land but it was from atop a mountain. Today’s world is one which mandates renewed allegiances and new approaches towards fellowship so that we truly all reach our promised lands”.
$18 (General Admission) | $25 (Preferred Seating)
Students under 18 free
Refreshments will be served following the performance with an opportunity to meet the cast
HAZZAN STEVEN STOEHR, the author of The Lost Supper, began his career, at his first and only pulpit, Congregation Beth Shalom, in Northbrook, Illinois, in 1988. Steven has served as International Cantors Assembly President and chaired seven international conventions. In 2010 he received the Samuel Rosenbaum Award for scholarship and creativity and in 2015 the Moses Silverman Award for Service to the Assembly. He currently serves as the President of the CA Foundation. In 2019 Steve traveled on a CA mission to Uganda to visit and study with the Abayudaya community. In 2002 the Jewish Theological Seminary granted him the Hazzan David Putterman Award for excellence in his career and in 2008 awarded a Doctorate in Music, Honorius Causa. Steven and his wife Susan are uniquely proud of their children Jacob (Ilana), Talia and Alana and granddaughter Liv Hazel.
ELI KATZ has worked with many Chicago companies including, Trap Door, Victory Gardens, Pride Films & Plays, City Lit, Oak Park Festival Theatre, BoHo, Factory, Promethean, Raven (Jeff Award Nomination – Best Supporting Actress), Redtwist, and Babes With Blades. Voice Over credits include Litehouse Salad Dressings (US and Canada), Stacy’s Pita Chips, Microsoft, and Abbott Laboratories. Originally from NJ, Eli holds an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School in London, England and a BA in Theatre Arts from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. She and her husband, Justin, are the proud parents of an extraordinary little boy named Zev and a mouthy kitty called Mrs. Weasley. www.elikatzvo.com
BRETTINA DAVIS is a born and raised Minneapolis, Minnesota actress. She started her journey in entertainment at 9-months- old as a pageant baby and has continued to be drawn back to the stage. You may have spotted her in a Target commercial or on a Rassumusen College billboard. Notable work in film: Spot in Netflix Lady Dynamite and a role in a local Z-Fest Film.
DANTE PIRTLE is a non union twin cities artist, who serves in Minneapolis Public Schools and is a military veteran of the USAF. He has over 20 years of arts experience which includes Theatre, Music, Film And Dance. He is honored to be chosen for such a project that adds to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Blessings for coming to this presentation. Stay Focused!
