From a Black Tevya to an Asian Willy Loman: When Modern Jewish Theater calls us to Confront American Racism and Bigotry

Watch Theater J’s incomparable Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr in conversation with Rabbi Gil Steinlauf for a discussion on the intersection of Theater, Jewish Identity, and American racism and bigotry.  In this session, we will address issues like:

• What is Jewish Theater, and how can it play a role in calling us to moral leadership in these difficult times?
• How does a Jewish theater respond to the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement?
• What is our role in addressing the historic inequities (and systemic oppression) that African-Americans and Indigenous artists face (as well as the issues that all artists of color face in the field of Theater)?
• How can Jewish Theater best respond to the call of our historical moment, while holding on to its identity as Jewishtheater?
• What is the responsibility of Jewish Theater to reflect the diversity within the Jewish community in our era?

Adam Immerwahr is the Artistic Director of Theater J, the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, having served in that role since 2015. He has also served as the associate artistic director of Tony Award-winning McCarter Theatre (Princeton, NJ) and the resident director of Passage Theatre (Trenton, NJ). Adam served on the producing team of multiple productions that have transferred to Broadway and Off-Broadway, including the world premiere of Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (which won the Tony Award for Best Play). As a director, his work has been seen across the world, from Aspen to Zimbabwe. He has directed off-Broadway and at many of the nation’s premier regional theaters, such as McCarter Theatre, Walnut Street Theater, Cleveland Play House, and others. He is a recipient of both the NJ Theatre Alliance “Applause Award” and the Fairleigh Dickinson University / Center for Nonprofits “Emerging Nonprofit Leader Award.”