You Can't Take It With You by Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
2:00 pm
Straus Auditorium, Park Heights JCC
5700 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
July 14, 2010: Jewish Theatre Workshop (âJTWâ) presents âYou Canât Take It With You,â a comedy in three acts by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. âYou Canât Take It With Youâ was first produced in 1936, opening at The Booth Theater on Broadway. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1937 and is the most produced American play of all time. The cast for this production includes JTW regulars: Susan Vick, Lisa Jacobs, Avi Sonnenthal, Lenny Ross, Dickens Warfield and Isaac Kotlicky, as well as newcomers: Brad Norris, Wesley Niemann, Amalia Mark, Ama Brown, Dominic Gladden, Moshe Grossman, Ron Maltz, Joey Sauthoff, and Jennifer Bushey. Additional Credits: Directed by: Gavriel Lewin Assistant Director: Itta Chana Englander Technical Director: Etan Weintraub Stage Manager: Chana Zeller Set Design: Jason Lafalce Props: Melissa Ostroff Costumes: Itta Chana Englander PERFORMANCE DATES: August 12, 2010 at 7 p.m. August 15, 2010 at 2 p.m. August 16, 2010 at 7 p.m. LOCATION: Straus Auditorium, Weinberg Park Heights Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore, MD 21215 TICKET PRICES: Adults $15; Seniors & Students (with valid ID) $10 Tickets are available for purchase online at www.jewishtheatreworkshop.org (until August 12) or at the door on the night of performance. MORE ABOUT JEWISH THEATRE WORKSHOP: The JTW is an interdenominational and interfaith Jewish theatre company that observes ritual days of rest (Shabbat and holidays), providing a unique opportunity for participation from the religious Jewish community. The diversity of participation in JTW forges a distinct perspective on the intersection of Jewish and the non-Jewish world. The company is dedicated to creating dynamic and vital commentary on Jewish identity, culture, and tradition through staged production of classical, contemporary and new plays. In Summer 2006, JTW became artists in residence at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore. As a result of the Jewish Community Center's generous support, founders Itta Chana Englander and DeDe Jacobs Komisar invited New York theatre artist Yishai Freedman to assume artistic directorship of the company starting with the second season in August 2006. In the fall of 2006, Etan Weintraub was brought on as the resident Stage Manager for the Jewish Theatre Workshop and was named the Managing Director in July 2007. In May of 2009, Gavriel Lewin was named the new interim Artistic Director for the 2009-2010 season, and was re-elected in May of 2010 to be the Artistic Director for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. PLAY SYNOPSIS: At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder. In contrast to these delightful people are the unhappy Kirbys. The plot shows how Tony, attractive young son of the Kirbys, falls in love with Alice Sycamore and brings his parents to dine at the Sycamore home on the wrong evening. The shock sustained by the Kirbys, who are invited to eat cheap food, shows Alice that marriage with Tony is out of the question. The Sycamores, however, though sympathetic to Alice, find it hard to realize her point of view. Meantime, Tony, who knows the Sycamores are right and his own people wrong, will not give her up, and in the end Mr. Kirby is converted to the happy madness of the Sycamores, particularly since he happens in during a visit by an ex-Grand Duchess, earning her living as a waitress. No mention has as yet been made of the strange activities of certain members of the household engaged in the manufacture of fireworks, nor of the printing press set up in the parlor, nor of Rheba the maid and her friend Donald, nor of Grandpa's interview with the tax collector when he tells him he doesn't believe in the income tax. Alice decides to leave home, with no immediate plans to return. She was truly in love with Tony, and her family ruined her chances of ever falling in love, and for doing that, she can never forgive them. Penny keeps trying to tell Alice to stay, but Grandpa knows that Alice cannot be swayed.Tony arrives and tries to convince Alice not to leave home. Alice knows she loves him, but just can't get herself to stay. Soon, Mr. Kolenkhov appears with the Grand Duchess Olga Katrina, in all of her former glory. After discussing the sad fate of former Russian royals now working menial jobs in New York, the Grand Duchess soon insists upon going into the kitchen to cook the dinner for the family. Mr. Kirby arrives to pick up Tony and to settle his score with Grandpa Vanderhof. Soon, Mr. Kirby and Tony get into a heated argument, the pinnacle of which finds Tony admitting that he had purposely brought his family on the wrong night, the night before. He explains that he wanted each family to see each as they really were, that Alice's idea of a planned party was ridiculous. Grandpa Vanderhof jumps in and, with the family's help, persuades Kirby that his life is not as it should be. Grandpa accuses Mr. Kirby of wasting his life by doing things he does not want to do. Mr. Kirby puts up a big fight, with several valid points... but eventually succumbs. He is changed, and accepts the Vanderhof view of life. The play comes to a conclusion as the family, along with Tony and Mr. Kirby, sit down to dinner with the Grand Duchess. Grandpa says a touching prayer, and then they dive into the food. CONTACT INFORMATION: For more information about JTW or this production, contact: Cheryl Taragin at 410-206-1331 or email cheryltaragin@yahoo.com Hotline: 410-542-4900 x.201 Website: http://www.jewishtheatreworkshop.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewish-Theatre-Workshop/106716150910