Bad Jews
By Joshua Harmon
Jan 12 - Feb 12, 2017Low-priced Previews Jan 12 - Jan 20, 2017
The night after their grandfather’s funeral, three cousins engage in a verbal battle royale over a family heirloom. In one corner is the unstoppable and self-assured force of “Super Jew” Daphna. In the other, the immovable and entitled object of her secular cousin Liam. And in the middle is Liam’s brother Jonah, trying to stay out of the fray. Bad Jews is a savage comedy about family, faith, and legacy.
“Delectably savage humor” – The New York Times
Companion Guide
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Cast
Danielle FrimerDanielle Frimer
Daphna FeygenbaumDanielle Frimer is an actor, writer, and teacher. After graduating from ACT’s MFA Acting program, she spent a year at an entertainment tech start up in San Francisco called PullString, where she wrote dialogue for a millenial chatbot character and voiced the lead in an interactive rom-com. At ACT, her roles included Althea in Monstress, Nell in Indian Ink, Teresa in Napoli, Annabelle in A Christmas Carol, Ophelia in Hamlet and Victoria/Edward in Cloud Nine. Other roles include the Princess in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Post 5 Theater), Olivia in Twelfth Night (Portland Actors Ensemble), Philomela in Weightless (Z Space) and Jessie in Eddie the Marvelous… (Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor). Danielle also recently wrote a one woman show entitled The Honey of His Music Vows as part of CoHo Development Lab in Portland. Much thanks to Mom, Dad, Kay, Josh, Robby and Paul. B.A. from Yale University. www.daniellefrimer.com.
Josh Odsess-RubinJosh Odsess-Rubin
Liam HaberJosh Odsess-Rubin is over the moon to be returning to Cygnet after appearing as Gabriel Law & Andrew Price in 2016’s When the Rain Stops Falling. He recently made his LA debut in The Imaginary Invalid at A Noise Within and starred in The Comedy of Errors at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Other credits include Rosalind in As You Like It (Shakespeare Orange County); Asher Lev in My Name is Asher Lev (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati); A Christmas Carol (Sierra Rep); Richard II (Yale Rep); The Nina Variations (Cincinnati Playhouse); King Lear, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet (New Swan Shakespeare), Play It Again Sam, Theophilus North, Crimes of the Heart, Around the World in 80 Days (Winnipesaukee Playhouse). NYC: Ars Nova, HERE Arts Center, Culture Project, Dixon Place, NYC Fringe, among others. He has also appeared on a handful of TV shows and in two international commercials. MFA – UC Irvine, BA – Yale University. Many thanks to Sean & Robby! www.joshorubin.com.
Katie SapperKatie Sapper
MelodyKatie is thrilled to be back at Cygnet in Bad Jews with such a phenomenal team of artists! Past Credits: The Rocky Horror Show – female swing (Cygnet), Titanic – Kate McGowan, Lion in Winter – Alais (Moonlight Stage Productions), Kingdom City – Crystal (La Jolla Playhouse *world premiere), Knuffle Bunny – Trixie (North Coast Theatre for Families), Oz:A Wonderous New Musical – Glinda (world premiere – Lamb’s Players), Violet – Violet/Young Vi u.s. (San Diego Rep), A New Brain – Nancy, bare: a Pop Opera – Ivy (Diversionary). B.A. in Musical Theatre – Saint Mary’s University MN. Favorites there: Urinetown – Hope, Spitfire Grill – Percy, Necessary Targets – Azra, Playboy of the Western World – Pegeen Mike, 25th…Spelling Bee – Schwartzy. Katie has also been a storyteller at Cygnet and a teaching artist at North Coast Rep, San Diego Junior Theatre, Canyon Crest Academy, and The Old Globe. Love to Sean, Robby, family, friends, Ringo, and my love. katiesapper.com.
Danielle Frimer
Danielle Frimer is an actor, writer, and teacher. After graduating from ACT’s MFA Acting program, she spent a year at an entertainment tech start up in San Francisco called PullString, where she wrote dialogue for a millenial chatbot character and voiced the lead in an interactive rom-com. At ACT, her roles included Althea in Monstress, Nell in Indian Ink, Teresa in Napoli, Annabelle in A Christmas Carol, Ophelia in Hamlet and Victoria/Edward in Cloud Nine. Other roles include the Princess in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Post 5 Theater), Olivia in Twelfth Night (Portland Actors Ensemble), Philomela in Weightless (Z Space) and Jessie in Eddie the Marvelous… (Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor). Danielle also recently wrote a one woman show entitled The Honey of His Music Vows as part of CoHo Development Lab in Portland. Much thanks to Mom, Dad, Kay, Josh, Robby and Paul. B.A. from Yale University. www.daniellefrimer.com.
Josh Odsess-Rubin
Josh Odsess-Rubin is over the moon to be returning to Cygnet after appearing as Gabriel Law & Andrew Price in 2016’s When the Rain Stops Falling. He recently made his LA debut in The Imaginary Invalid at A Noise Within and starred in The Comedy of Errors at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Other credits include Rosalind in As You Like It (Shakespeare Orange County); Asher Lev in My Name is Asher Lev (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati); A Christmas Carol (Sierra Rep); Richard II (Yale Rep); The Nina Variations (Cincinnati Playhouse); King Lear, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet (New Swan Shakespeare), Play It Again Sam, Theophilus North, Crimes of the Heart, Around the World in 80 Days (Winnipesaukee Playhouse). NYC: Ars Nova, HERE Arts Center, Culture Project, Dixon Place, NYC Fringe, among others. He has also appeared on a handful of TV shows and in two international commercials. MFA – UC Irvine, BA – Yale University. Many thanks to Sean & Robby! www.joshorubin.com.
Katie Sapper
Katie is thrilled to be back at Cygnet in Bad Jews with such a phenomenal team of artists! Past Credits: The Rocky Horror Show – female swing (Cygnet), Titanic – Kate McGowan, Lion in Winter – Alais (Moonlight Stage Productions), Kingdom City – Crystal (La Jolla Playhouse *world premiere), Knuffle Bunny – Trixie (North Coast Theatre for Families), Oz:A Wonderous New Musical – Glinda (world premiere – Lamb’s Players), Violet – Violet/Young Vi u.s. (San Diego Rep), A New Brain – Nancy, bare: a Pop Opera – Ivy (Diversionary). B.A. in Musical Theatre – Saint Mary’s University MN. Favorites there: Urinetown – Hope, Spitfire Grill – Percy, Necessary Targets – Azra, Playboy of the Western World – Pegeen Mike, 25th…Spelling Bee – Schwartzy. Katie has also been a storyteller at Cygnet and a teaching artist at North Coast Rep, San Diego Junior Theatre, Canyon Crest Academy, and The Old Globe. Love to Sean, Robby, family, friends, Ringo, and my love. katiesapper.com.
Tom ZoharTom Zohar
Jonah HaberPreviously seen at Cygnet Theatre in Sweeney Todd (Tobias), The History Boys (Posner) and The Little Foxes (Cal). Other credits include: Gutenberg! The Musical! (Bud) at Backyard Renaissance; A New Brain (Gordon), Harmony, Kansas (Julian), [title of show] (Jeff), Twist! (The Dodger), Yank! A New Musical (Stu; recipient of Patté Award for Outstanding Performance), Torch Song Trilogy (David) and Bunbury (Hartley) at Diversionary Theatre; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip) at La Mirada Theatre; Zhivago (Swing) at the La Jolla Playhouse; Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Einstein), This is Our Youth (Warren) and Three Sisters (Andrey) at New Village Arts; The Light in the Piazza (Ensemble) at Lamb’s Players; Old Wicked Songs (Stephen), Romeo and Juliet (Peter), Amy’s View (Toby) and The Chosen (Reuven) at North Coast Rep; You Never Can Tell (Philip) and Room Service (Leo) at Moonlight Stage Productions.
Tom Zohar
Previously seen at Cygnet Theatre in Sweeney Todd (Tobias), The History Boys (Posner) and The Little Foxes (Cal). Other credits include: Gutenberg! The Musical! (Bud) at Backyard Renaissance; A New Brain (Gordon), Harmony, Kansas (Julian), [title of show] (Jeff), Twist! (The Dodger), Yank! A New Musical (Stu; recipient of Patté Award for Outstanding Performance), Torch Song Trilogy (David) and Bunbury (Hartley) at Diversionary Theatre; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip) at La Mirada Theatre; Zhivago (Swing) at the La Jolla Playhouse; Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Einstein), This is Our Youth (Warren) and Three Sisters (Andrey) at New Village Arts; The Light in the Piazza (Ensemble) at Lamb’s Players; Old Wicked Songs (Stephen), Romeo and Juliet (Peter), Amy’s View (Toby) and The Chosen (Reuven) at North Coast Rep; You Never Can Tell (Philip) and Room Service (Leo) at Moonlight Stage Productions.
Creative Team
Kevin Anthenill
Composer/Sound Designer
Chandra R.M. Anthenill
Stage Manager
Sean Fanning
Scenic Designer
Kevin Anthenill
Previously designed and composed for Cygnet Theatre’s Shakespeare’s R&J, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Maple and Vine, and Gem of the Ocean. He is the Resident Sound Designer at The San Diego Rep, designing sound for The Oldest Boy, Violet, Everybody’s Talkin’, Honky, Steal Heaven, Red, Zoot Suit, and composed music for Detroit, Boom and In The Next Room. Other design and music credits include The Old Globe’s Globe for All: All’s Well that Ends Well, San Diego Musical Theatre’s White Christmas, and La Cage Aux Folles, Diversionary Theatre’s Amazons and Their Men, Tru, Regrets Only, Bare, Thrill Me, She-rantulas from Outer Space, Birds of a Feather, Next Fall, Pippin and Marry Me a Little. USD/Old Globe’s Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure and Twelfth Night, Moxie Theatre’s A Raisin in the Sun and The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek.
Chandra R.M. Anthenill
Cygnet credits include (PSM): Sons of The Prophet, Fool for Love, True West, Spring Awakening, WCYG: A Christmas Carol (‘12 & ‘13), Assassins, Company (ASM): Dirty Blonde. Old Globe Theatre (ASM): Camp David, The Comedy of Errors. La Jolla Playhouse (ASM): JUNK. San Diego Repertory Theatre (PSM): R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, Outside Mullingar, The Oldest Boy, Everybody’s Talkin’, Oedipus El Rey, Honky, A Weekend With Pablo Picasso, (ASM): In the Next Room aka The Vibrator Play, Tommy, Walter Cronkite is Dead, A Hammer, a Bell and a Song to Sing, Tortilla Curtain, Zoot Suit. Lamb’s Theatre (PSM): Twelfth Night. Diversionary Theatre (PSM): Pippin. Chandra is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.
Sean Fanning
Sean is a Southern California based scenic designer and Resident Artist of Cygnet, where he has designed over twenty productions including Gypsy, Dogfight, Hay Fever, The Vortex, The Whale, Sons of the Prophet, Pageant, Maple & Vine, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Shakespeare’s R&J, Man of La Mancha, Parade, and many more. Elsewhere: Full Gallop (Craig Noel Award Nomination), A Doll’s House, Plaid Tidings, Kingdom (The Old Globe); Everybody’s Talkin’: The Music of Harry Nilsson, Honky, In the Heights, (San Diego Repertory Theatre); My Mañana Comes (Marin Theatre Company); Brownsville Song (Moxie Theatre); Now or Later, the World Premiere of The Boy Who Danced on Air (Diversionary Theatre); West Side Story (San Diego Musical Theatre); The Improv at Harrah’s and Menopause The Musical (Harrah’s Las Vegas);. He holds an M.F.A. in Scenic Design from San Diego State University. See more of his work at www.seanfanningdesigns.com.
Andie Fitch
Andie is a recent graduate from San Diego State University where she stage managed a few shows, including The Great American Trailer Park Musical. She then completed a nine month stage management internship at South Coast Repertory and is now back in beautiful San Diego and so glad to be working at Cygnet. She feels very fortunate to have been able to ASM Gypsy over the summer and be the production assistant for Cygnet’s August Wilson Rep shows, Seven Guitars and King Hedley II. And now is extremely thrilled to be back to work on Bad Jews.
Joshua Harmon
Joshua Harmon’s play Bad Jews received its world premiere at Roundabout Underground and was the first production to transfer to the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre (Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Award nominations, Best Play). It has since become the third most-produced play in the United States this season and transferred to London’s West End after sell-out runs at Theatre Royal Bath and the St. James Theatre. His newest play Significant Other opened at Roundabout in 2015. His work has been produced and developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Hangar Theatre, Ars Nova, and Actor’s Express, where he was the 2010-2011 National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence. He has received fellowships from MacDowell, Atlantic Center for the Arts, SPACE at Ryder Farm, and the Eudora Welty Foundation. Joshua is a recent graduate of Juilliard and at work on commissions for Roundabout Theatre Company and Lincoln Center Theater.
Peter Herman
Cygnet Theatre: Costumes and Wig/Makeup Design for Shakespeare’s R&J, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Wigs/Makeup Design for Seven Guitars, King Hedley II, Gypsy, Stupid F**king Bird, The Rocky Horror Show, When the Rain Stops Falling, Hay Fever, The Vortex, Dogfight, My Fair Lady, Sons of the Prophet, Pageant, Fool for Love, True West, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Spring Awakening, Maple and Vine, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Company, Assassins, A Christmas Carol, Gem of the Ocean, Mistakes Were Made, Man of La Mancha, Dirty Blonde, Parade, A Behanding in Spokane, The Glass Menagerie, Little Shop of Horrors, Our Town, Cabaret, The Norman Conquests, Private Lives, Sweeney Todd. Elsewhere: Peter has designed hair and wigs for over 300 productions, including the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Rep, San Diego Opera, Disneyland, and various film and television projects. Film: Costume design for Ready? OK! Peter currently teaches wigs and makeup at SDSU.
Danita Lee
Bio to come.
Hannah Logan
Hannah is an actor, director, writer, and producer. Director: After Olando: No Guns for Diversionary Theatre at SDRep; #TenMinutePlays, Moxie Theatre; Birth Right, Out On a Limb, Scripps Ranch Theatre. Actor/Writer: Received "Critic’s Pick" from UT San Diego for her solo show Work: In Progress in the first San Diego Fringe Festival. Actor: Craig Noel Award winner for her portrayal of Agnes in Tracy Letts’ Bug. Craig Noel Nominee for Virginia in A Clean House, New Village Arts Theatre. Producer: Theatre: Undone series at the San Diego Public Library. Won 2015 Jonathan Dunn-Rankin Scholarship Award for her annual That 24-Hour Thing. Graduate of The Boston Conservatory.
Rob Lutfy
Rob Lutfy is the Associate Artistic Director at Cygnet Theatre. He was the 2014-2015 National New Play Network Producer-in-Residence at Marin Theatre Company. Cygnet Theatre: Stupid F**king Bird, Sons of the Prophet, The Motherf**ker with the Hat Elsewhere: Clown Play, NYC International Fringe Festival; The Gin Game, Anacostia Playhouse; The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Threshold Repertory; The Sunset Limited, 3M Productions;Time Stands Still, Collaborative Arts. He has worked on plays in development at The Kennedy Center, The O’Neill Theatre Center, Burning Coal Theatre, The Hub Theatre and The Rensing Center. He has assisted directors at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center and Marin Theatre Company. He was the 2012-13 William R. Kenan, Jr. Directing Fellow at The John F. Kennedy Center. Rob is a graduate of the directing program under Gerald Freedman at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.<
R. Craig Wolf
R. Craig Wolf has taught and designed lighting nationwide for both theatre and dance. Credits include designs for New York’s Dance Theatre Workshop, Theatre Artaud in San Francisco, Japan America Center in Los Angeles, SRT in Santa Rosa, and the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. In addition, Craig is resident designer for Native Voices at the Autry (Los Angeles). Former Head of the Design Area and Professor Emeritus of Stage Design at San Diego State University, Mr. Wolf is the co-author of Scene Design and Stage Lighting, now in its tenth edition. Craig is pleased to be designing for Cygnet Theatre again this season.
Taylor M. Wycoff
Taylor is delighted to be continuing her work as dramaturg for the Cygnet Theatre. Previous dramaturgical credits include Hay Fever, The Vortex, Dogfight, The Whale, My Fair Lady, Sons of the Prophet, True West, Fool For Love, Pageant, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Spring Awakening, Maple & Vine, A Christmas Carol, Playwrights in Process, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Company, Shakespeare’s R&J, Assassins, Gem of the Ocean (Cygnet); Red Planet Respite (Circle Circle dot dot); Kita y Fernanda, Yellow Face (Mo’olelo). She has presented at multiple conferences and her work has been published in Praxis: The Journal for Theatre, Performance Studies, and Criticism. She has taught for Playwrights Project and Kids Act, and is a graduate of Young Audience’s Teaching Artist Institute. Taylor received her BA in Theatre and International Relations from the University of San Diego and is a proud member of the community based theatre company Circle Circle Dot Dot, as well as the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
February 2025