Origin Theatrical

Full Length Play
Comedy
90 minutes

Time Period: Present Day
Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult, Appropriate for all audiences
Set Requirements: Interior Set
Cautions: Strong Language

Performance Group:
Large Stage, Dinner Theatre, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre, Shoestring Budget, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, College Theatre / Student

Accolades:
Nominee! Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play (2014)
Nominee! 2012-2013 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and a John Gassner Award Nomination for Joshua Harmon

The night after their grandfather's funeral, three cousins engage in a verbal (and sometimes physical) battle.

In one corner is Daphna Feygenbam, a "Real Jew" who is volatile, self-assured and unbending. In the other corner is her equally stubborn cousin Liam, a secular and entitled young man, who has his shiska girlfriend, Melody, in tow. Stuck in the middle is Liam's brother, Jonah, who tries to stay out of the fray.

When Liam stakes claim to their grandfather's Chai necklace, a vicious and hilarious brawl over family, faith and legacy ensues.

REVIEWS:

CRITIC'S PICK!
"There's nothing like a death in the family to bring out the worst in people. This unhappy truth is displayed with delectably savage humor in Bad Jews, a zesty play by Joshua Harmon...[that is] THE BEST COMEDY OF THE SEASON."
The New York Times

FOUR STARS!
"Watching Bad Jews, you may change your mind about who the title refers to. But you'll also be consistently impressed by this fast and funny, pungent and poignant comedy by Joshua Harmon."
New York Daily News

"[In] Joshua Harmon's strikingly perceptive comedy with claws, Daphna is one of the most memorable characters to come down the pike in some time. Harmon's biting script, which unfolds in 100 minutes of real time...marks him as a new theatrical voice to be reckoned with."
Backstage

"Bad Jews is delicious, nasty fun... Equal parts brain and brawl, Joshua Harmon's play isn't a textbook comedy of hostility, but a smart, divisive conversation starter."
New York Post

"One of the funniest things on the New York stage right now...[Harmon] has given us a gleefully funny, thought-provoking evening."
Huffington Post

Premiere Production: Bad Jews premiered at the Roundabout Underground in the 62-seat Black Box at the Steinberg Center in October 2012. Following its critical acclaim, Harmon's play transferred to the Roundabout's 424-seat Off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre in October 2013.

Casting: 2M, 2F
Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)

DAPHNA FEYGENBAUM - 22, Liam and Jonah's first cousin. 2/3 body, 1/3 hair. Thick, intense, curly, frizzy, long brown hair. Hair that clogs a drain after one shower. Hair you find on pillows and in corners of the room and in your refrigerator six months after the head from which it grew last visited. Hair that could not be straightened even if you had four hours and three hairdressers double-fisting blow driers. Hair that screams: Jew.

LIAM HABER - 25. Daphna's cousin: his mother is the sister of Daphna's father. Wire-rim glasses. U of Chicago Asian Studies Ph.D. student. Former Fulbright scholar in Japan. Has as much of a sense of humor as an overdue library book.

JONAH HABER - 21. Liam's younger brother. Sometime-UVM sophomore. Less lanky than his brother. Less brainy. More brawn. More heart.

MELODY - 24. Liam's girlfriend. Short, stick-straight blonde hair. Which she wears with a barrette. To be extra cute. Mousy. She looks like someone who would have been abducted when she was nine but returned to her parents unharmed. Works for a non-profit.

Origin

Bad Jews

Description

Characters

Available Material

Significant Other

Skintight

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