Now through September 14th, 2003
Jews & Jesus
OREN SAFDIE & RONNIE COHEN's off-Broadway Hit JEWS & JESUS - a musical comedy about love among the ruins of organized religious beliefs- receives it's west coast premiere at the Malibu Stage Company!

Directed by Craig Carlisle, the play makes its Los Angeles debut following the 1999 New York production, about which The New York Times critic Anita Gates wrote: "The lovable Jews & Jesus is a reminder that terrific original work often comes from a strong point of view and a willingness to take chances."

JEWS & JESUS satirizes the naiveté of twenty (and thirty) something Jews, half-Jews, and Christians who date Jews, while still asking questions about what place religion has in an unfettered age. What begins as carefree coupling between young singles in New York and Jerusalem, quickly turns into a showdown of traditions that just won't quit. Live music played by THE RABBINICAL SCHOOL DROPOUTS incorporates Klezmer, Middle Eastern and popular influences. In addition to Ms. Gates' aforementioned review in the New York Times, JEWS & JESUS garnered such praise as:

Chipp Deffa of The New York Post wrote "This ambitious, sexually charged musical about romances has got such rugged vitality, such life, and such insight ..."
Curt Schleier of Jewish Week wrote "... very funny, erotically charged and often thought provoking."
And The Village Voice made JEWS & JESUS its 'Voice Choice'.

JEWS & JESUS co-stars Griffin Shaw (2001 Ovation Nominee - actor in a musical), Iris Bahr (2002 LA WEEKLY Nominee - one person show), Sheilah A. Grenham (Created the role of "Sheilah" in the orginal cast of HAIR), Adam Fleck (CATS), Micki Schloss and Gretel Roenfeldt.

*Oren Safdie wrote the film You Can Thank Me Later (co-starring Ellen Burstyn, Amanda Plummer, Mary McDonnell and Genevieve Bujold) which won the Jury Prize at the 1998 Newport Film Festival. Other plays include Hyper-Allergenic, Fiddler Sub-Terranian, Broken Places, and La Compagnie, which he developed into a pilot for CBS/Castle Rock.
*Ronnie Cohen was the percussionist for the folk rock band Shag. A graduate from the Berklee School of Music and Columbia's MFA Program in Poetry, Ronnie studied under Derek Walcott, and received honorable mention from the Academy of American Poets, and a Fullbright Scholarship for his work in Middle Eastern music. He also wrote the music for Fiddler Sub-Terranian.
*Craig Carlisle's other directing credits include the Off-Broadway productions of Joe Fearless at The Atlantic Theater, and Spine at The Phil Bosakowski Theater. In Los Angeles, Carlisle's directing credits include Sight Unseen, Cheyenne, Planet America and Suburban Blithe.

Safdie and Carlisle also recently collaborated on Malibu Stage's world premiere of Private Jokes, Public Places which - following last May's New York premiere in which D.J. R. Bruckner of the New York Times wrote, "Inspired and
astonishing." - returns to New York for a commerical Off-Broadway run at the AIA Theatre.

Scheduled through September 14th, JEWS & JESUS runs Fridays & Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20. For reservations call (310) 589-1998.