“The Berlin Diaries” Premieres at FAU’s Theatre Lab
Boca Raton, FL – Theatre Lab, the professional resident company of Florida Atlantic, presents the U.S. premiere of “The Berlin Diaries” by Andrea Stolowitz. The two-person show tells the true story of the playwright and her journey to retrace the steps of her great-grandfather, who escaped Berlin as a German Jew. The show opens on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 10 in the Heckscher Stage theater space, Parliament Hall, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. Tickets are available at www.fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124.
Andrea Stolowitz’s great-grandfather kept a journal for his descendants after escaping to New York City in 1939. Following the complicated lure of genealogy, Stolowitz goes back to Berlin to bring the story of her unknown ancestors out of the archives into the light. The record keeps as many secrets as it shares: How do people become verschollen, lost, like library books?
After joining us with this play for the 2018 Playwright’s Forum, Stolowitz returns to The Lab for a full production. In this complex, contemporary drama about the search for home, fragmented heritage and Jewish diaspora, two performers go between characters and locations at the border of reality and memory and the intersection of national history and private lives.
“We are excited to bring this beautiful play to the stage,” said Matt Stabile, director of Theatre Lab. “It uses heightened theatricality with two performers sharing more than a dozen roles to tell a story that is both intensely personal and global.”
This is the first of Theater Lab’s three mainstage productions. A subscription for all three plays is $115 and can be purchased by calling 561-297-6124.
- “The Berlin Diaries” by Andrea Stolowitz
– A U.S. or Rolling World Premiere
– Preview Performances: Wednesday, Nov. 15 and Friday, Nov. 17
– Run: Saturday, Nov. 18 – Sunday, Dec. 10
Directed by Matt Stabile
The great-grandfather of Oregon Book Award-winning playwright Andrea Stolowitz kept a journal for his descendants after escaping to New York City in 1939 as a German Jew. Following the complicated lure of genealogy, Stolowitz goes back to Berlin to bring the story of her unknown ancestors out of the archives into the light. The record keeps as many secrets as it shares: How do people become verschollen, lost, like library books?
After joining us with this play for the 2018 Playwright’s Forum, Stolowitz returns to The Lab for a full production. In this complex, contemporary drama about the search for home, fragmented heritage and Jewish diaspora, two performers scintillate between characters and locations at the border of reality and memory and the intersection of national history and private lives.
- “Rooted” by Deborah Zoe Laufer
– A Florida Premiere
– Previews: Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Friday, Feb. 2, 2024
– Run: Saturday, Feb. 3 – Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024
Directed by Deborah Zoe Laufer
Emery and her sister, Hazel, have never ventured out of their tiny town in upstate New York for all their 60-some years. This is “A-ok” with Emery, who would very happily spend the rest of her days alone, in her homemade treehouse in her beloved tree, Mabel, blogging about her experiments on the consciousness of plants. But when she becomes an unexpected internet sensation and crowds start congregating beneath Mabel believing she’s their savior, Hazel sees an opportunity for profit and escape for the first time in her life.
This is the second in a planned trilogy beginning with 2018’s hit, “Be Here Now,” and was developed at The Lab over summer 2019. Like its predecessor, it received a critically acclaimed world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and now returns to Heckscher Stage – marking Zoe Laufer’s third full production at The Lab.
- “What’s Best for the Children” by Idris Goodwin
– A World Premiere or Rolling World Premiere
– Previews: Wednesday, April 10 and Friday, April 12, 2024
– Run: Saturday, April 13 – Sunday, April 28, 2024
Directed by Matt Stabile
Whit Forsyth has just been elected the first Black chairman of the State Schoolboard Committee, about to vote on critical measures on public education. But as he readies for his vote, several groups go to extreme measures to influence his decisions. A zany exploration of ideology and the American education system.
Award-winning storyteller, playwright, poet, arts champion, and artistic director of Seattle Children’s Theatre, Idris Goodwin, brings his offbeat comedy for adults – featuring rap, audience interaction, and incisive exploration of the pressures educators face from all sides – to The Lab for its world premiere production.
For more information about Theatre Lab, visit www.fau.edu/theatrelab.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report and a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
