April 28, 2009
This exclusive event for Silk Road Theatre Project subscribers and donors featured an intimate conversation with Leila Buck, playwright of In the Crossing, and Artistic Director Jamil Khoury.
Read More2009
In the Crossing /
April 28–29, 2009
Written by Leila Buck
Directed by Shoshana Gold
Leila, a Lebanese American of both Muslim and Christian heritage, has been performing personal stories about bridging multiple identities for years. She arrives at a conference to present a reflective new piece about her experiences in Lebanon with her Jewish American husband during the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006. As she attempts to portray the myriad of voices they encountered, Leila soon realizes that the most treacherous journey of all is the struggle to tell her own story.
Read MorePangs explores fictional Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty /
Evanston Review
By Myrna Petlicki
April 16, 2009
No matter what your view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you will be moved by the plight of the Israeli settlers in Motti Lerner's Pangs of the Messiah.
Read MorePangs Recommended /
Chicago Public Radio
April 10, 2009
On April 10th's Dueling Critics segment on WBEZ’s (NPR) 848 show, critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel discuss Curtains. At the end of the discussion Kleiman's 'Pick of the Week' is Pangs of the Messiah.
Read MoreWest Bank Lear: An Israeli family drama critiques the settler movement /
Chicago Reader
By Kerry Reid
April 2, 2009
Lerner avoids the temptation to demonize, leaving us with a sorrowful meditation on how it will all end. “Questions are over,” Shmuel says early on. “Maybe there’ll be some answers.” Maybe. But Lerner’s play cautions that the answers we get may not be the ones we want.
Read MorePangs of the Messiah
Jewish United Fund News
By Jan Lisa Huttner
April 1, 2009
Whatever your own personal feelings are about “the two state solution,” it is critical to remember that specific lives will be forever affected by politically-motivated decisions, and Lerner’s accomplishment is to show there simply are no easy answers.
Read MorePangs of the Messiah Recommended /
Newcity Chicago
By Fabrizio O. Almeida
March 30, 2009
Pangs of the Messiah is curiously pitched somewhere between political thriller and family melodrama... [It] is not only a good play by a strong international writer, it’s also an experience that’s good for us as Americans right now.
Read MoreStrife and Human Revelation on the West Bank /
Chicago Tribune
By Chris Jones
March 29, 2009
Lerner has written a script with Chekhovian nuance... And frankly, the script it so compelling, you won't find yourself focusing on anything but the issues of the play, crucial concerns of the moment.
Read MorePowerful cautionary tale of the devastating effects of religious fanaticism, a riveting drama /
Chicago Critic
By Tom Williams
March 28, 2009
Playwright Motti Lerner builds his riveting drama as explosive events find the settlers quickly at odds with the Israeli government... The complex arguments are evenly presented leaving audiences to arrive at their own conclusions.
Read MoreTheatre Tidbits /
Chicago Sun-Times
March 27, 2009
Silk Road Theatre Project Artistic Director Jamil Khoury comments that "I am utterly bound up and wound up by this play. Pangs of the Messiah embodies everything that Silk Road Theatre Project audiences have come to cherish about the company's repertoire. It's an intelligent, provocative, and emotionally compelling play that allows audiences to arrive at their own conclusions."
Read MoreCulture Clashes /
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
By Brennen Jensen
March 26, 2009
Here, actors perform a scene from a Silk Road Theatre Project production of Merchant on Venice, the Indian-American playwright Shishir Kurup's retooling of Shakespeare that is set on Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles and features characters who are Muslim or Hindu.
Read MorePangs of the Messiah /
March 19–May 10, 2009
The Midwest Premiere
Written by Motti Lerner
Translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris
Directed by Jennifer Green
Set in 2012 amidst the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, Motti Lerner’s Pangs of the Messiah is an apocalyptic yet fiercely humane drama about eight West Bank Jewish settlers pitted against an Israel they feel has betrayed them. The play focuses on a religious family that finds itself torn between fighting to stay in their settlement and obeying their government’s decision to dismantle it. Left hanging in the balance is the legacy of their beliefs.
Read MoreMotti Lerner: Playwriting in Wartime /
March 19, 2009
Motti Lerner, playwright of Pangs of the Messiah, spoke on the role of playwrights in societies struggling with war and militarism.
Read MoreStaging Conflict: Theatrical Narratives of the Holy Land /
March 16, 2009
This collaborative program between Silk Road Theatre Project and Theatre Mir featured scenes from the companies' respective productions of Motti Lerner's Pangs of the Messiah and Robin Soans' The Arab-Israeli Cookbook.
Read MorePlays and Principles /
The Chicago Jewish News
By Jewish Telegraphic Agency
March 13, 2009
Israeli playwright Motti Lerner wrote Pangs of the Messiah more than 20 years ago, but he says the play is more relevant now than ever.
Read MoreMotti Lerner interviewed /
Chicago Public Radio
February 26, 2009
Playwright Motti Lerner interviewed about Pangs of the Messiah on WBEZ. Actors Bernie Beck and Susan Adler are featured as well.
Read MoreTzivi Chats with Motti Lerner /
Jewish United Fund News
By Jan Lisa Huttner
February 24, 2009
[Jan Lisa Huttner] met with [playwight] Motti Lerner on Feb. 2, the first day of rehearsals with his new Chicago cast [to discuss his latest play, Pangs of the Messiah].
Read MoreSilk Road Theatre Project's Alternative Cultural Education /
In the heat of immigration reform and the ongoing debate on racial inclusivity, I believe that the preservation of ethnic cultural heritage and ethnic art education are becoming more relevant and important every day. My own interest in ethnic arts practices, multiculturalism and cross-culture experience began with my musical training as a pipa[*] player. Ethnic and folk arts, especially in performance, fascinate me. After graduating with a master’s degree in art education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, my interest in ethnic arts practices continued to grow.
Read MoreSilk Road Brings Audiences Into the Loop /
Silk Road Theatre Project (SRTP) has rolled out an innovative audience engagement strategy that reaches beyond producing plays to provide several opportunities for patrons to connect with the company. The basis of the strategy is that the more information an individual has about the process of producing theatre—why a play was chosen, what influenced the playwright, etc.—the more likely they are to support it. It seems to be working. SRTP saw a 200 percent increase in individual donations last year.
Read MoreMeet the Playwright: Motti Lerner /
February 3, 2009
This exclusive event for Silk Road Theatre Project subscribers and donors featured an intimate conversation with Motti Lerner, playwright of Pangs of the Messiah, and Artistic Director Jamil Khoury.
Read More