Some of the most prominent figures in non-profit theater have denounced the Washington DC Jewish Community Center for its recent decision to terminate Ari Roth, the director of its nationally acclaimed theater program, for what they called “blatantly political reasons.” In an open letter to board members of the DCJCC, nearly 100 artistic directors of…
Sixty-one artistic directors of U.S. theater companies denounced the DC Jewish Community Center’s firing of Ari Roth, the artistic director of its Theater J who staged numerous works critical of Israel. An open letter issued Monday said “it is absolutely clear that Roth was fired because of the content of the work he has so…
The break-up was on the horizon, but playwright Ari Roth didn’t expect it to happen quite so suddenly. On Thursday, Roth, the long-time artistic director of Theater J in Washington DC was fired — or he resigned, depending on who you ask. A press release sent to the Forward on Thursday evening by Theater J,…
Ari Roth, the longtime director at Theater J, is leaving the theater after a period of tension over plays dealing with Israel’s history. The Washington Post and the Washington Jewish Week each reported late Thursday that Roth is saying the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, which oversees the theater, fired him after he refused to…
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include new information from Theater J. The Jewish theater company in the nation’s capital is struggling to find its footing in the face of increasing efforts by donors and funders to steer it away from dealing with controversies related to Israel. Theater J, a nationally acclaimed group under…
Photo: Ari Roth Despite having had a long, busy day at the US Supreme Court this past Monday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made a point of attending a special performance of “Stars of David: Story to Song” in Washington that evening. The performance of the musical review celebrating the lives of Jewish public figures —…
The Dramatists Guild of America has come out in strong support of a controversial Israeli play to be performed at Washington D.C.’s Theatre J, which is partially funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Theatre J originally planned to stage a full production of “The Admission” by Motti Lerner, but has since scaled it…
A few months ago, thanks in part to The Forward, I became aware of a controversy at Theater J. An organization housed within the Washington DC Jewish Community Center (DCJCC), the theater had announced its 2013-2014 season, which was to include a production of “The Admission” by Israeli playwright Motti Lerner. Key to this play…
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