About the Lilac Minyan

8213d9_416aacc9495d461f9c63168432709c58The Lilac Minyan is an award winning play by Debora Seidman which premiered at the New Works Festival in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000. It was subsequently produced at Immigrant’s Theatre Project, New York, New York, and the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. The play has recently been developed at Metta Theatre in Taos, New Mexico under the direction of Bruce McIntosh. It completed a November 2013 run at Metta Theatre where it was very well attended and received. The cast included veteran film and TV actor Christopher Maher as Samuel and NYU trained actress Nena Salazar as Alison. In May, 2014, The Lilac Minyan was produced at Teatro Paraguas in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Lilac Minyan : The Lilac Minyan is the story of a friendship between Samuel, an aging Holocaust survivor whose wife is dying, and Alison, a young Jewish woman whose female partner is dying. Each feels alienated from their tradition, yet feels compelled to say Kaddish ( the Jewish prayer for the dead). The play follows their journey into a friendship that helps each one wrestle with loss. The play becomes a meditation on grief, friendship, the legacy of the Holocaust and the power of prayer.

The play is offered in the spirit that the ancient Greeks offered tragedies: if we can face, collectively, as part of a live audience, some of what is difficult to face, we have the opportunity to become better human beings, and better citizens of the world, and better able to face that which is difficult in our world.

Mirabai Starr’s endorsement of the play:

“This play changed my relationship to Judaism, to gender, and to What Really Matters. The irony and wit in The Lilac Minyan made me laugh aloud, and its tender insight into the human condition brought tears to my eyes. Debora Seidman is exceptionally literate–every line sings with clarity and intelligence–and also stunningly wise. Highly recommended!”

Mirabai StarrAuthor of GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam

The Lilac Minyan Original Artwork by Aralia Diana Rose MagdahliaStudios.com

The Lilac Minyan Original Artwork by
Aralia Diana Rose MagdahliaStudios.com