Although prominent Jews have been the subject of many Broadway shows throughout the years, recent months have seen a flourishing of productions dedicated to the Jewish experience as a whole.
Last year’s revival of Parade, for example, a musical dramatization of the 1913 trial, imprisonment and eventual lynching of Jewish Leo Frank in Georgia, drew much praise and earned a total of six Tony Awards nominations, winning two for Best Musical Revival and Best Direction of a Musical.
Parade has officially ended its run, but there are many more just-as-important productions currently playing in New York right now, from big-ticket Broadway musicals to off-the-beaten path, Off-Broadway shows, each one dissecting what it means to be Jewish in the world at large today.
Here are some of them:
The Ally
Playing at The Public through March 24, The Ally tells the story of college professor Asaf (played by the wonderful Josh Radnor), as he is forced to confront all the different parts of his character—an American Jewish academic who happens to be a progressive atheist as well—when his students ask him to sign a social justice manifesto.
Echoing the sorts of themes that have dominated the news cycle in recent months, The Ally comes courtesy of Tony Award-winning playwright Itamar Moses, of The Band’s Visit fame. Tickets for The Ally
A Beautiful Noise
Named after Neil Diamond’s eponymous 1976 album, A Beautiful Noise is the jukebox musical honoring the life and work of the Jewish, Brooklyn-born artist.
Perfectly structured—the show centers around various therapy sessions during which the on-stage Diamond dives deep into the meaning of his lyrics as connected to his life experiences—A Beautiful Noise opened on Broadway back in 2022 but it will officially conclude its run on June 30 before embarking on a national tour this fall. Tickets for A Beautiful Noise
Prayer for the French Republic
When it first premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2022, the three-hour-long Prayer for the French Republic astounded audiences given the show’s on-point commentary regarding the very concept of antisemitism.
After October 7, the Joshua Harmon play, which is now on Broadway, has earned renewed resonance. Centering on a Jewish family living in France and dealing with antisemitism while considering to move to Israel, the production touches upon the sorts of themes that have dominated dinner time conversations for the past few months, attempting to answer the question: what does it even mean to be Jewish in the world of today? Tickets for Prayer for the French Republic
