If you fancy experimental takes on historical texts, then Exagoge, a new immersive opera play about the Passover seder, is for you.
Premiering at avant-garde arts center Ellen Stewart Theatre at 66 East 4th Street by Cooper Square in the East Village on April 26 (the fifth night of Passover!), the 90-minute show will run through May 12. Tickets are available for purchase right here.
Fair warning: there will be a lot going on during the experience. Audience members will either get to sit around an actual seder table or watch the production unfold from the risers. Either way, they’ll participate in a 15-part modern seder as Zeke, the show’s main character and an opera composer, introduced his family to his non-practicing Muslim girlfriend for the first time, Aliyah.
All the while, according to an official press release, performers will sing an adaptation of the ancient Greek interpretation of the Book of Exodus, the second Torah book, where the story of the Jews in Egypt unfolds.
Exagoge features original music by Avner Finberg and a script and libretto by Edward Einhorn, who also directs the show.
“The Passover seder always ends with the phrase ‘Next year in Jerusalem,'” Einhorn said in an official statement. “This phrase dates back to well before modern Israel, and its meaning is essentially a longing. Next year, all will be well. Next year in a Jerusalem that has all the answers, that finds dignity and respect for all, that finally finds the way towards peace. History shows that the hope is foolish, but it also shows that the hope is necessary.”
If it’s more traditional productions exploring Jewish life that you’re craving, check out our list of best shows about the Jewish experience on and off Broadway right now.
