EXAGOGE
Music by Avner Finberg
Play/Libretto/Direction by Edward Einhorn
based on the 2nd Century BCE play
by Ezekiel the Tragedian
An immersive opera/play/Passover seder
Played originally:
April 26 - May 12, 2024
at La MaMa, 66 E 4th Street, New York
Read the Librettist’s Note here
“Stirring” - Jewish Week
Read the article/interview
Synopsis: An immersive opera/play/Passover seder, based on the oldest known Jewish play, written in Alexandria in the second century BCE by Ezekiel the Tragedian. The audience gathers round the seder table or watches from the risers, joining the performers for a traditional 15-part modern seder. An opera composer, Zeke, has brought home his girlfriend Aliya, a non-practicing Muslim, for the first time. Meanwhile, in the middle of it all, opera performers sing an adaptation of the ancient Greek interpretation of the Book of Exodus.
Running time: 90 minutes
Performers:
Zeke: Hershel Blatt
Pharoah, Reuel, God: Matthew Curran
Tzipporah, Messenger, God: Tharanga Goonetilleke
Aliya: Meena Knowles
Moses: James Rodgers
Avraham: Maxwell Zener
Cover for Moses: Cristóbal Arias (May 11)
Cover for Pharoah etc: Matt Mueller (May 9)
Cover for Tziopprah: Alize Francheska Rozsnyai (May 9)
Puppeteers:
Rebecca Jay Caplan, Yanniv Frank, Parker Sera
Music:
Music director/Pianist: Mila Henry
Percussion: Mariana Ramirez
Violins: Sunny Sheu, Johnna Wu
Viola: Sara Dudley
Cello: Paul Swensen
Percussion on May 2, 3, 10 & 11: Andrew Beall
Crew:
Stage manager: Berit Johnson
ASM/Food coordinator: D Henry Hanson
Set design and related puppets: Tom Lee and Grace Needlman
Puppet design: Evolve Puppets (Tanya Khordoc and Barry Weil)
Costume/Mask Design: Ramona Ponce
Lighting Design: Federico Restrepo
Art: Eric Shanower
Special fabrication/electronic effects: Jim Freeman
Associate Producer at La MaMa: Sarah Murphy
Publicist: David Gibbs, DARR Publicity
This program is supported, in part, by the NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program); as well as The Schapiro Fund.
Photos by Richard Termine
WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING
“The hundred-minute play-opera, which is expertly acted and directed, brought new meaning to me despite my familiarity with the story; it also allowed us all to make merry. And in these difficult times, at least for one special night, that is enough.”
- Mark Rifkin, This Week in New York
“I never thought I'd voluntarily attend a third seder, but enjoyed joining one at Edward Einhorn's participatory production Exagoge tonight.”
- Yair Rosenberg of The Atlantic
“"The play, which is thought-provoking in itself, provides a modern frame both for the opera, which has moments of exquisite singing and vivid stagecraft, and for the seder, which is more or less for real, and fun, if unorthodox.”
- Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater
“An intricate ode to Jewish intertextual tradition...The way Einhorn has paced this evening is a feat in itself...truly impressive puppetry...when you’re going through a Seder, joining in on Eliyahu Hanavi, and learning a bit more about the Jews of Elephantine, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself..”
- PJ Grisar, The Forward
“Einhorn gets a big assist from composer Avner Finberg’s exotic score and musical director Mila Henry as she leads the chamber sextet from the piano…It succeeds at being a play, an opera, and a sheer spectacle in ways Ezekiel the Tragedian may have never even thought of.”
- Tony Marinelli, Theater Scene
“A thoughtful examination of Jewish experience through history. ..Don’t miss this amazing work!”
- Mark Savitt, Hi! Drama