J*COMPANY YOUTH THEATRE 20th ANNIVERSARY SEASON PAYS TRIBUTE TO JEWISH MUSICAL THEATRE LEGEND
STREISAND SEASON CONTINUES WITH YENTL

LA JOLLA, CA – The award-winning J*Company Youth Theatre, a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, is getting set to present the second show in their musical theatre line up for its 20th Anniversary Season tribute to Barbra Streisand.

Following the highly acclaimed production of FUNNY GIRL, a role that won Streisand her first Oscar for her portrayal of Fanny Brice; J*Company Youth Theater will present YENTL, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer’s tale of a young woman desperate to study the Torah. All productions take place at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre.

This production will feature 17 year-old Elisa Greenberg, Francis Parker High School, in the signature role. “I cast Elisa for her skills as a smart actress,” explained director Joey Landwehr. “We are going to reach for an emotional, subtle and intimate performance and I know Elisa has talent to connect with audiences on this level.” The role of Avigdor, played by Mandy Patinkin in the film, will be handled by Cameron Chang, a 9th grader from Canyon Crest Academy. Landwehr, who has worked with both students since he began at J*Company, is diving deep into research and even took his young cast to an Orthodox Jewish service so they could experience the culture first-hand. For the small, but influential role of Papa, Landwehr called upon J*Company alumni Danny Myers who is currently studying at USC. According to Landwehr, “he will bring a certain gravitas to the role that inspires the seminal song, Papa can you hear me?”

All four shows this season pay tribute to “the brilliance that is Babs,” said J*Company Artistic Director, Joey Landwehr, who has been planning this season since he took the post seven years ago.

YENTL - Performance dates: December 8-16, 2012

Factoid: Streisand was the first female director to win a Golden Globe for this 1983 film in which she starred with Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving.

In a time when the world of study belonged only to men, there lived a girl who dared to ask why. This is the story of Yentl “the Yeshiva Boy” by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991). Yentl is the boyishly klutzy daughter and only child of long widowed Reb Todrus, who is a teacher to local boys and secretly to Yentl. When her “papa” dies, Yentl is all alone in the world. She takes the momentous decision to leave the village (disguised as a boy and calling herself by the name of her late brother, Anshel) to seek and get admitted to a Yeshiva to study the Torah. She befriends Avigdor, who is engaged to Haddas, but her family discovers negative things about his past, so they call off the wedding. Anshel then finds himself in the awkward position of being called into service as substitute bridegroom, so that the wedding can go ahead. After numerous complications the story ends with everybody getting what they always wanted. The original score brings you such wonderful Barbra classics as: Papa Can You Hear Me?, Where is it Written?, The Way He Makes Me Feel, No Matter What Happens and A Piece of Sky.

GYPSY –A Musical Fable - Performance dates: March 1-17, 2013
HELLO, DOLLY!- Performance dates: May 3-12, 2013

General Information

Season subscriptions and single tickets to J*Company’s 20th Season will be available for purchase on July 1, 2012. All performances take place at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Call the JCC Box Office at 858-362-1348 or visit www.sdcjc.org/jcompany for more information.
About the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture

The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture is the largest Jewish institution in San Diego dedicated solely to presenting high quality, nationally recognized programs which are unique to San Diego County. The mission of the SDCJC is to expand and enrich cultural life in San Diego by presenting the finest in Jewish artistic expression, encouraging the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage, and nurturing new creativity in the arts. A core belief of the SDCJC is to promote respect for diverse cultures and build community tolerance.

The SDCJC offers a wide variety of multi-disciplinary artistic programs that explore cultural identities and perspectives, promote cross cultural understanding, and highlight human themes of family, tolerance, compassion, and hope. These programs, including the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, New Jewish Plays Project, the San Diego Jewish Music Festival, a Holocaust Education Program, and the J*Company Youth Theatre, foster ideas of cultural appreciation and respect. Its facilities feature a 500-seat theatre, a Judaica library, an art gallery, and a community Holocaust Memorial Garden. Approximately 40,000 tickets are sold or provided annually to residents, visitors, and students for San Diego Center for Jewish Culture events.
About the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS

The mission of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is to provide social, cultural, educational, and recreational programs to individuals and families of all ages, religions, races, and financial, physical and mental abilities. Likewise, the JCC provides equal opportunity employment to individuals of all religions and backgrounds. The JCC welcomes San Diego’s diverse Jewish community and the community at large. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is located at 4126 Executive Drive in La Jolla.