Sarasota Jewish Theatre (SJT) has announced the lineup for its 2023-2024 season. The season opens with a two-night-only production of Charting the Lost Continent in October, which is followed by a one-night-only repeat of last season’s musical Bashert—Some Things are Meant to Be in November. The season continues with three plays from January through May: Fully Committed by Becky Mode, Better Late by Larry Gelbart, and The Immigrant by Mark Harelik.

“We're thrilled with the audience response SJT is receiving and delighted to be spreading our wings in new directions," SJT artistic director Carole Kleinberg says. Here's a closer look at what each performance will entail.

Charting the Lost Continent

October 25-26, 2023

Based on poetry by award-winning Sarasota poet Linda Albert, Charting the Lost Continent is a staged reading exploring the people's thoughts and feelings as they reflect on the seasons of their lives. India Marie Paul directs the cast of Jenny Aldrich, Alice Cotman, Victoria Flounders, Donna Gerdes, Aden Russel, and Pam Wiley. 

Bashert—Some Things Are Meant to Be

Nov. 11, 2023

This one-woman musical, written and performed by Lynne Bernfield and directed by Sharon Ohrenstein with musical direction by Tom Pizzi, is about the surprising events that occur in our lives: the ironic way two lovers meet, the implausible way a performer’s career gets started, and how sometimes, against all odds, a dream or wish comes true.

Fully Committed

Jan. 31-Feb. 4, 2024

Fully Committed is directed by Gus Kaikkonen and stars Kraig Swartz playing 40 wildly diverse characters. The play follows a day in the life of an out-of-work actor who mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s No. 1 restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics—a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation at the right table. 

Better Late

March 13-21, 2024

Larry Gelbart’s Better Late, directed by Carolyn Michel, is a riff on a December-December-December romance that bristles with biting humor. Nora (Nellie O’Brien) and Lee (Don Walker) have been married for 20 years when Nora asks if they can take in her ex-husband, Julian (Lee Gundersheimer), for a few weeks while he is recovering from a recent stroke. Tension builds between the two men as Julian’s orchestrated relapses prolong his stay from weeks to months, and family and relationship dynamics are tested. How long will Julian stay and how long will it take until Lee cracks? 

The Immigrant

May 1-12, 2024

In rural central Texas, 1909, a young Russian-Jewish immigrant has sought refuge in America, arriving through the port of Galveston and discovering a world of unknowns. He begins making a career as a banana salesman, and eventually manages to buy a cart. Life changes when he pulls his banana cart into the village of Hamilton. Able to speak only Yiddish, alone amid a staunchly Christian community, he begs for shelter. The play spans 30 years as religion meets religion, culture meets culture, and ultimately humanity triumphs over fear.

Additionally, SJT will produce smaller plays that can be performed at condo communities, synagogues, libraries and other organizations. They include The Bintel Briefs—Memories and Melodies (a staged reading that brings to life a Yiddish advice column that began just after the turn of the 20th century); The Rest of the Story (a one-act comedy featuring a very old Eve being interviewed by a journalist for a retrospective on her life) and, after it completes its run at the theater, Charting the Lost Continent.

“The diversity in SJT audiences is proving my conviction that you don't have to be Jewish to love Jewish theater," Kleinberg says.

For more information, click here. To purchase tickets to the performances, which will take place at The Players Centre Studio 1130,  click here or call (941) 365-2494.