Rabbi Sam: Charlie Varon's New Solo Show at the Marsh
The Marsh San Francisco Mainstage Theater (1062 Valencia St. San Francisco, CA 94110)
- Full Price:
- $18.00 - $25.00
- Our Price:
- $9.00 - $12.50*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Rabbi Sam have expired.
The last date listed for Rabbi Sam was Sunday November 8, 2009 / 7:00pm.
Currently at The Marsh San Francisco Mainstage Theater:
Brian Copeland's New Solo Show The Waiting Period at The Marsh
- Full Price:
- $15.00
- Our Price:
- SOLD OUT
The Marsh presents a workshop performance of Brian Copeland's new solo show, The Waiting Period. Copeland, a multi-talented actor, playwright, author and talk show host, has basked in the glow of both public and critical acclaim for nearly a decade. However, like many other well-known figures, he suffers from debilitating bouts of depression. This show gives an unrelenting look at a ten-day period in his life: the mandatory waiting period before he could lay hands on a new gun with which he planned to commit suicide. Even in the throes of such tragic plans, though, his sense of humor does not desert him (how much should he spend on the gun?), and in fact protects him from the grim reality of his intention. There is laughter in the darkness. Interspersed with interviews with other people suffering from depression, the play also offers outsiders an insider's view, thereby expanding the audience's understanding and, hopefully, humanity. Learn More
Goldstar Member Tips
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Sara O. on What to Wear
Anything goes
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Sara O. on Where to Eat
Very inexpensive snacks and drinks at onsite cafe
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Goldstar Member on Where to Eat
Tapas at Esperpento - perfect
Goldstar Member Reviews
Sara O.
A really wonderful show--funny, poignant, telling truths about religion that are not often told (outloud anyway). If I hadn't been so tired, I'd have enjoyed it even more, I'm sure.Written on Mar 27 2009
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bk
A long, but fascinating, look into the internecine conflicts that arise when a synagogue hires a new rabbi -- one with some pretty radical ideas. Varon plays multiple characters with tremendous focus and skill (Rabbi Sam could be ANYONE in a stare-down), and there's plenty of humor.Written on Mar 02 2009
Be warned -- this show takes attention to be appreciated. Though it's funny and entertaining, it's also thought-provoking and intellectually challenging. Oh, and brush up on your Hebrew. I'm married to a person of Jewish extraction, so I picked up on most of the references, but there was still plenty of obscure Judaica that flew right over my head.
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bikerhiker
What an incredible evening. Our expectations were certainly exceeded. As a former synagogue president, I was laughing (and crying) all the way through. This is a tour-de-force performance. I am recommending to everyone I know.Written on Mar 27 2009
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Stan S.
I dunno - this show had A LOT of promise, but detoured into areas that were not so interesting. "Rabbi Sam" starts off talking about how to get Jews EXCITED about Judaism the way Baptists are so gung-ho at their services, but stays very general as to how, or what it would take to make it so. Or, what makes him so equipped to do it. Instead, it sidetracks into the 'congregation'- those for and against him, and loses the 'big idea.' I would've liked to see this charasmatic rabbi developed more, perhaps using modern media to project his viewpoints, and see where the chips fell.Written on Mar 20 2009
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Member Photos
More Information About Rabbi Sam
Description
“Have we hired the brilliant spiritual revolutionary of our time – or is he a nut job?”
– Leon Goldblatt, one of a dozen characters played by Charlie Varon inRabbi Sam
Playwright and performer Charlie Varon, creator of the hit shows Rush Limbaugh in Night School and The People’s Violin, will perform his new solo play, Rabbi Sam, at The Marsh. This marks the first new play Varon has premiered in nine years.
Rabbi Sam tells the story of Sam Isaac, a rabbi who wants to reinvent American Judaism, and the havoc that erupts in the congregation that hires him. Some congregants love the new rabbi. Some can’t stand him. And, of course, some can’t stand each other. Rabbi Sam’s spiritual ambitions slip on the banana peels of ego, turf and personality.
Although the play’s subject is American Judaism, its theme of a community divided by change is universal. Rabbi Sam, says Varon, is “a play for Jews, Gentiles, and anyone who has ever attended a meeting.” The ordinary, suburban synagogue in the play is struggling with what every American religious community struggles with – how to make sense of an old-world tradition in the crazy improvisation that is America.
Varon, an award-winning playwright and comic actor, plays all 12 characters in his play, including the rabbi and eight contentious board members. The San Francisco Chronicle has credited Charlie Varon with “redefining the art form” of solo theater. With Rabbi Sam, he is again pushing the boundaries, mixing comedy and drama, putting an entire community onstage, and even portraying nine different characters in a single scene.
Varon and Ford, who have been collaborating since 1991, took three years to create Rabbi Sam. Music for the play was composed by noted New York jazz pianist Bruce Barth.
Varon’s previous plays have enjoyed extended runs in San Francisco, toured, been released on CD, and won numerous awards. His shows include Rush Limbaugh in Night School (1994; revived 2004), Visiting Professor of Pessimism (2003), Ten Day Soup (2002), The People’s Violin (2000), and Ralph Nader Is Missing! (1997). As playwright and performer, he has received awards from the American Theatre Critics’ Association and the Bay Area Critics Circle. He is the recipient of a SF Bay Guardian Goldie Award and the 1994 Will Glickman Award for best new play in San Francisco (Rush Limbaugh in Night School). Recently, he collaborated on and directed Dan Hoyle’s show Tings Dey Happen, which won the Will Glickman Award for 2007 and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award in New York. Varon is an artist-in-residence at The Marsh, where he has taught solo performance workshops for 15 years.
Rabbi Sam was developed at The Marsh, with additional support from Theater J in Washington, DC, and A Traveling Jewish Theater. The play was funded by an Individual Artist Commission from the SF Arts Commission, and grants from the Fleishhacker Foundation, Gaia Fund, National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and Zellerbach Family Foundation.