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Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company closes their 2024-2025 season with the Houston premiere of THE WANDERERS, by Anna Ziegler. This production is the first of two co-productions with the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston.



The collaboration between Mildred’s Umbrella and the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC began in 2019 when they co-produced a reading series, and evolved as Mildred’s Artistic Director, Jennifer Decker was hired by the JCC to direct Anna Zeigler’s PHOTOGRAPH 51 in 2023, and GHETTO in 2024. Mildred’s Umbrella’s mission is to produce plays by women, and as a nomadic theatre company without a permanent space, we are always looking for collaborative opportunities. The friendship between our organizations has made this collaboration a natural fit.



Originally commissioned by The Old Globe in San Francisco in 2018, THE WANDERERS is the winner of The Blanche and Irving Laurie Theatre Visions Fund, a recipient of a Laurents / Hatcher Foundation Theater Development Grant, and an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award in 2018, as well as the 2018 San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel award for Outstanding New Play and Germany’s prestigious Barbara Kisseler Theater Prize in 2023.



Directed by Jennifer Decker and featuring Christian Tannous, Sarah Sachi, Scott Seaes, Nonie Hillard and Samantha Walker.



Plot Summary: Two marriages have seemingly little in common: Esther and Schmuli are Orthodox Jews navigating strictly defined rules and roles, while Sophie and Abe are secular and free to make their own choices. But both couples are growing apart as they strive to balance their individual identities with the families they’ve created. As Esther tests the boundaries of her personal freedom, Abe falls into a correspondence with a movie star that will shake the foundations of his marriage and career. This funny, moving and thoughtful play asks if following one’s truth is worth it, no matter the cost. (from https://annabziegler.net/).



“The thoughtful, excellent The Wanderers, Anna Ziegler’s accomplished, tightly knit Chinese puzzle box of a play, is a treat for the eyes and the heart.” — The Jerusalem Post



“[Ziegler], an increasingly important writer, pulls off a high-wire act with her probing, admirably original world premiere play, The Wanderers.” — San Diego Union Tribune



“[Ziegler’s play is] thoughtful, compassionate, funny…The playwright deftly displays the barbed and tender sides of [the central characters’] relationship…But The Wanderers is about more than bittersweet relationships and coping with the past; it’s about the human tendency to be chronically dissatisfied. Confused and yearning, Esther wonders, “Who really understands whether or not they are happy?” — The Washington Post









WHAT: THE WANDERERS by Anna Ziegler

WHEN: February 8-23, 2025. (Thursdays and Saturday evenings/ Sunday Matinee)

WHERE: Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, Joe Frank Theatre, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX 77096

COST: $18-$29, and they can be purchased through www.mildredsumbrella.com

CONTACT: Press: jennifer@mildredsumbrella.com / Ticket Info: gcohen@erjcchouston.org



ANNA ZEIGLER Anna Ziegler is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. In film, Anna is adapting her play PHOTOGRAPH 51 for Leviathan Productions and Red Yes Studio. In television, Anna is writing the pilot GO, TEAM for Paramount+ and Defiant by Nature. Prior to that, Anna developed projects at Apple TV, HBO Max and AMC.



Anna’s critically acclaimed plays have been produced at major theaters around the U.S. and in Australia, Israel, Japan, Italy, Germany, India, and Sweden. Her widely produced play PHOTOGRAPH 51 starring Nicole Kidman won London’s WhatsOnStage award for Best New Play. It was selected as a “Best of the Year” play by The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and The Telegraph. Anna’s play ACTUALLY received the Ovation Award in Los Angeles for Playwriting of an Original Play. Her play THE WANDERERS, which was produced at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, won the San Diego Critic’s Circle Award for Outstanding New Play. Inspired by a true story, her play, BOY, was nominated for the John Gassner Award by the Outer Critics Circle.Anna is a graduate of Yale and holds masters degrees in poetry from The University of East Anglia (UK) and dramatic writing from NYU.



Mildred’s Umbrella’s 2024-2025 Season has support from The Rita Mallett Blasser Foundation, The Houston Arts Alliance, The National Endowment for the Arts and The Texas Commission on the Arts.











About Mildred’s Umbrella

Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company (MU) is committed to repairing the gender disparity on industry stages by producing works by women, featuring strong female protagonists, and creating a counterscript for mainstream society. As Houston’s premier female-focused theater, MU seeks to challenge audiences and theatre artists by creating and performing bold, innovative, and fresh theatrical works grounded in the best traditions of the dramatic arts. Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company’s season is supported by the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts,The National Endowment for the Arts,The Rita Mallett Blasser Foundation and individual funders.



About The Evelyn Rubeinstein JCC

Evelyn Rubenstein JCC Houston is a non-profit organization that provides quality programs for all members of the family including infants, school-aged children, teens, adults and seniors. Evelyn Rubenstein JCC provides more than $750,000 in scholarship aid to area families in need thanks to the generous support received, in part, from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and the United Way. Arts & Culture events are generously supported by Patrons of the Arts and The Maurice Amado Foundation.