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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.
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/).
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“[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
FEBRUARY 8-23, 2025. (THURSDAYS AND SATURDAY EVENINGS/ SUNDAY MATINEE)
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.