New Jerusalem

November 9 through 25, 2012

Dijo Productions Presents

New Jerusalem

by David Ives

Directed by Ed Giron

Acclaimed playwright David Ives has created a taut historical work that plays out like a modern day trial. Ives based his play on actual fact, with the dialogue being his creation. New Jerusalem pits religion against philosophy; government against religion; and community against government. Set in the mid-1600s, New Jerusalem explores the enclave of Sephardic Jews within the City of Amsterdam. Allowed to self-police as a condition of residing in the city without fear of punishment, the Jews must come to grips with the radical thinking of Baruch Spinoza, the supposedly religious Jewish philosopher whose thoughts threaten the existence of his closed community even as he heads down a path that threatens his very survival. This is the inquisition of Spinoza by the Dutch regents, the equivalent of a modern day Inherit the Wind according to one reviewer, a battle that hurls the Western Europe of the 1600s into a territory of fear and doubt.

New Jerusalem has its Santa Barbara debut thanks to DIJO Productions and its Executive Director Jerry Oshinsky. Other historical plays from DIJO include Frost/Nixon, The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hanna and Martin, and Fifteen Rounds with Jackson Pollock.

Director/actor Ed Giron has had recent theatre roles in Frost /Nixon (Indy Award for Performance) and English Bride in Santa Barbara, and Heartbreak House and Richard III in Los Angeles. His directing credits include The Persians, The Exonerated, Inherit the Wind and English Bride.

Playwright David Ives is known for his comedic plays including the collections known as All in the Timing and Mere Mortals. He is also the most highly regarded “fixer” of numerous plays en route to Broadway. New Jerusalem is a departure from his usual genre, but although it is an intense historical drama it is not without the humor that is classic David Ives.

Featured in the cast are William Waxman, recently seen at Center Stage in English Bride; Brian Kolb, recently featured in Elite Theatre’s production of No Exit; Jesi Vasquez, seen at Center Stage in Morning’s at Seven; Aden Hailu, seen at Center Stage in The Exonerated; Jerry Oshinsky, seen in The Exonerated and Vagina Monologues at Center Stage; and Ed Giron , most recently appearing in and directing English Bride at Center Stage.

TIMES: Friday, November 9, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Sunday, November 11, 2:00 P.M.

TIMES: Wednesday, November 14, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Thursday, November 15, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Friday, November 16, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Monday, November 19, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Tuesday, November 20, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Friday November 23, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Saturday, November 24, at 8:00 P.M.

TIMES: Sunday, November 25, at 2:00 P.M.

TIMES: Sunday, November 25, at 7:00 P.M. (NOTE EARLY TIME)

TICKETS: $22 general, $18 students and Seniors

All seating is general admission. All ticket sales are final at the time of purchase. There are no refunds or exchanges.

BOX OFFICE (805) 963-0408 (V/TDD)

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