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God walks into a psychologist's office: Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma starts second season with comedy

Daily Oklahoman - 10/17/2021

Oct. 17—A depressed God walks into a psychologist's office ready to destroy His creation, and his new therapist — a single mom of a son with autism — has one hour to change His mind.

That's the premise of "Oh, God," a comedy with serious themes by the late Israeli playwright Anat Gov, which will be the first in-person show staged by the new Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma.

"It's a universal theme about humanity. It doesn't matter that it is Jewish in the sense that everybody struggles with, 'Is it worthwhile?' and 'What's happening to our world?'" said Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma Associate Artistic Director Debra Rich Gettleman, who will star as the psychologist who has a divine encounter in "Oh, God."

After presenting streaming-only shows during its debut season, Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma will stage "Oh, God" as the first production on its sophomore season. Performances are planned at 8 p.m.Oct. 23 and 2 p.m.Oct. 24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University.

"In our first year, because of COVID, we ended up doing four virtual productions, which were very well-received by the audiences who saw them. This year, we've decided to go live and also stream at the same time. So, our audiences can come to the theater, or if they don't feel safe yet, they can see it at home," said Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma founder and Artistic Director Roberta Sloan.

"We don't want to appeal to just a Jewish audience," Sloan said. "We want to appeal to a multicultural audience, the same way that I would want to go see a play that's primarily African American or a reggae concert. I think that certain things can appeal to a large swath of Oklahomans."

Small but mighty community

Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma's mission is to explore the rich social, cultural and spiritual heritage of the Jewish people through theater experiences.

"In every culture and ethnicity, there is a community that is exploring that world more deeply, and I always want to encourage it. I know the world of Jewish theater, a lot of it, and what hasn't been done here. And I think it's wonderful that there's another company ... that can bring more Jewish theater to Oklahoma," said Lyric Theatre Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron, who is Jewish and on the new theater's board of directors.

"I just think that there's so much room in this city and state to build for theater, and I'm happy to be a part of it."

After living in Oklahoma for more than 30 years, Sloan said she left the state to pursue career opportunities. After 15 years away, she moved back to the Sooner State about two years ago and was inspired by Jewish theaters in California and Pennsylvania to start one here.

"We have a very active — albeit not huge — Jewish community, which would really enjoy plays with Jewish content and cultural themes, by Jewish authors, by Israeli playwrights," said Sloan, the interim associate dean of OCU's theater school.

"Then, I met Deborah ... and I'm very fortunate that I have someone of her caliber and experience to work with me, because it's too big a job for one person."

A playwright and actor, Gettleman moved in 2019 to Oklahoma City, where she said she immediately felt welcomed by the local Jewish community — and was repeatedly told she needed to meet Sloan.

"It's a small community but truly a mighty community. ... I immediately saw that this was a city on the verge of an artistic blossoming," said Gettleman, who has also worked locally with Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre and Carpenter Square Theatre.

"If you're going to be a great city, you have to have great theater — I just believe that in the depths of my soul. And Roberta wasn't only about Jewish content. It wasn't only about Jewish theater. It was about great theater that showcased different aspects of Jewish culture," Gettleman said. It was through a Jewish lens, if you will, but the key to me was that it's going to be great theater. And that's what I love to create."

Playing God — and His therapist

Through entertainment and education, one of the fledgling theater's goals is to help stem the rising tide of anti-Semitism.

The company also is working to strengthen the local Jewish community and its ties to the broader multicultural community with its performances. For "Oh, God," both shows will be followed by panel discussions and kosher refreshments.

"I think the themes of this play are very worthy of discussion: God comes down, and He's about to give up on the Earth. And He visits with a therapist, who does not believe in Him. And it brings up all kinds of interesting things," Sloan said.

D. Lance Marsh, professor of acting and head of performance for OCU School of Theatre, will direct the production, with Hal Kohlman, a staple of the OKC theater community, playing God.

"With so much depression and mental health issues, with the pandemic and the chaos in the world, it's sort of understandable that God ... could be like, 'You know what, I gotta dump this and start over,'" Gettleman said. "Then you have this one middle-aged woman who's like, 'I have an hour in this session, and I've got to save the world and find why is it worthwhile to not destroy it.' ... I think we're all struggling with that right now if we really look at our lives and what's happened, especially right now."

Building on the dream

Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma's previous productions have included Ronda Spinak's "The Matzo Ball Diaries," which explores the special meanings that Jewish people give to food; Spinak's "True Colors," which spotlights humorous, revealing and inspiring stories from Jews of color; Jesse Bernstein's one-person show "The Ethics of the Fathers: AKA the Gangster and the Grandpa," which tells a Jewish-American story spanning from mobsters to Moses; and "Latkes and Applesauce, Dreidels and Gelt," which spotlights funny sketches from the dynamic duo of Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

"The dream of the theater is that our shows are very well-received, a lot of people come both Jewish and from the entire community, and then ultimately, we do so well that we have our own theater, that we're not wandering Jews," Sloan said. "Each show now is probably going to be in a different space ... but that's all right. We'll get there eventually."

As the company continues its second season, Gettleman said she is eager to explore pop-up theater with the company.

Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma's sophomore season is slated to continue in December with another one-person show from Bernstein, "The Scribe," about an ancient Israeli man rushing to codify the Torah. In 2022, the company will present the Oklahoma premiere of Alice Eve Cohen's new award-winning period play "Oklahoma Samovar," about two Latvian teenagers who flee the Russian Army and become the only Jews in the Oklahoma Land Rush.

The company may also sponsor a playwriting contest in the new year, Gettleman said.

"We really want to foster creativity in the Jewish community and the community at large," she said.

ON STAGE

Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma presents "Oh, God"

When: 8 p.m.Oct. 23 and 2 p.m.Oct. 24.

Where: Black Box Theatre in the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University.

Tickets, information and streaming: https://jewishtheatreok.org and https://www.facebook.com/jewishtheatreok.

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