The Ally (play)

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The Ally
Written by Itamar Moses
Date premieredFebruary 15, 2024
Place premiered The Public Theater
Original languageEnglish
Subject Free speech, Jewish identity, faith, Israel-Palestine conflict, Antisemitism, Race relations, police brutality, gentrification, Zionism, Anti-Asian racism
GenreComedy-Drama

The Ally is a play by the American playwright Itamar Moses, which revolves around a Jewish college professor who initially agrees to sign a student's manifesto address with police brutality until he sees language in the document criticizing Israel using language that he is uncomfortable with, ultimately forcing him to question his identity and faith. The play premiered Off-Broadway in February 2024 at the Anspacher Theatre at The Public Theater. The play was directed by Lila Neugebauer and stars Josh Radnor.

Contents

Overview

The play revolves around a Jewish college professor initially agrees to sign a manifesto from students in response to an incident of police brutality but disagrees when he sees there is a section accusing Israel of engaging in an "apartheid" and "genocide" in relations to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The play shifts from comedy to drama as debates and discussions force the professor to question his faith and Jewish identity.

Origins

Moses began writing and developing the play in the early 2010s and Moses said of the plays conception he sensed, "a fissure or a division opening up on the left, where I basically am and have always been politically, having to do with questions around Israel and America’s relationship to Israel" and realized there was a generational divide in terms of support to Israel. [1] The show was ready to premiere at the Public Theater in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The play opened in February 2024 and is set in late September 2023 before the events leading up to Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th. [2]

Productions

Off-Broadway

The world premiere production opened on February 15, 2024, at The Public Theater's Anspacher Theatre. The run has been extended twice. It was directed by Lila Neugebauer who in 2024 also directed Appropriate and the revival of Uncle Vanya . [3] [4] The production stars Josh Radnor as Asaf, the Jewish college professor. Also included in the cast are Joy Osmanski, Cherise Boothe, Elijah Jones, Michael Khalid Karadsheh, Madeline Weinstein, and Ben Rosenfield. [5]

Cast and characters

Character Off Broadway, The Public Theater
(2024)
Asaf Josh Radnor
Gwen Joy Osmanski
Nakia / RabbiCherise Booth
BaronElijah Jones
FaridMichael Khalid Karadsheh
Rachel Madeline Weinstein
Reuven Ben Rosenfield

Characters

Response

Critical reception

The production has received positive to mixed reviews with critics praising the direction, performances and writing but adding that it lacks substantial stakes with Jesse Green of The New York Times gave the production a mixed review writing, "Itamar Moses’s play offers eloquent arguments on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it doesn’t offer much drama." [6] However, Sara Holdren of Vulture praises the play for asking the questions and keeping the dialogue and debate alive writing, "What is to be done with all this truth? Pulsing ominously at the heart of The Ally is a question — a truly frightening one for artists, for scholars, for critics — about the more perilous face of nuance." [7]

Jesse Hassenger of The Guardian wrote of the plays lingering quality writing, "Even if the pin-drop intensity of The Ally dissipates quickly afterward, there’s something admirable about a play in which so many of its characters appear ready to make a didactic case against its very existence." [8] Amelia Merrill of New York Theater Guide criticized the play for not acknowledging the events of and after October 7th in the text and added "There’s no sense of dramatic urgency in The Ally – that lives off stage." [9]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef.
2024 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play Josh Radnor Pending [10]
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Play Itamar Moses Pending [11]

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References

  1. ↑ "How Do You Mount a Play Like The Ally at a Time Like This?". March 9, 2024.
  2. ↑ "In The Ally, Impossible Conversations We're All Having". Vulture. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Appropriate (Broadway, 2023-2024)". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Uncle Vanya (Broadway, 2024)". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Ally". The Public Theater. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. ↑ "'The Ally' Review: Social Justice as a Maddening Hall of Mirrors". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  7. ↑ "In The Ally, Impossible Conversations We're All Having". Vulture. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  8. ↑ "The Ally review – intense but unwieldy play tackles big issues". The Guardian. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  9. ↑ "'The Ally' review — new play, starring Josh Radnor, mines political controversy". New York Theater Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Wet Brain Leads 2024 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations; Read the Complete List". Playbill. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ "2024 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List!". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
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