TRAYF
Zalmy lives a double life. By day, he drives a Chabad "Mitzvah Tank" through 1990s New York City, performing good deeds with his best friend Shmuel. by night, he sneaks out of his orthodox community to roller-skate and listen to rock and roll. But when a curious outsider offers him unfettered access to the secular world, is it worth jeopardizing everything he's ever known? This road-trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal suspicion that we don't quite fit in, and the faith and friends that see us through.
TIME & PLACE
Manhattan and Brooklyn, 1991.
CHARACTERS
ZALMY: m, 19. Chasidic Jew. Intelligent, curious, hungry for life.
SHMUEL: m, 19. Chasidic Jew. Loyal, earnest, hungry for love.
JONATHAN: m, late 20s. Prospective convert. Charismatic, impulsive, hungry for purpose.
LEAH: f, late 20s. Secular Jew living in Manhattan. All of the above.
PRESS
"A tidy, consistently smart story...
Joelle's comedy is easygoing and confident, and her people have soul." - Washington Post
"I laughed. I learned. I loved. What more can a theatergoer ask for?" - StageScene LA
"Joelle’s writing is so light and graceful, and the pals are so endearing,
that you quickly settle into the swing of their self-contained world." - Washington Post
"The dynamics of this trio are observed by Joelle with a lively wit and genial wisdom...
Although fraught with jealousy, these male relationships are suffused with a delicate tenderness.” - L.A. Times
"The thing about Lindsay Joelle's TRAYF...is that it has really excellent dialogue. In every sense of the word. The opening patter between two Chassidic teenage boys fizzes like a sketch comedy routine and the rhythm carries like a current through a lot of silliness and a lot of seriousness." - BroadwayWorld L.A.
"Joelle's prose really cannot be complimented enough. In an hour and half, she is able to dive into issues such as faith, identity, friendship, and purpose with a clarity and introspection rarely seen onstage." - BroadwayWorld D.C.
"It's like the greatest Jewish fable you never knew existed, till now." - Talkin Broadway St. Louis
In a world where anti-Semitism is again on the rise, where synagogues are targeted by vandals and terrorists,
TRAYF is a bulwark against the ignorance that contributes to such acts. - BroadwayWorld Boston
Joelle's comedy is easygoing and confident, and her people have soul." - Washington Post
"I laughed. I learned. I loved. What more can a theatergoer ask for?" - StageScene LA
"Joelle’s writing is so light and graceful, and the pals are so endearing,
that you quickly settle into the swing of their self-contained world." - Washington Post
"The dynamics of this trio are observed by Joelle with a lively wit and genial wisdom...
Although fraught with jealousy, these male relationships are suffused with a delicate tenderness.” - L.A. Times
"The thing about Lindsay Joelle's TRAYF...is that it has really excellent dialogue. In every sense of the word. The opening patter between two Chassidic teenage boys fizzes like a sketch comedy routine and the rhythm carries like a current through a lot of silliness and a lot of seriousness." - BroadwayWorld L.A.
"Joelle's prose really cannot be complimented enough. In an hour and half, she is able to dive into issues such as faith, identity, friendship, and purpose with a clarity and introspection rarely seen onstage." - BroadwayWorld D.C.
"It's like the greatest Jewish fable you never knew existed, till now." - Talkin Broadway St. Louis
In a world where anti-Semitism is again on the rise, where synagogues are targeted by vandals and terrorists,
TRAYF is a bulwark against the ignorance that contributes to such acts. - BroadwayWorld Boston
PRODUCTION HISTORY |
SELECTED ACCOLADES |
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