A (zero-G) virtual theater production
Directed by Igor Golyak
December 10 – January 23
About
WITNESS
A new virtual documentary theater piece
Written by Nana Grinstein
with Blair Cadden & Igor Golyak
Conceived and directed by Igor Golyak
Scenography & Costume Design by Anna Fedorova
Virtual Design by Daniel Cormino
Sound Design by Viktor Semenov
DP/Editor, Anton Nikolaev
Produced by Sara Stackhouse
Featuring the Arlekin Acting Company
December 10, 2021 – January 23, 2022
This is a STREAMING performance.
WITNESS can only be viewed ONLINE.
Tickets $25
Where do unwanted people go?
WITNESS, the latest project from Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab, is a new documentary theater piece about Jewish immigration in the face of antisemitism. WITNESS brings actors and audience together from around the world for a shared immersive experience set on a boat in digital space. The piece is inspired by the journey of the MS St. Louis, which left Hamburg in 1939 with over 900 Jewish people on board and headed to Cuba only to be turned away, leaving the passengers stranded with nowhere to go and no escape. WITNESS shares stories of Jewish immigrants from around the globe through an interactive virtual theater experience at the nexus of film, theater and video games.
“…the future of online productions might be best represented so far by Arlekin Players Theatre…” –This Week in New York ‘20 This Week in New York
“…the future of online productions might be best represented so far by Arlekin Players Theatre…” –This Week in New York ‘20 This Week in New York
• NY Times Critics Pick
• TWI-NY Pandemic Awards Best Use of Chat in Streaming Production
• Broadway World Boston, Golyak Best Direction of a Stream
• Best Theater of 2021 Lists – Boston Globe, Sound End News, Jewish Journal
Performance Schedule
This is a STREAMING performance.
WITNESS can only be viewed ONLINE.
Click Performance Date to Purchase
Friday, December 10 at 7:30pm ET – Preview Performance
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Saturday, December 11 at 7:30pm ET – Preview Performance
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Sunday, December 12 at 7:30pm ET – Preview Performance
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Monday, December 13 at 7:30pm ET – Opening Night (World Premiere)
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Friday, December 17 at 7:30pm ET
Special post-show talkback moderated by Miriam Anzovin, Host, The Vibe of the Tribe
Saturday, December 18 at 1pm ET | 8pm IST
Special Russian Language post-show talkback, moderated by Lena Kreindlin, Director General, Gesher Theatre
Co-presented by Gesher Theater (Israel) & Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (New York)
Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to New England
Saturday, December 18 at 7:30pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Sponsored by Jookender
THIS PERFORMANCE IS SOLD OUT
Sunday, December 19 at 1pm ET | 8pm IST
Special post-show talkback moderated by Amir Tadmor, Director of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel to New England
Co-presented by Gesher Theatre (Israel) & Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (New York)
Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to New England
Friday, January 14 at 7:30pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Saturday, January 15 at 7:30pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Sunday, January 16 at 3pm ET
Special post-show talkback moderated by Dr. Rebecca Erbelding, US Holocaust Memorial Museum Historian
Sunday, January 16 at 7:30pm ET
Special post-show talkback moderated by Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann
Co-presented by Mishkan Chicago
Thursday, January 20 at 7:30pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Sponsored by @akiva for Teens Cleveland
THIS PERFORMANCE IS SOLD OUT
Friday, January 21 at 7:30pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast andSpecial talkback moderated by Joyce Kulhawik, President of the Boston Theater Critics Association, Emmy Award-Winning A & E Critic creative team
Saturday, January 22 at 7:30pm ET
Special talkback moderated by Dr. Rachel Merrill Moss.
Co-presented by Action for Post-Soviet Jewry & The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society
Sunday, January 23 at 1pm ET
Post-show talkback with members of the cast and creative team
Special performance to support Shalva (Jerusalem)
Sponsored by .ART
With additional support from Consulate General of Israel to New England
Sunday, January 23 at 5pm ET
Special Post-show talkback moderated by Dr. Barbara Wallace Grossman
Co-presented by Jewish Arts Collaborative and The Vilna Shul
Thank you to our Sponsors & Co-Presenters
Cast
AUDIO CAST
WITNESS is joined for an audio-only segment featuring a versatile group of voice actors including Aiki Arzoumanian, Boris Berdnikov, Nana Ghukasyan, Igor Golyak, Anne Gottlieb, Luz Lopez, Nael Nacer, Juan Paniagua, Robert Pemberton, Alex Petetsky, Gene Ravvin, Oldren Romero, Elizabeth Sarytchev, Olga Sokolova, and Richard Snee.
LIVE & FILMED CAST
EMCEE: Gene Ravvin
LEAH: Lauren Elias
LADY LIBERTY: Darya Denisova
LIESL JOSEPH/WOMAN WITH CHILD: Rimma Gluzman
GISELA KLEPL: Polina Vikova
YOUNG LIESL & GISELA: Esther Golyak & Elizabeth Sarytchev
FRITZ BUFF: Alex Petetsky
FIRA: Julia Shikh
MARIK: Misha Tyutyunik
MARIK’S ASSISTANT: Jenya Brodskaia
ANNA: Anna Furman
OLGA: Olga Aronova
VIKA/BRIDE: Vika Kovalenko
JOSEPH: Nathan Malin
RACHEL: Anne Gottlieb
GROOM/RELIGIOUS JEWISH MAN: David Gamarnik
FIRST JEWISH MAN: Boris Furman
SECOND JEWISH MAN/JEWISH HUSBAND: Boris Berdnikov
AMERICAN WIFE: Blair Cadden
CHILD: Elizabeth Sarytchev
CHILD: Jacob Golyak
ISRAELI SOLDIER: Esther Golyak
ENSEMBLE: Polina Vaserman, Nana Ghukasyan, Kendyl Trott
Team
Conceived and Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Sara Stackhouse
Playwright, Nana Grinstein
Additional scripting, Blair Cadden & Igor Golyak
Dramaturg/Assistant Director, Blair Cadden
Scenography & Costume Design, Anna Fedorova
Virtual Design, Daniel Cormino
Technical Director, Johan Folke
Sound Design, Victor Semenov
Studio Sound Consultant, Clive Goodwin
Director of Photography/Editor, Anton Nikolaev
Cinematographer, Austin de Besche
Properties Master, Irina Vilenchik
Properties Assistant, Olga Aronova
Wardrobe Manager, Marissa Wolf
Wardrobe Assistant, Natasha Mitlina
Hair & Makeup, Anna Furman
Assistant Technical Director, Brian Farrell
Stage Manager, Kendyl Trott
Graphic Design, Sandra Cohen | Bird Graphics
PR, Darren DeLuca
Box Office & Front of House, Marianna Golyak
Intern, Emma Resek
Press Release
Boston Globe Review, ‘Witness’
Igor Golyak and Arlekin Players Theatre explore the many times, places, and forms of anti-Jewish bigotry.
THE TWI-NY PANDEMIC AWARDS: PART III
BEST IMMERSIVE HISTORICAL DRAMA. Arlekin Players Theatre, Witness. Igor Golyak uses Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab to place viewers aboard the MS St. Louis in this interactive exploration of antisemitism.
The Boston Globe, Witness
The Boston Globe Don Aucoin January 13, 2022 Witness “Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond” READ PIECE HERE.
Times Square Chronicles, Witness
“Theatre News: Mr. Saturday Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, Girl from the North Country, Witness and Marin Ireland”
South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/
Boston area theater staged a welcome comeback in 2021—even if initially in zoom and live stream productions.
Continue Reading South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/
WBUR The ARTery, Witness
“10 winter theater productions that urge us to take action”
The Arts Fuse, Witness
“Coming Attractions: January 9 Through 25 — What Will Light Your Fire”
The Times of Israel, Witness
The Times of Israel Julie Masis January 8, 2022 Witness “In Boston, COVID sends Russian-Jewish theater group hurtling through space and time” READ PIECE HERE.
The Boston Globe, Witness
“Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond”
GBH Boston Public Radio, Witness
“Boston Public Radio full show: Jan. 5, 2022”
Joyce’s Choices, Witness
There are stories that remain forever at the heart of the human experience and WITNESS, the latest virtual theater piece by Arlekin Players Theatre and Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab, is one of them.
Jewish Boston, Witness
““Witness” Talk Back Conversation With Director Igor Golyak”
Gallery
Reviews
Boston Globe Review, ‘Witness’
Igor Golyak and Arlekin Players Theatre explore the many times, places, and forms of anti-Jewish bigotry.
THE TWI-NY PANDEMIC AWARDS: PART III
BEST IMMERSIVE HISTORICAL DRAMA. Arlekin Players Theatre, Witness. Igor Golyak uses Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab to place viewers aboard the MS St. Louis in this interactive exploration of antisemitism.
The Boston Globe, Witness
The Boston Globe Don Aucoin January 13, 2022 Witness “Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond” READ PIECE HERE.
Times Square Chronicles, Witness
“Theatre News: Mr. Saturday Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, Girl from the North Country, Witness and Marin Ireland”
South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/
Boston area theater staged a welcome comeback in 2021—even if initially in zoom and live stream productions.
Continue Reading South End News, Witness, chekhosOS/an experimental game/
WBUR The ARTery, Witness
“10 winter theater productions that urge us to take action”
The Arts Fuse, Witness
“Coming Attractions: January 9 Through 25 — What Will Light Your Fire”
The Times of Israel, Witness
The Times of Israel Julie Masis January 8, 2022 Witness “In Boston, COVID sends Russian-Jewish theater group hurtling through space and time” READ PIECE HERE.
The Boston Globe, Witness
“Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond”
GBH Boston Public Radio, Witness
“Boston Public Radio full show: Jan. 5, 2022”
Joyce’s Choices, Witness
There are stories that remain forever at the heart of the human experience and WITNESS, the latest virtual theater piece by Arlekin Players Theatre and Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab, is one of them.
Jewish Boston, Witness
““Witness” Talk Back Conversation With Director Igor Golyak”