The Festival of Jewish Playwrights is here in Los Angeles and features lesser-known works from iconic Jewish-American playwrights: Ethan Coen, Wendy Wasserstein and Shel Silverstein. It’s opening this weekend starting on February 29th and running until April 7th on select dates. Sarah Natochenny, known as the English voice actor for Pokemon’s Ash Ketchum, will be performing in the shows, marking her debut in the Los Angeles theatre scene.
There are three different shows within the festival including An Evening of One-Acts by Ethan Coen, An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein, and Five One-Act Plays by Wendy Wasserstein. And depending on the night, the show will feature a different play.
“An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein, we have, I believe, nine short plays within that,” Natochenny tells Nerd Reactor. “I’m in three of them. I’m in ‘One Tennis Shoe,’ which opens the show. I’m in ‘Lifeboat is Sinking.’ And then I’m in ‘Buy One, Get One Free.’ And then for the Ethan Coen plays, I’m in ‘Talking Cure’ and in ‘Debate.’ And there’s a third one that I’m not in, ‘Offices.’ So those three plays have actually never been performed together. Ethan Coen has several sets of plays, and there are sets that are performed together. These three come from different sets of plays. So we’re really excited to put these three together. We think it makes very good sense. So yeah. It’s their second time doing Ethan Cohen and the first time it’s sold out. So I’m really excited.”
Natochenny has been focused on other parts of her career, but she is back in the theatre scene after a long gap.
“This is my LA theatre debut,” she revealed. “I have done some sketch comedy in LA, but I haven’t done a theatrical run in LA. So very excited for that. The last time I did a run in New York was like 10 years ago. We did a play called ‘Museum,’ and man, that was a lot of fun. But after that, I pretty much got into film editing and kept up with voice acting. And I was away. I was on sets and stuff, so I didn’t even pursue theatre again after that. And I’m really excited to be back.”
In “Buy One, Get One Free,” Natochenny plays a sex worker, and she gets to work with one of her longtime friends, Rachel Troy.
“My friend Rachel Troy, who I actually did that play with 10 years ago – it’s how we met and we’ve stayed friends ever since,” Natochenny explained. “And I actually recommended her to the to the production. I was like, ‘She’d be perfect because we’re both these tall, skinny girls. And we just look like we would be a good partnership in that.’ So we played two sex workers and the entire thing is a poem. So we’re just taking turns saying the lines of this very long poem. And it’s really funny and wacky and weird. We’re really weird.”
You can check out the full video interview below.
For tickets, you can visit the Festival of Jewish Playwrights page via TheaterMania.com.
About Festival of Jewish Playwrights: Shel Silverstein, Ethan Coen, Wendy Wasserstein
Foster Cat Productions proudly presents the highly anticipated Festival of Jewish Playwrights, showcasing lesser-known works from three legendary Jewish-American playwrights: Ethan Coen, Wendy Wasserstein, and Shel Silverstein. Each weekend, the 905 Cole Theater in Hollywood will host a captivating rotation of one-act plays, all of which offer a unique perspective on life, humor, and the human condition. Audiences will have the rare opportunity to experience the brilliance of these iconic playwrights, whose contributions to American theater, literature, and film have left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape. From the wit and wisdom of Ethan Coen — known for such acclaimed films as The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men — to the poignant storytelling of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein, and the irreverent humor of poet Shel Silverstein — creator of beloved children’s books like Where the Sidewalk Ends.
- Dates: Opening Night: February 29, 2024, Final Performance: April 7, 2024
- Location: 905 Cole Theatre, California
- Ticket Price: $30
- Ticket Office: (323) 450-9600
Featured image credit: Dusty Heger
