Theater J Announces Cast for Motti Lerner’s Benedictus

Casting has been announced for the Theater J production of Motti Lerner’s Benedictus, set to run in the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater at the Washington DCJCC, March 14-29. Rahaleh Nassri will direct.

The play is set 42 hours before a scheduled U.S. attack on Iran. Two estranged childhood Iranian friends, one Jewish and one Muslim (now an Israeli arms dealer and an Iranian politician), agree to a secret meeting in a Benedictine monastery in Rome in an attempt to find an alternative to war. The cast will feature Michael Tolaydo as the Israeli arms dealer, Michael Kramer as the Iranian politician, and Richard Mancini as the Benedictine monk who assists the conversation.

This Iran-Israel-U.S. collaboration was created by Lerner with Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, Roberta Levitow, Daniel Michaelson, and Torange Yeghiazarian. Lerner is an Israeli playwright and screenwriter who has seen his work performed around the world. His other works include Pangs of the Messiah, Exile in Jerusalem, and Passing The Love of Women.

For more information, visit washingtondcjcc.org.