Theatre
Up Next
Female, Ashkenazi with a sewing machine
Weekends in August.
August 7th-August 23rd
Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago.
This original work follows a young Ashkenazi woman who learns her ovarian cancer diagnosis is linked to the BRCA gene mutation—a mutation disproportionately affecting Ashkenazi Jewish women. Her story, interwoven with ancestral memory and modern medical realities, opens an urgent conversation about inherited risk, early testing, and the life-saving power of knowledge.
Press Release
Arts Judaica to present the Chicago Premiere of FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE, August 7-23 at Berger Park Coach House.
A young woman’s cancer diagnosis leads to a journey of self-discovery
Chicago - Arts Judaica, the live theater/music/education organization that was launched in 2024 with the Chicago premiere of the stage drama THE BERLIN DIARIES, has announced it will produce the Chicago premiere of Jamie Greenblatt’s play with music FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE, August 7-23 at Berger Park Coach House in Rogers Park. The play, which was premiered in 2017 by Inferno Theatre in Berkeley, California, follows the journey of a young San Francisco woman when a diagnosis of ovarian cancer threatens the promising life she has begun with her new husband. The diagnosis leads her to discover the family heritage that as an adoptive child she had never known. The San Jose MERCURY NEWS praised the play for the way it shows how its characters “navigate the capricious twists that life throws …in a compellingly imaginative way.” FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE has since been revised, and an original music score by Richard Jennings added. The Arts Judaica production will be the full production of the revised script, following a workshop in 2021. FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE will open on Thursday, August 7 and play weekends through Saturday, August 23, at the Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. Casting and production team will be announced later.
The humanity and honesty of the young couple as they look love, life and death in the eye, is presented through a combination of poetic realism and fantasy. The score by Jennings, performed live on stage by a violinist, reflects musical influences from eastern European to American folk. Jennings says, “With this guidance, I found a deep emotional soundscape to bring this fantastical story with all of its emotions resonating with life on stage.“
FEMALE, ASHKENAZI was a Semi-Finalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s 11 th Jewish Playwriting, 2022. This is what they said about the play: “Our readers were
compelled by its strong theatricality, while bringing awareness to a genetic mutation within the Ashkenazi community through one woman’s journey of love,
sickness, and soul-searching. They were highly moved and related to this poetic story of grace, love, and imagination as Anna discovers her identity.”
FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE will be performed at Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago. Performances will be
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm, and Saturdays at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $25.00 ($20.00 for seniors and students) and may be purchased at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/female-ashkenazi-with-a-sewing-machine.
LISTING INFORMATION FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE
By Jamie Greenblatt
Music by Richard Jennings
Directed by Izadorius Tortuga
August 7-23. 2025
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 p,
Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan, Chicago
Tickets: $25.00 general, seniors/students $20.00
Tickets on sale now at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/female-ashkenazi-
More information at www.artsjudaica.com
In the full length play with music, FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE, a diagnosis of ovarian cancer propels adoptee Anna on a journey, with
her loving husband Benjamin by her side and her sewing machine as a confidant, to find the heritage she never knew. A love story and a tale of self-discovery
alternately realistic and fantastical, told through a tapestry of music, drama and dance.
Jamie Greenblatt (Playwright) is a playwright whose work often integrates music, movement and puppetry. Her plays MY RECOLLECT TIME and FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE
(Semi-Finalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s 11 th Jewish Playwriting Contest) were produced by Inferno Theatre in Berkeley, California. A monologue from MY RECOLLECT TIME was published in Smith & Kraus’ WE/US: MONOLOGUES FOR THE GENDER MINORITY ANTHOLOGY, 2022. She’s a member of The
Dramatists Guild of America. Visit https://newplayexchange.org/users/27406/jamie-greenblatt to learn more.
Past Productions
4 Special Showcase Performances!
April 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th
Survivors, Written by Wendy Kout, is a play about young people and how they survived the Holocaust. Based on real people, the show examines hatred and prejudice of all types. Suitable for grades eight through twelve, college and adult audiences, this play is both a warning and a wake-up call for the present and the future.
These 4 performances are a showcase for the production which hopes to tour to locations within the Chicago area.
The touring production will be especially appropriate for schools, synagogues, churches, and community groups.
Held at City Lit Theater
1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave.
Chicago, IL 60660
Contact us.
If you would like to work with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out!