How did Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt get to Broadway? How do audiences react to experiencing the past when the lights go down? Take a virtual lunchbreak with The Vilna and meet Tony Award winning producer of Leopoldstadt Heni Koenigsberg and ethnographer Laura Yares, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. Together they'll explore audience experience and how theatregoers respond to seeing their own history on stage.
Set in Vienna, Leopoldstadt takes its title from Vienna's Jewish quarter. This passionate drama of love and endurance begins in the last days of 1899 and follows one extended family deep into the heart of the 20th century. Leopoldstadt is the winner of the 2023 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.
About Heni Koenigsberg
Heni is a Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and GLAAD Media award winning Broadway Producer. Some award winning shows include LEOPOLDSTADT, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, COMPANY, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, HADESTOWN, THE BAND’S VISIT, HELLO DOLLY! with Bette Midler, GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE, A RAISIN IN THE SUN with Denzel Washington, THE INHERITANCE, SKYLIGHT with Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, THE GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE and others.
As a supporter of education in the arts, Heni created a visiting artist program at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts that brought successful artists to the school to work with students in the creative arts. Heni is a supporter of shows in development and apprenticeship programs for BIPOC, Trans communities and young artists who wish to pursue a career in theatre.
Heni is a member of the JNF Arts and Culture Task Force. The committee is dedicated to bringing theatre, music, dance and visual arts programs to all communities in Israel.
About Laura Yares
Laura Yares is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University, with a joint appointment in the MSU Program for Jewish Studies. Her research and teaching focuses on Jews and Judaism in modernity, with particular interests in Jewish education.
With Sharon Avni (CUNY), she is also currently at work on a contemporary ethnographic project exploring Jewish learning in cultural arts settings. This research investigates the ways that museums, television shows, digital media, music, and theatre serve as vibrant settings for Jews and non-Jews to learn about Judaism and Jewishness, and to explore their own religious and cultural identities.