TRAYF

by Lindsay Joelle

Orthodox teens and lifelong best friends Zalmy and Shmuel are intent on saving the world, one mitzvah at a time. But when a curious outsider draws Zalmy into the forbidden secular pleasures of 1990s New York City, Shmuel must do everything in his power to keep their dreams intact or risk losing his friend forever. This road-trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal...

Orthodox teens and lifelong best friends Zalmy and Shmuel are intent on saving the world, one mitzvah at a time. But when a curious outsider draws Zalmy into the forbidden secular pleasures of 1990s New York City, Shmuel must do everything in his power to keep their dreams intact or risk losing his friend forever. This road-trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal suspicion that we don't quite fit in, and the faith and friends that see us through.

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TRAYF

Recommended by

  • David Winitsky: TRAYF

    We often get plays that look at observant Jews trying to get out of their restrictive community. Lindsay gives us someone with good reasons to want to get in. That’s the kind of new version of an old story that I love.

    We often get plays that look at observant Jews trying to get out of their restrictive community. Lindsay gives us someone with good reasons to want to get in. That’s the kind of new version of an old story that I love.

  • Benjamin Benne: TRAYF

    I read this hilarious play years ago but getting to (finally) see it on the Geffen stage, it has bloomed even further into one of the most beautiful plays I've gotten to experience. The characters' desires run so deep. The dialogue is stunning. The scenes are economic and precise. And the reversals hit hard. The exploration of faith is profound and the (rare) depictions of male friendship are the most tender and moving I've ever seen.

    I read this hilarious play years ago but getting to (finally) see it on the Geffen stage, it has bloomed even further into one of the most beautiful plays I've gotten to experience. The characters' desires run so deep. The dialogue is stunning. The scenes are economic and precise. And the reversals hit hard. The exploration of faith is profound and the (rare) depictions of male friendship are the most tender and moving I've ever seen.

  • Michael Cotey: TRAYF

    Joelle's characters are so funny, so completely realized and so real. Full of heart and love. The great success of your play is that it taps into the universal through the specific. The specific experience of Zalmy and Shmuel’s devotion to the Rebbe will only be shared by a minority but the obsession of two passionate teenagers, the trials and tribulations of finding yourself in the world, the strains of friendship as new people enter a tightly defined dynamic or when a someone you love begins to change – these are all things an audience can relate to. Excellent work!

    Joelle's characters are so funny, so completely realized and so real. Full of heart and love. The great success of your play is that it taps into the universal through the specific. The specific experience of Zalmy and Shmuel’s devotion to the Rebbe will only be shared by a minority but the obsession of two passionate teenagers, the trials and tribulations of finding yourself in the world, the strains of friendship as new people enter a tightly defined dynamic or when a someone you love begins to change – these are all things an audience can relate to. Excellent work!

View all 12 recommendations

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization The Criterion Theater, London, Year 2022
  • Type Reading, Organization Hunter Playwrights Festival (dir. May Adrales), Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization Sabes JCC, MN (dir. Addie Gorlin), Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization Penguin Rep Theatre (dir. Celine Rosenthal), Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization JCC of Northern Virginia (dir. David Winitsky), Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization The Lark (roundtable), Year 2015

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Six Points Theater, Year 2023
  • Type Professional, Organization The Geffen Playhouse, Year 2022
  • Type Professional, Organization Penguin Rep, Year 2017

Awards

  • Nomination: Best Writing
    Robby Awards
    2022
  • Nomination: Best Writing
    LA Critics Circle
    2022
  • Blue Ink Playwriting Award
    American Blues Theater
    Finalist
    2017
  • Rita Goldberg Award
    Hunter
    Winner
    2016
  • Jaw Festival
    Portland Center Stage
    Finalist
    2016
  • JPP Top 10
    Jewish Plays Project
    Finalist
    2016