←Recommendations of THE LAST YIDDISH SPEAKER

What I love about this play is that, although set in a world of authoritarian conformity that feels terrifyingly plausible, individual characters are treated with such humanity and compassion. It’s a play that evokes a desire to connect with history and culture - as someone with Jewish descent, it’s the reason I started Yiddish on Duolingo. But it also feels intersectional in its argument for understanding the importance of our history and defending it from homogenizing powers.

A well-written piece about what really could happen! The tension is there from the beginning, and it brings up topics to struggle with: how much do we need to fit in? how much can we fight oppression and discrimination? are we complicit if we go along to get along? Though it centers on Judaism and the right for Jews to exist, it has universal appeal to anyone who worries about marginalized groups, and the often-unwitting or uneducated, both well-meaning and vengeful who group together to persecute them.

A tense, all-too-possible near future play that strikes at the heart of what makes survival "worth it." Laufer's characters feel familiar, which only elevates the audience's investment in their choices. Check out its rolling premiere if you can!

A play that pictures a world where being different (non-Christian and queer, for example) is a crime. A play about keeping one's heritage alive. I loved how fleshed out this world is and how complicated these characters are. It's a terrifying read with an ending full of hope and despair. This play couldn't be more relevant. Program this play and start some much needed dialogue.

Laufer’s multi-layered, imperfect cast of characters elevates the work beyond merely nihilistic political conjecture, to show a more nuanced perspective on complicity in the face of authoritarianism. The play’s most incendiary message may be that identification with any larger social group often goes hand in hand with fears—both false and justified—of being persecuted as an individual. A complex, tense play for our complex, tense era.

A couple things really resonate with me in this script. First, the men in the play are often pleading with the women to be complicit in this new system. Sarah is, and her mother is described as, a woman who will fight for her rights and refuse to stay quiet. Both Paul and John are scared of this.
Second, after the fall of Roe, I am constantly aware that if I had a daughter she would have less rights than I use to have. The world of this play already existed once.

A deeply affecting, creative piece of speculative fiction. Laufer skillfully builds the world of the play with deftly chosen details. The particular constellation of characters here also serve to explore the trajectory of how the poison of hatred and intolerance in all forms and, very specifically antisemitism, can infect a society. Sarah's journey is incredibly compelling, from her tension with her father and her father's willingness to assimilate and simply survive to her desire to understand an identity she's been robbed of owning and exploring. A straightforward, accessible, potent play that achieves a lot of nuance and complexity.