Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma countering antisemitism with storytelling and Land Run play

With scripts in hand, Roberta Sloan and Kara Luther-Chapman are having a complicated conversation about strawberries and ashes, one that will soon be punctuated with people from the past.

"There's a kind of ghost story with it: Ghosts come in and sit at the Passover table and have a cup of tea. ... So, that really makes it interesting," explained Sloan during rehearsals of the award-winning new play "Oklahoma Samovar" at Oklahoma City's Emanuel Synagogue. The fledgling theater is putting on one of the first productions in the country of the new title, the winner of last year's 10th annual National Jewish Playwriting Contest.

"I chose it because, 'What? A Jewish play with Oklahoma in the title?' I've got to see what this is!' And then the first scene takes place on a farm in Oklahoma ... and the story changes and gets bigger and bigger — as stories do when they're told. And that's fun."

The founder and artistic director of Jewish Theatre of Oklahoma, Sloan is doing double duty as an actor and director for the company's Nov. 12-13 production of "Oklahoma Samovar" at Rodeo Theatre in Stockyards City.

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