Theater News

Ben Fankhauser, Julie Benko, and More Set for York Theatre's Bar Mitzvah Boy

The Jule Styne musical returns to the stage.

Ben Fankhauser will appear in the York Theatre Company's Bar Mitzvah Boy.
Ben Fankhauser will appear in the York Theatre Company's Bar Mitzvah Boy.
(© David Gordon)

The York Theatre Company has announced the cast for its Musicals in Mufti presentation of Bar Mitzvah Boy, with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Don Black, and book by Jack Rosenthal, as adapted by David Thompson. Performances run February 10-18 under the direction of Annette Jolles.

The company will be made up of Julie Benko as Lesley Green, Neal Benari as Rabbi Sherman, Ned Eisenberg as Victor Green, Ben Fankhauser as Harold, Tim Jerome as Grandad, Peyton Lusk as Eliot Green, Casey Watkins as Denise, and Lori Wilner as Rita Green.

Based on Rosenthal's award-winning 1976 BBC1 teleplay of the same name, Bar Mitzvah Boy is a bittersweet musical comedy about a young Jewish Londoner who runs away from the Bar Mitzvah into which his parents have poured their efforts and their money.

The production has musical direction by Darren R. Cohen and lighting by Graham Kindred.