Who are you when they come knocking at your door?
It’s the question at the core of “The Last Yiddish Speaker.” Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer in 2024, the story follows a Jewish father and daughter as they hide in plain sight in a United States that has descended into white nationalism, fascism and terror.
Staged by St. Paul’s Six Points Theater, the show opens Saturday at the Highland Park Community Center. Directed by Amy Rummenie, the four-person cast dives into a not-too-distant dystopian future.
“It’s 2029, in a world where Jan. 6 was successful for the insurgents,” Rummenie said. “That was the turning point of history, and the entire landscape of the country has changed.”
The play follows Paul, played by Twin Cities actor Avi Aharoni, and his daughter Sarah, played by New York City-based actor Charleigh Wolf. The pair is hiding in plain sight, living as Christians in a small rural town after fleeing their home in New York City and denying their Jewish heritage.
They live in fear of being found until a magical Yiddish woman appears on their front doorstep, claiming to be their great-aunt Chava, played by Sally Wingert.
Surviving or living
Wingert worked with a language expert prior to the show to learn Yiddish, as Chava only has a handful of moments in English. The rest of her scenes are performed entirely in Yiddish.
“It’s been amazing to watch. She works so hard at that, in bringing the authenticity to a language she learned just for this,” Rummenie said.
The play questions the struggle between survival and living or, as described by Wolf, the worth of a life lived in a lie.
“Do you hide the truth to be safe or is that not a life worth living? And fighting is more important, even though it’s risking everything,” Wolf said.
Wolf has performed in New York as an actor, dancer, musician and artist, and is a member of the band Poison Ivy and the People. They have previously performed in Six Points Theater’s production of “Survivors.”
“Sarah is definitely a fighter. She’s very direct and wants so badly to be honest,” Wolf said. “It’s like being as honest and real as I can be within the context of nobody actually knowing who I am. It just feels like this really intense push and pull of existing in this world for Sarah.”
Originally planning to visit Minnesota for a short period, Aharoni auditioned for the role of Paul after working with Six Points Theater in their past productions. Now, working within the production, Aharoni describes his character as a man full of sacrifice.
“(Paul) is a man who has lost everything, compromising his identity to save the one thing he has left, which is his daughter,” Aharoni said.
‘Compassionately curious’
The father-daughter relationship is challenged by the character of John, played by Carter Graham. John, born and raised in the small town, is completely integrated into the conservative culture of his community and has never had cause to question the way things are.
Until meeting Sarah and Paul.
“There’s a side of him that’s attracted to this family and curious,” Graham said. “There’s a part of him that’s a real thinker.”
“It’s a very compassionately curious play, because (John) is a great guy, but also raised in a way that’s dangerous for everyone else in the play,” Rummenie said. “His mere existence is a danger, but also he’s curious and he’s working and he’s incredibly human.”
The cast of four supports the weight of the play together, balancing the intimate struggle of the family with the larger issues of the devolving world. Sometimes, cast members said, it was hard to come into rehearsals when they felt their current reality so strongly mirrored that of the play.
“There’s no escapism with this piece,” Aharoni said. “This is a piece that is just holding up a mirror to the world right now.”
Wolf agreed.
“It also makes it feel important and like I have a responsibility to, you know, just do the best I can with this role in this show,” Wolf said. “I’m really honored to be a part of it and to tell the story.”
Six Points Theater’s ‘The Last Yiddish Speaker’
Where: Highland Park Community Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, St. Paul
When: Saturday through Nov. 9
Tickets: $40-$29 via sixpointstheater.org or 651-647-4315
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