More than six years ago, Victor Wishna found himself in Ottumwa, Iowa, writing a story about a small synagogue in the process of decommissioning.
As he listened to the stories of the remaining active members and learned about their intent to donate one of their Torah scrolls to a newly formed congregation in South America, he began to see the kernels of a story worth sharing on stage.
“It was a bittersweet story of Jewish continuity — a door closing, and another opening — and in the setting and situation, I saw a play that could touch on large swaths of Jewish history,” Wishna said. “From the immigrants who fled Europe for North America and created vibrant outposts in small, Midwestern communities to people in South America who were rediscovering their Jewish roots and tracing them back to Spain and Portugal before the Inquisition — all set, conveniently, in one synagogue, in a small town in Iowa.”
The story of Congregation Etz Chayim and its members found in Wishna’s “Tree of Life” are fictional, according to Wishna, but the core themes of the play are inspired by those real events.
“Tree of Life,” which is produced in partnership with Kansas City Actors Theatre, will make its world premiere on Saturday, Sept. 14, at The Lewis & Shirley White Theatre. The play, which was a finalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s National Jewish Playwriting Contest, will run for seven performances before closing on Sunday, Sept. 22.
The story is meaningful to Wishna, as it tells specifically about the Midwestern Jewish experience and explores what, in his opinion, is most meaningful about being Jewish: being part of a community and a much larger, ongoing story.
“Not every Jewish story takes place in New York or Israel or Eastern Europe or is set during the Holocaust — the idea is, again, that there is a bigger Jewish story, with many settings and chapters, and we are a part of that,” he said.
For more than a year, Wishna has been working with The White Theatre and Keith Wiedenkeller, director of arts and culture at The J, to develop the story that is now part of the theater’s New Works Initiative, created to tell intrinsically Jewish stories on stage. The show’s director, Jonah Greene, and several members of the cast and production team have been workshopping the play since November of 2023, bringing the characters to life and helping Wishna evolve the script.
Greene, who is a Ph.D. candidate in theatre at the University of Kansas, is excited to be collaborating with Wishna and The White Theatre on this project after first reading the script two years ago.
“I was immediately drawn to a Jewish story that acknowledges some scary and difficult moments in Jewish life and history, but that primarily celebrates Jewish life and pride and continuity,” Greene said. “The entire show is written from a distinctly Jewish perspective, and the ideas it presents are so deeply Jewish while also being universal. It’s a special combination that makes for a rich and rewarding theatrical experience.”
Greene echoed Wishna’s sentiments regarding new opportunities coming from endings.
“It is a profound story of faith that interrogates the difficulties of letting go and moving on, while recognizing how an end can simultaneously be a beginning,” Greene said. “The journey our show’s main character goes on is one that centers around grief and forgiveness, and he must learn that the world moves in a circular way: as one door closes, another opens. The show is also about how home and community is made, who defines that, and our constant search for our part in a larger story. The script does an incredible job of showing how we are always connected to those who came before us, and how we will be remembered by those who come after. Perhaps most of all, the show’s message shows a core belief in the power of community, of love and the enduring light of Jewish culture and life.”
The “Tree of Life” cast includes American film and television actor Victor Raider-Wexler as Ken, a widower clinging to his proud, if fading, Jewish congregation in the fictional Wiconee, Iowa, as well as Patricia Carrillo as Marianela, a Columbian graduate student visiting the town who represents a burgeoning community of Latin Americans who are rediscovering their Jewish roots.
Audiences may remember Raider-Wexler from his many performances on area stages, including as Eddie Jacobson in the one-man show, “Eddie,” on The White Theatre stage last season. Raider-Wexler has had many TV appearances — including a recurring role on “Seinfeld” — and many film performances including Tom Cruise’s “Minority Report” and Will Smith’s “Pursuit of Happyness.”
The remainder of the cast features an array of accomplished actors including Greg Butell and Jordan Fox, who have performed on stages across the area; Sarilee Kahn, an actor with credits in Los Angeles; Sophia Payton, who recently performed in “West Side Story” at Starlight Theatre; and local actors Marshall Rimann and Margaret Shelby.
Bookending the cast with Raider-Wexler is veteran actor and educator Kathy Breeden. Her resume of voiceover, TV and movie work includes numerous independent films and the feature film “Accidental Family.”
In directing this cast, Greene hopes the collective talents of the ensemble will help the audience form a deep connection with the characters of the story and those around them.
“I very much hope that they can see themselves and their communities in this story, and thus it may help them think about how they are connected to a larger story of those who built their community before them and those who will continue their community after them,” he said.
Meanwhile, six years after the roots of a new work first took place, Wishna is looking forward to sharing this story with a live audience.
“I hope the play provokes questions for people, regardless of their background, about the inseparable concepts of history and community and identity,” he said. “How do we define who we are, through what connections? Do we belong to our past…or does it belong to us? What do we hold onto…and what does it mean to let go?”
Tickets to see “Tree of Life” are for sale at thewhitetheatre.org. Performance dates and times include:
- Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. (Sold out as of publication)
- Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturdays, Sept. 14 and 21, at 7:30 p.m.
- Sundays, Sept. 15 and 22, at 2 p.m.
“Tree of Life” wraps up The White Theatre’s 2023-24 season. Tickets for the theater’s 20th season lineup for 2024-2025 are on sale now and include shows such as “The Music Man,” “Hairspray,” “The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time” and “West Side Story.” More information can be found at thewhitetheatre.org.
Shown at rehearsals for Victor Wishna’s “Tree of Life” are (top, from left) Sarilee Kahn, Sophia Payton, Kathy Breeden, Director Jonah Greene, Greg Butell and Jordan Fox; (above, from left) Breeden, Victor Raider-Wexler, Patricia Carrillo, Marshall Rimann, Margaret Shelby and Greene.
