About this program:

The Making of The Dead Man Radio Play with Caraid O'Brien and Aaron Beall

Featuring: Aaron Beall | Caraid O'Brien

Artistic collaborators Caraid O'Brien and Aaron Beall reveal what goes into making a radio play with 27 actors during a pandemic, from translation to casting, recording, and editing. This lively, moderated conversation explores the symbolism and meaning behind playwright Sholem Asch's drama set in Poland during the flu epidemic of 1919, as well as the production history of this play that Hollywood screenwriter Ben Hecht called an experience "never to be forgotten." The conversation also considers the illustrious history of Yiddish radio as an inspiration for this project and answer questions from the audience.

Sholem Asch (1880–1957) was a prolific and influential Yiddish novelist, essayist, and playwright who wrote over two dozen dramas. He was the most produced author at Maurice Schwartz's 2,500 seat Yiddish Art Theater and the first writer presented by the Vilna Troupe. His plays were staged in translation around the world, including on Broadway and by Max Reinhardt in Germany and Vera Komissarzhevskaya in Russia. Recently, Asch was the subject of the hit Broadway play Indecent.