(CHESTER, Mass.) – “Oh God,” by the acclaimed and beloved late Israeli playwright Anat Gov, gets its regional premiere at Chester Theatre Company (CTC) in a limited run from July 14 through Sunday, July 24. “Oh God” centers around a therapy session between a very depressed God and Ella, a therapist and single mother with doubts about her own faith. This staging is a co-production with Israeli Stage.

In the play, God gives Ella a challenge: Cure him of his terrible depression in one session or he will put an end to his greatest and most disappointing creation — humankind. The play, which has been performed throughout the world to great acclaim, recently completed a sold-out run in Boston, where the Boston Globe called it a “wryly incisive comedy” in a “first-rate production,” adding “For a play so concerned about divinity, it is utterly human.”

“Oh God” has been translated into English, German, Spanish, French, and countless other languages.

Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and 2p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Ticket prices are $37.50 for general audiences and $10.00 for students and residents of Chester. Tickets may be purchased online at Chester Theatre Company or by phone at 1.800.595.4TIX (4849).

CTC is located at the historic Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Road, in Chester.

CTC will be presenting Talkbacks with theatre artists following the 2p.m. matinees on Thursday, July 14 and 21, and the Saturday evening shows on July 16 and 23; a Panel Discussion featuring Rabbi Neil P.G. Hirsch of Hevreh of Southern Berkshire and the Reverend Nancy Webb Stroud, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Westfield, MA, and moderated by Daniel Elihu Kramer after the Saturday, July 17 matinee; and Cast Conversations following the Friday matinees on July 15 and 22.

About Chester Theatre Company

Chester Theatre Company (CTC), a professional theatre company located in the foothills of the Berkshires, has been presenting high-quality productions with top-notch actors, directors, and designers from across the country since 1990. Now in its 27th season — the first under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer — CTC produces four thought-provoking plays each summer in an intimate setting at Chester’s Historic Town Hall on 15 Middlefield Road in Chester.

 

About Israeli Stage

Israeli Stage was founded by Producing Artistic Director Guy Ben-Aharon in 2010 with the goal of sharing the diversity and vitality of Israeli culture through theatre. Since the 2010-2011 inaugural season they have produced over twenty plays, both as staged readings and in full productions, touring universities and venues up and down the East Coast and bringing together people of all faiths in a cross-cultural dialog. They continue to build partnerships with national and international theatres, building cultural bridges and opening borders through the voices of Israeli theatre.