Cast announced for world premiere of Debbie Goodstein’s The Blue Violinist Over West End Avenue

New York, NY – The Prism Stage Company and Cate Cammarata announce the full cast for the world premiere of The Blue Violinist Over West End Avenue, written by Debbie Goodstein and directed by Jonathan Silverstein, running Off-Broadway October 28 - December 5, 2026 in a limited six-week engagement at Theatre Row (Theatre Five), located at 410 West 42 Street in New York City. Opening night is November 1.

The cast includes Ali Axelrad (H*tler’s Tasters at Rogue Machine, Peter Pan at PAC), Yair Ben-Dor (Prayer for the French Republic at MTC, Passage at Soho Rep), Etai Benson (Broadway: Company & The Band’s Visit), Harrison Bryan (Marcel on the Train at CSC, A Patron of the Arts at Cherry Lane), Lauriel Friedman (Broadway: Prayer for the French Republic, Tech Support at 59E59), Adam Heller (Broadway: Some Like It Hot & It Shoulda Been You), Rory Kulz (Prisoncore! at Exponential Festival, Travels with My Aunt with Keen Company), Mike Labbadia (The Assassination of Julius Caesar with Bedlam, Ivanov with New American Ensemble) and Barbara Walsh (Broadway: Falsettos & Company).

The Stein family gathers on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to celebrate an engagement. But when their youngest son brings home his new girlfriend, the joyful occasion unravels as her views about Israel reveal old wounds, buried secrets, and divisions that may be impossible to overcome. As a mysterious blue violinist watches over them, three generations must confront what it means to remain a family when the people they love no longer see the world in the same way. Inspired by the spirit of Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye, The Blue Violinist Over West End Avenue is a funny, provocative, and deeply moving new play about family, faith, identity, and the enduring—and sometimes fragile—power of love.

Sarah Parker joins the production as Choreographer. As previously announced, the creative team includes scenic design by Lauren Helpern, costume design by Jennifer Paar, lighting design by David Lander and original music and sound design by Daniel Baker.

Performances are Tuesdays - Saturdays at 7pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. Special opening night show on Sunday, November 1 at 5pm. Run time is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with an intermission. Tickets are $49 - $99. To purchase tickets and for more info visit https://www.blueviolinistplay.com.

Debbie Goodstein (Playwright) is an award-winning filmmaker whose work explores family, memory, identity, and how history and events can shape our closest relationships. Her films include the Academy Award-shortlisted and Berlinale award-winning documentary Voices from the Attic, the personal story of her family’s survival in hiding during the Holocaust. The film was later selected for Arsenal, Berlin’s major Holocaust film project and collection, alongside landmark works including Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah. Goodstein also produced Echoes from the Attic, a short companion film and follow-up to the original documentary. She wrote and directed the narrative feature Mighty Fine, starring Chazz Palminteri and Andie MacDowell, which received first prize at Toronto’s Female Eye Film Festival, and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated television movie Saying Kaddish for ABC. Her television work also includes writing and directing the television pilot The Bubbies, picked up by NBC, and the documentary pilot FU Georgia, about an underground school for undocumented immigrants. Goodstein executive produced Dirk and Betty featuring an ensemble cast including Marissa Tomei, and Emma Francis Snyder’s upcoming film Anatomy of a Life, along with the award-winning shorts Black and Urban Myth. She is currently developing Justyna’s Narrative, a documentary feature about the Krakow Ghetto uprising. Before producing her own films, Goodstein worked as a screenwriter and development executive for Siren Pictures and as a writing instructor and New York representative for Writer’s Boot Camp. More recently, she has turned to theater. Her first play, Inconceivable, won first prize at Create Theater’s New Works Festival. Goodstein is a graduate of Brown University and holds an MFA from Columbia University.

Jonathan Silverstein (Director) is an award-winning director and producer. Most recently, he directed Anthony Rapp in Touch, a new play by Kenny Finkle. As Artistic Director at Keen Company (2012-2025), Jonathan produced and directed acclaimed productions such as the world premiere of All the World’s a Stage by Adam Gwon (Off Broadway Alliance Award), the site-specific production of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking starring Kathleen Chalfant (also Long Wharf, Theatre Aspen, and Bay Street Theater), tick, tick... BOOM! (Drama Desk nomination), A Walk in the Woods starring Kathleen Chalfant, Travels with my Aunt, Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky, and many others. Jonathan also directed the award-winning Off Broadway world premiere of Jon Marans’ The Temperamentals produced by Daryl Roth (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble). Other Off Broadway credits include revivals of Lemon Sky, The Dining Room (Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Director; Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble), and Tea and Sympathy. Regional: Long Wharf, Huntington, Old Globe, Merrimack Rep, Buck’s County, Dorset, Cape Rep, Monmouth, and Sledgehammer. Jonathan teaches Directing at The Tepper Semester/Syracuse University and an ongoing scene study class in Manhattan. MFA, UCSD, Drama League fellow. Member, SDC. jonnysilver.com

Judith Estrine (Producer) is a playwright, author, and the founding Artistic Director of Prism Stage Company, a New York nonprofit theatre dedicated to developing and producing new and overlooked plays by playwrights over 40, performed by accomplished veteran theatre artists. She co-founded Prism in 2010 with director Benno Haenel, and the company received its 501(c)(3) status in 2013. Since 2022, Prism has partnered with CreateTheater to expand opportunities for new play and musical development. Through both her writing and her leadership at Prism Stage Company, Judith is committed to championing compelling new voices, fostering artistic collaboration, and creating meaningful opportunities for experienced theatre professionals.