Jewish theater group plans staged reading

By Jewish Review

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Portland’s Jewish Theatre Collaborative will present a staged reading Sept. 14 at Portland State University of David Bezmozgis’ short story “Roman Berman, Massage Therapist” as part of the Institute for Judaic Studies’ three-day 25th anniversary celebration.

Directed by Sacha Reich, the story has been adapted for the stage—word for word—and will be performed by eight actors.

The story is from Bezmozgis’ acclaimed collection entitled “Natasha.”

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Daniel Schifrin said of this work, “This hysterical, merciless yet open-hearted excavation of a Jewish family in the process of assimilating gives his (Bezmozgis’) literary predecessors a run for their money.” Schifrin counted among those predecessors Isaac Babel, Philip Roth and Saul Bellow.

Registrants for the IJS event may attend free. Others are welcome to attend for a $5 fee, said Reich.

The reading will take place at 3 p.m. in Room 222 of the PSU’s Broadway Building, 1970 SW Broadway.