THE TIES THAT STRAIN

A hurricane traps a family
already under siege.

S. Asher Gelman’s emotionally gripping new play, The Zionists: A Family Storm, now at Barrington Stage Company in Miami New Drama‘s world-premiere production, is full of the best kind of talk—talk that demands to be heard.

(front) Shira Alon, Dani Stoller, William DeMeritt, Coby Getzug, Gregg Weiner, (back) Joanna Glushak, Adam Grupper, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer

Ruth (Joanna Glushak) and Mitchell (Adam Grupper), a wealthy and influential American Jewish couple, book a luxurious mini-villa in the Caribbean, inviting their three adult children to join them for a family reunion in November 2024. The children, along with their spouses, dutifully fly in from California, Israel, and New York, just in time for a freak hurricane to pummel the island. But the real storm about to hit the family is one that has been brewing for years—a conflict over what kind of relationship these American Jews have with Israel.

Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s military response in Gaza, the youngest sibling, Aaron (Coby Getzug), uses his substantial inheritance to establish Abraham’s Sons, a foundation that funds pro-Palestinian protests. (For anyone not up on the Bible, this is a reference to the idea that one of Abraham’s sons, Isaac, is portrayed as a founding patriarch of the Jews, while his older son, Ishmael, is viewed as patriarch of the Arabs.) Conversely, Aaron’s older brother, David (Gregg Weiner), held his own fundraiser to support Israel’s army. This is the first time since the attack that Aaron, who lives in California with his husband, a black Jew named Zephyr (William DeMeritt), and David, married to Puerto Rican Catholic Maria (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer), have been in the same room. With the raging storm outside the vacation house (vividly rendered with lighting by Solomon Weisbard and sound by Andy Evan Cohen), no one in the family can leave, despite Aaron’s initial attempt to escape his conflict with his brother by taking a walk.

Gregg Weiner, Adam Grupper, Joanna Glushak, and Coby Getzug

Aaron is unwilling to discuss his support for Palestinians with the rest of his family unless it takes the form of a structured conversation. A tentative attempt in that direction quickly degenerates into shouts and accusations after Aaron questions whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state. Sister Bex (Dani Stoller), who lives in Israel with her wife Dana (Shira Alon), joins the argument to dispute Aaron’s view that Israel’s history began in 1948.

Shira Alon and Dani Stoller

The play is cleverly structured, with flashbacks that take us outside the play’s present in November 2024 to focus on each couple at an earlier point in time. These potentially confusing shifts in place and time are clearly demarcated with large illuminated supertitles and add to the texture of the piece, dramatizing the challenges faced by each household in the wake of the October 7 attack and Israel’s response.

Gregg Weiner and Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer

To Gelman’s credit, there are no obvious good or bad guys—even the unlikeable and vindictive David has his reasons for resenting his younger brother. With Chloe Treat‘s excellent direction, the pain of the Israel/Palestine conflict is fully realized within this family group. The script delivers a great deal of history and argument, but makes it clear that facts are open to selection and interpretation when determining blame.

Throughout the production, Ruth and Mitchell wear the agony of watching their adult children squabble—and being powerless to stop it—on their faces and in their voices. Ruth beautifully embodies a mother’s longing for peace among her children, as well as her yearning, both as a Jew and a human being, for peace and justice in the Middle East.

Joanna Glushak

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photos by Daniel Rader

The Zionists: A Family Storm
Barrington Stage Company in association with Midnight Theatricals
Boyd-Quinson Theater, 30 Union St. in Pittsfield, MA
2 hours with one intermission
ends on July 3, 2026
for tickets ($50.96–$125.84), visit Barrington Stage Company

for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston

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