“New Jerusalem by David Ives”

On Thursday April, 9, I attended David Ives production of “New Jerusalem” at the Gable Stage in Coral Gables, Florida. This Southeastern premiere of “New Jerusalem” was directed by Joseph Adler and originally produced by Classic Stage Company. The play starts off with the interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza; he was summoned to the Talmud Torah on Tuesday, July 27, 1656 in Amsterdam, Holland. One of the greatest thinkers for his time he was put on trial for his questionable thoughts on religions, his Jewish Orthodoxy and the idea that god is nature in itself. As Baruch De Spinoza, mentor and Chief Rabbi Saul Mortera along with Abraham van Valkenburgh believer of Christianity argue throughout the play the bibles interpretations through modern historical and critical methods between the Christian and Jewish beliefs, many of the people attending the interrogation start to believe in Baruch De Spinoza’s beliefs about religion and his views that the world, nature, and everything living could be god himself. The play concludes in Baruch De Spinoza being expelled from the synagogue for heretical thought and practice of the Jewish religion but even though he was expelled his mentor and Rabbi Saul Montera agreed with Baruch De Spinoza’s theoretical views but could not accept them for his own because he felt he could not change his beliefs after a lifetime of his teachings. The cast overall was great, the actors really put the feel of the plays time in your hands. The emotional and comical scenes were very well articulated and showed great enthusiasm working together and involving the audience. The actor Abdiel Vivancos in my opinion did an admirable job portraying Baruch De Spinoza. He’s enthusiasm and charisma really kept the play going and gave the feel of a righteous young man who was ahead of his time. Actor Larry Bramble which played mentor to Baruch De Spinoza and the role of Chief Rabbi was excellent as any other actor could be. Larry Bramble looked and acted just like a real life Rabbi, staggering with age but with immense respect throughout the play. Larry Bramble gave the feel of a man with a great mind but the humbleness of a rational man with the openness to accepting that there are other ways to view life.
In conclusion, I thought the production at the Gable Stage of “New Jerusalem” was a great well-articulated and enthusiastic play to view. The story itself was greatly written and the idea behind it was a great self-realization. The actors overall gave the play the real feel of the plays time, along with the set design and costumes. I enjoyed my time at the Gable Stage and I found it to be a great experience.