SUKKOT is the hilarious and heartwarming story of the Sullivan family, a half-Jewish-half-Irish-Catholic family attempting to rejoice by celebrating an obscure Jewish holiday that no one has ever heard of. One year after losing his wife to cancer, Patrick Sullivan is still unable to overcome his overwhelming grief, until a rabbi introduces him to the little-known Jewish holiday of Sukkot - the only holiday where God directly commands us to rejoice! Suddenly energized by the holiday, Patrick builds a sukkah (a Jewish hut) in their yard and forces his three grown children to celebrate with him as they gather at the family house to attend their mother’s unveiling ceremony.

"SUKKOT DELIVERS BIG TIME. The laughs are so consistent, the characters so well-defined, the emotional arc so satisfying that the entire experience drives towards its inevitable standing ovation... A smart, moving, feel-good time with lines you'll leave quoting, exemplary direction and acting, and a family that is unique but universal."

– Laura Foti Cohen, Larchmont Buzz

"UTTERLY BRILLIANT! Matthew Leavitt has written something hilariously true and heartfelt and also managed somehow to imbue it with moments of aching poignancy skillfully pocketed amongst the funny and the painful... SUKKOT is a richly drawn and beautiful play celebrating both our diversity and our similarity. Our losses and our triumphs, our connections and our habits of fighting with them.”

– Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros, NoHo Arts District 

"WOW! Expect to find much to identify with and relish in Matthew Leavitt’s marvelous new family-reunion dramedy Sukkot...  Laughter and drama mesh seamlessly into one perfect whole... The crowd-pleasingest play in town."

 – Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA

"All elements in the production come together to form a nuanced and gripping story of a family in crisis. This is a must-see production for anyone who grew up in a family – and that probably includes all of us.”

– Elaine Mura, LA Splash Magazine

"HILARIOUS and HEARTWARMING... Leavitt’s script offers lots of laughs and finely timed off-color quips."

– Shari Barrett, Culver City News

“SUKKOT is a sublimely constructed play... A tearful, beautiful, ugly, angry, complex weave of tough love and rivalry. And a definitive primer on how to rejoice.”

– Tracey Paleo, Gia on the Move

ENSEMBLE BIOS

JOEL ZWICK (Director) Mr. Zwick directed My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Recent films include Fat Albert and Elvis Has Left the Building. Mr. Zwick directed the Broadway production of George Gershwin Alone at The Helen Hayes Theatre. He and Hershey Felder have also collaborated on Monsieur Chopin, Beethoven As I Knew Him and Maestro. Mr. Zwick began his theatrical career at La Mama E.T.C., as director of the La Mama Plexus. He has directed on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Broadway touring companies. Previous New York productions have included Dance With Me (Tony nomination), Shenandoah (Broadway national tour), Oklahoma (national tour) and Cold Storage (American Place Theater). He acted in the original New York production of MacBird. He directed Esther (Promenade Theater, NY), Merry-Go-Round (Chicago and Las Vegas), Last Chance Saloon and Woycek (West End, London). Currently, Mr. Zwick is recognized as one of Hollywood’s most prolific director of episodic television, having the direction of over 650 episodes to his credit. Mr. Zwick has taught drama at Yale University, Brooklyn College, Queens College, Wheaton College, and the University of Southern California. He is a graduate (B.A., M.A.) of Brooklyn College.

ANDY ROBINSON (Chester) As an actor and director Andy has done all kinds of work on stage, film and TV for over 50 years. He trained for Shakespeare at LAMDA in London; apprenticed in regional reps; did backbends and flips with Joel Zwick at La Mama Plexus, which led to off and on Broadway; moved to LA for film and TV work and found solace in its theatrical community (especially at Mark Taper, Antaeus, and Matrix Theatre); created and directed the MFA Actor-training Program at USC (Professor Emeritus); and wrote the published memoir STEPPING INTO THE LIGHT that tries to make sense of it all. Proudest achievement? His 50 years of marriage to Irene and the family they made together.

JONATHAN SLAVIN: (he, they) was born on a Marine base in North Carolina and grew up in Pennsylvania. After high school, he fled to New York and performed in “The Best of Schools” at Ubu Rep, Lincoln Center and then Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosensweig”, to Dallas to do “Six Degrees of Separation”(a production that was visited and subsequently cited by the Dallas Vice Squad), and finally to Los Angeles, to appear in the West Coast premiere of Larry Kramer’s “The Destiny of Me.”  Recently, Jonathan appeared as Freud in Howard Skora’s Freud on Cocaine at the Whitefire Theatre,  and in the award winning Home Front at The Victory Theatre. Additional local theater credits include Matthew Leavitt’s The Boomerang Effect at the Odyssey and then the Zephyr, and Spencer Green's Arrival at Sci-Fest. On television, Jonathan has appeared as a series regular on Dr. Ken, Better Off Ted, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Union Square, and voiced Ogo, a neurotic and slightly deranged robot, on the animated series Robot and Monster. He recurred on Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet, Speechless, Family Tools, and My Name is Earl, to name a few. Recent and/or notable guest stars include Grace and Frankie, Pam & Tommy, Station 19, Corporate, The Neighborhood, Grey’s Anatomy, Friends, and Major Crimes. Among his film credits are Starf*ckers, Marvelous and The Black Hole, Dirty Girl, Hard Pill, and A Cinderella Story. Slavin is an activist, dedicating much of his time to animal rights, and is a longtime vegan and animal rescuer. Proudly identifying as both queer and gay, he is equally committed to LGBT rights. He marched on Washington for the first time in October of 1987, began protesting with ACT UP(Aids Coalition to Unleash Power) in New York shortly afterwards, and has been ferociously screaming for equity, equality and inclusion ever since. He has thrice participated in AIDS/LifeCycle, a nearly 600 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising funds for HIV services provided by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, where he continues to volunteer his time to Lifeworks, the Center’s mentorship program. 

LIZA SENECA: Liza is thrilled to be working on another Matthew Leavitt world premiere, having previously performed in "The Boomerang Effect" at the Odyssey and "The $5 Shakespeare Company" (The 6th Act at Theatre 68). Also with The 6th Act, she adapted and starred in "An Evening of Betrayal" and most recently co-directed the fringe festival hit "Sonnets From Suburbia." She is a member of The Antaeus Company where she received a Lead Actress LADCC nomination for "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" and an LADCC award as part of the Ensemble of "Cloud 9." Other notable stage work includes "Ameryka" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, "Macbeth" at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, "Much Ado About Nothing" at Kentucky Shakespeare, "A Shayna Maidel" at ICT, and the LA and NYC premieres of "Pulp Shakespeare." On screen she is most known for her role on the cult FOX series "The Following" and has also been featured on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," among others. She is a prolific voice over artist and you can hear her in countless episodes of television and film. Some favorites include "Ted Lasso," "Atlanta," "Elvis," "Ready Player One," and "Finding Dory." She has narrated several audio books including the non fiction bestsellers "Merchants of Doubt" and "The Big Myth."