PASS THE MATZO, A NEW PLAY BY RAIN PRYOR

PASS THE MATZO, A NEW PLAY BY RAIN PRYOR

directed by Eve Brandstein
produced by Rain Pryor, Joel Eisenberg, and managed by Jay Michaels

and featuring (in order of appearance)

Barbara Berger ………………………………………………………..Gillien Goll*
Bernie Berger ……………………………………………………….. Eddie Brill
Liza ………………………………………………………...Esther Friedman
Sharon Berger ………………………………………………………...Mara Kassin*
Leon Johnson ………………………………………………………..Aaron Watkins
Mama Marie ………………………………………………………..Lillias White*

*appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association

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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Written by the exceptionally talented RAIN PRYOR, Pass The Matzo is infused with the same bold authenticity that defines her life and career. An award-winning actress, dynamic speaker, singer, comedian, and producer, Rain beautifully weaves together elements of her own eclectic background—rooted deeply in her Judaism and her African American heritage. Guided by a philosophy of creating her own path and honoring the truth, Rain brings her unique perspective on multicultural diversity and family to the stage. In addition to her prolific artistic career, she served as an MS Ambassador around the world, fighting for a cure in honor of her legendary father, Richard Pryor.

GILLIEN GOLL

Gillien’s most challenging role to date was in the Beckett-inspired one woman play, Hector, by Robert Heide, in which she played an aging poet for the Peculiar Works Project, for which she also appeared in the Obie-winning West Village Fragments.  Other favorite roles include in the Theatre Row production of Spoon River Anthology, which she also adapted and directed, and the tap-dancing “Reefer Tart” in Reefer Madness, as well as appearing in numerous other Off and Of Off Broadway shows for such theatres as The Circle Repertory Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and La MaMa. On screen, Gillien is best recognized as the woman crying in the self-help aisle on Sex and the City. Along with other unhinged characters in three films, she was seen in over 80 film festivals. Other credits include The Sopranos, Chappelle’s Show,Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, E/R, 100 Centre Street,All My Children (recurring role), pilot Crisis Point, The Stephanie Miller Show, Onion News Network, Seize the Day, Hungry Years, Looking Up, and The Sun & the Moon. She is excited to again be working with Eve Brandstein, who directed her last in the Off-Broadway play, Voices of Swords. www.gilliengoll.com

EDDIE BRILL

Eddie Brill is a well respected and very funny stand up here in the USA and abroad. He has been a regular on the International comedy scene since 1989.  Eddie also works in Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, France, Holland and Hong Kong.For seventeen years, he worked on The Late Show with David Letterman.   He served as the audience warm-up and for eleven of those years he was the Stand Up Comedy Talent Coordinator.  Eddie has taped more than 100 TV shows in six different countries…including ten appearances on The Late Show…and an appearance on the FX hit series, “Louie.” A 3-time MAC award winner for Outstanding Male Comic in NYC, he has hosted and performed for hundreds of corporate events…including ESPN, Glaxo Welcome. Hyatt Hotels and BMC Software. He’s performed on some of the greatest stages in the world including The Shrine Auditorium and Radio City Music Hall. He has been the audience warm-up for many shows including the “Dana Carvey Show,” “Madigan Men,” “This is Your Life” and for a short time…early episodes of “Saved By The Bell.” He has appeared in numerous films as an actor, including “30 Years To Life” with Tracy Morgan. He has used his voice talents in many animated series including Comedy Central’s “Dr Katz” and ABC’s “Science Court.” Eddie is a well-regarded writer and storyteller.  Creating both storytelling nights and seminars.He was recently tabbed by the American Comedy Archives to be their full-time host.He recently interviewed Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright and Roy Wood, Jr.Eddie produces and helps book stand-up talent all over the world. He was the creative director and architect of the wildly successful “Great American Comedy Festival,” which honored Johnny Carson. Eddie also was a producer on the Woodstock Comedy Festival and is a consultant for the upcoming Catskill Comedy Fest.  He has assisted in booking the US acts for the International TV show, “The World Stands Up.”Eddie recently produced 12 comedy specials which were created for the top streaming services.In addition to his own podcast , “The Break with Eddie Brill”and two others he co-hosted, he has appeared on hundreds of other’s pod and video casts. Along with Norman Lear in 1978, he helped create one of the first ever college comedy writing departments in the country at Emerson College in Boston. He also helped create the Emerson Comedy Workshop, founded in 1976 and continues to thrive today. He currently teaches a highly acclaimed stand-up comedy workshop worldwide that helps comics young and old take their comedy work to the next level. Eddie performs and helps raise money for many benefits including The Roberto Clemente Foundation (for underprivileged children), Sisters in Survival (women with Breast cancer). Juvenile Diabetes, The Big Papi Foundation, The American Cancer Association, and with Reader’s Digest and St. Jude on Stand-Up for the Children.

ESTHER FRIEDMAN

Esther Friedman (Liza) recently completed work on the Apple TV+ series The Off Years alongside Ben Stiller and can be seen in the feature film Grassland and the independent comedy Hillary, streaming on Prime Video. Her stage credits include the lead role in The Governor of Jericho at the Castillo Theatre, as well as the Negro Ensemble Company’s WE Series and Colored People’s Time. Esther created and performed the solo show How I Got the Past Out of My Ass. Represented by Hanns Wolters Agency.

MARA KASSIN

Mara Kassin is an award-winning actress and producer. Upcoming credits include Louis Letterier’s Liminal and SoapKast’s new series World’s Apart. She co-starred in Jon Hamm’s award-winning podcast American Hostage and co-starred and co-executive produced the award-winning The Foxes of Hydesville, starring Carey Mulligan, which is in development with Craig Gillespie and Apple Studios. She produced Shawn Christensen’s Curfew, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Recent acting credits include Law & Order, Extra Innings and Ladies Lounge. Theater credits include works by Heidi Schreck, Anna Ziegler, Caroline McGraw, Elizabeth Irwin and Halley Feiffer. Many of her short films are available through Tiny Scripted. Her newest award-winning short, Motherload, which she wrote, produced and stars in, is currently on the film festival circuit. Member
of AMPAS, SAG-AFTRA & AEA. http://www.marakassin.com

LILLIAS WHITE

Described by The New York Times as a “one-of-a-kind performer who combines the sass of a classic blues mama with the skill of a Broadway star,” TONY ® and DAYTIME EMMY ® AWARD Winner LILLIAS WHITE is internationally recognized for her glorious voice and extraordinary ability to communicate the heart of a song.
Lillias’ first solo studio album, GET YOURSELF SOME HAPPY!, is a modern mix of Motown, Standards, Rock-and-Roll, Broadway, and Jazz – all re-invented for today’s audiences.  The tracks all center on the theme of happiness. Titles range from a soulful When You Wish Upon a Star (perfect for the holidays!) to a lightning-fast The Twist to a raw Happy Together to a sweet, tender version of You’re My Best Friend.  Her disco-inspired, orchestral You’ve Made Me So Very Happy is guaranteed to get you dancing, and her tropical Put on a Happy Face will make you grin from ear to ear.

AARON WATKINS 

Born and raised in Baltimore, Aaron Watkins is an AUDELCO winning NY Emmy nominated television personality and actor. For over a decade, he could be found on BRIC TV in Brooklyn. More recently, Aaron can be found on screen and stage as part of NYC’s acting community. Recent credits include Carl Clay’s “Black Love”, “Timeless” and “Juneteenth”; Jeanette Hill’s “Picking Up the Pieces”, “Wednesday Woman”; Layon Gray’s “Black Angels Over Tuskegee”, “WEBEIME” and “Cowboy”; “Raisin in the Sun” and “Topdog/ Underdog” at Spotlighters Theatre directed by Rain Pryor and “Fences” at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater in Baltimore, MD. Follow his journey @apwatkins 

EVE BRANDSTEIN 

Recent credits include the Tribeca Film Festival feature documentary The Lost Weekend – A Love Story  streaming on Prime and Apple TV.   Jennifer Rawlings tv special  I Only Smoke In War Zones..  Miss America’s Ugly Daughter, world premieres in Los Angeles and New York.  Rain Pyror’s Fried Chicken & Latkes, which Eve directed at the Braid and then subsequent tours.   Other credits include – original director of Monica Piper’s Not That Jewish which premiered a decade ago and for the 2019 and 2025 revivals. For the Museum of Tolerance – ANNE ( a new play about Anne Frank), Off-Broadway two-year hit Shut Up Sit Down & Eat; the NY and LA premieres of Revisiting Wildfire; the NY productions of Voices of Swords; The LA Premiere of Ronnie Spector’s Beyond the Beehive; Waiting for Jack: A Beat Poetry Reunion; Claiming Allen Ginsberg; and Suzanne Wang’s Cracked Open. Eve has also directed a number of productions for the Braid Theater. Stories from the Fringe – Women Rabbis, Revealed!; Saffron and Rosewater; Hold Me, Heal Me; He Said, She Said; Past & Present: Russian Jewish American Stories; Beyond Jacob’s Ladder; More Courage: Muslim & Jewish Stories; and Crossing Our Red Sea. Additionally, Eve has been an entertainment-industry executive, producer, director, writer/creator, and casting director. Credits include This Is Spinal Tap, Diff’rent Strokes, One Day at a Time, Facts of Life, Who’s the Boss, Square Pegs, Beastmaster, Fast Track, and Total Recall. She was also series producer of E/R for CBS and series producer/director of John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You.  She has collaborated with Norman Lear for four decades and established B-Girls Productions with Anne Beatts. 

JOEL EISENBERG

Joel Eisenberg is an American writer-producer who has been writing professionally since 1986, starting as a columnist for wrestling and martial arts periodicals before successfully marketing projects to Public Television. Represented by CAA, he co-wrote the award-winning independent feature Out of the Black (2001), wrote Hollywood Vampyr (2002), and executive produced April Showers (2009), a film based on the Columbine shootings that received a special U.S. House of Representatives citation. In 2004, the avid book collector archived a lot of unidentified handwritten materials that were verified as “lost” John Steinbeck original writings, deemed a major literary discovery. He also authored the 2005 inspirational book How to Survive a Day Job and co-founded All Cities Media, an entertainment networking group he departed in 2014. Eisenberg co-authored the eight-volume fantasy saga The Chronicles of Ara with Steve Hillard, which was optioned by Ovation TV for a miniseries. The duo subsequently formed the development company Council Tree Productions, which has established co-production deals with companies like Roddenberry Entertainment, Buffalo 8, and Terror TV. His upcoming developments include the films January Rain and Louis vs Schmeling, as well as the television projects Then Again with Herbie J Pilato and Shadow Show with Vincent Price.

JAY MICHAELS

Jay Michaels is a prominent New York independent arts producer/manager, PR/Marketing strategist, and media personality with a career spanning over four decades. Beginning his journey at the New York Daily News and PBS, he transitioned into managing national tours for iconic Broadway productions like Cats and Les Misérables, and handled promotions for landmark shows including Guys & Dolls and The Vagina Monologues. As a senior marketing executive and speechwriter, Michaels has supported major theatrical organizations like The Shuberts and public figures such as James Earl Jones, Jon Stewart and Hillary Clinton. He founded Jay Michaels Global Communications (JMGC) to provide boutique public relations for independent stage and film artists, contributing to an Academy Award-winning short film and multiple BroadwayWorld Award nominations. Michaels produces (and sometimes appears) on the Indie Influencer podcast and ACW-TV’s Jay Watch, and has provided commentary for platforms like The Boston Sci-Fi Channel and Octane TV. Additionally, Michaels has helmed several vital New York cultural hubs—including the Jan Hus Playhouse and Chelsea Opera Theater—and teaches communications as a university professor and NYU lecturer. His extensive advocacy and industry contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the Jean Dalrymple Award and the New York Shakespeare Lifetime Achievement Award, and he currently serves on the board of the Queens Culture and Arts Network and the advisory board of Pace University.

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OPPORTUNITIES TO
“PASS THE MATZO”

PASS THE MATZO
Executive Summary
Project Title: Pass the Matzo
Playwright: Rain Pryor
Genre: Dramatic Comedy (Dramedy) / Contemporary Family Drama
Target Market: Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tour, and Regional Theater Markets

Pass the Matzo is a powerful, hilarious, and deeply moving contemporary play written by critically acclaimed artist Rain Pryor. Set against the cultural backdrop of a family Passover Seder, the play brings together two fiercely distinct families—the Jewish Bergers and the Black American Johnsons—to navigate decades of unspoken history, racial tensions, systemic realities, and a sudden, life-altering medical revelation.

This proposal outlines a highly lucrative opportunity for producers and investors to back a culturally vital, economically efficient theatrical property perfectly positioned to capitalize on shifting Broadway market trends.

The Market Advantage: Plays vs. Musicals on Broadway

The current theatrical landscape has shifted dramatically, offering a distinct financial and artistic advantage to straight plays over large-scale musicals:

• Skyrocketing Capitalization Costs for Musicals: In the current market, mounting a new Broadway musical frequently requires an upfront capitalization of $15 million to $25 million, with massive weekly running costs due to large casts, extensive orchestras, and heavy scenic demands.
• The Play Renaissance: Straight plays are experiencing a commercial resurgence on Broadway, driven by audiences seeking sharp, text-driven, emotionally resonant stories. Audiences are increasingly prioritizing intimate, thought-provoking narratives over spectacle.
• Rapid Recoupment Potential: Plays require a fraction of a musical’s capitalization (typically $3 million to $5 million for Broadway, and under $1 million for Off-Broadway). With significantly lower weekly operating expenses (the “nut”), a play can recoup its initial investment much faster, often within 12 to 20 weeks at healthy box office capacities.
• Flexible Scaling: Unlike musicals, a tightly constructed play can seamlessly transition from an intimate Off-Broadway run to a prestigious Broadway house, and later scale to regional theaters worldwide with minimal structural overhead.

Author Pedigree: The Rain Pryor Legacy

Playwright Rain Pryor brings a powerful artistic pedigree and built-in brand recognition to this project. As an actor, singer, and award-winning solo performer, her previous theatrical work has garnered international praise for its raw honesty and brilliant comedic timing.

Importantly, Rain is the daughter of the legendary comedy icon Richard Pryor. Growing up at the intersection of Black and Jewish cultures, her unique upbringing infuses Pass the Matzo with an unmistakable authenticity. Much like her father’s groundbreaking work, Rain’s writing uses sharp, uncompromising humor to dismantle complex social issues like race, identity, and generational trauma. Her name gives the production an immediate media hook, generating built-in audience curiosity and press coverage.

Casting Diversity & Audience Attraction

Pass the Matzo features an exceptionally balanced, six-character ensemble that represents an underserved intersection of theatrical audiences:

The Cast Breakdown

• Barbara Berger (70s, Jewish): The unfiltered, protective matriarch.
• Bernie Berger (70s, Jewish): An old-time Hollywood manager who treats his family like clients.
• Sharon Berger (50s, Jewish): Outspoken, combative, and a self-proclaimed black militant.
• Liza Johnson (20s–30s, Mixed-Race/Half-Jewish): The emotional anchor trying to bridge both worlds.
• Leon Johnson (50s, Black American): A successful, road-weary musician facing his own mortality.
• Mama Marie (70s, Black American): A tough, hilarious, former brothel owner who tells it exactly like it is.

Broadening the Box Office Demographic

The intersectionality of this cast is a powerful engine for ticket sales. Broadway has historically struggled to diversify its audience; however, Pass the Matzo naturally speaks to multiple demographic segments simultaneously:

• The Traditional Theatergoing Demographic: The play directly appeals to the loyal, established Jewish theatergoing base through its rich cultural references, Yiddish humor, and authentic portrayal of family dynamics.
• Diverse & Multi-Generational Audiences: By placing a Black family and a mixed-race protagonist at the center of the narrative, the show speaks directly to Black, biracial, and younger audiences who rarely see their specific cross-cultural family dynamics reflected on stage.
• Universal Themes: At its core, the play tackles universal human experiences—grief, systemic medical distrust, parental shortcomings, and the healing power of shared laughter. It is a story designed to unite audiences in shared catharsis.

Financial Breakdown & Profit Optimization

Pass the Matzo is designed to maximize investor returns through built-in fiscal discipline:

Low Weekly Operating Overhead

The play takes place in a single interior location (a modern home’s living room/kitchen). This single-set design drastically slashes physical production costs, loading costs, and theatre rental expenses. With only six actors and no musical orchestrations, the weekly running costs are exceptionally low.

Path to Profitability

[Off-Broadway/Broadway Run] ➔ [National/International Tours] ➔ [Subsidiary & Regional Licensing]

1. The Primary Run: Low operational overhead means the box office “break-even” point can be met at a modest capacity (often 45-50%). Every dollar earned beyond that goes directly toward recouping investor capital.
2. Subsidiary Rights & Licensing: Once the show establishes its brand, it is perfectly suited for a massive secondary life. Because it requires only one set and six actors, thousands of regional, community, and international theaters will eagerly license the property, creating a continuous passive revenue stream for original stakeholders.
3. Media Adaptation: The sharp, character-driven nature of the script makes it an ideal candidate for adaptation into a feature film or a streaming television special, offering lucrative ancillary upside.

Investment Options

We are currently seeking visionary production partners and investors to join us for the initial phase of development and staging. The following tiers are available:

1. Lead Producer / Co-Producer Tier

• Investment: Significant capital commitment or syndication.
• Benefits: Above-the-title billing, voting rights on key creative and business decisions, invitation to opening night galas, and an enhanced share of the producer’s pool profits.

2. General Investor Units

• Investment: Available in standard fractions/units of the total capitalization.
• Benefits: Direct pro-rata share of 100% of the show’s net profits until 100% of the initial investment plus a preferred return is recouped, followed by a standard pro-rata split of net profits thereafter.

3. Developmental / Workshop Backer

• Investment: Seed funding for upcoming industry readings and workshop presentations.
• Benefits: Early-look options to invest in the subsequent commercial run at a discounted rate, alongside standard billing credits.

Conclusion

Pass the Matzo is that rare theatrical gem: a play that is culturally urgent, brilliantly entertaining, and commercially lean. Backed by the unmistakable pedigree of Rain Pryor and engineered to thrive in today’s play-friendly Broadway market, this production promises to be both an artistic triumph and a highly profitable venture.

We invite you to join us in bringing this unforgettable night at the Seder table to the stage.