Etai Benson and Alexandra Socha premiere The Book of Steve, their show built on the songs of Stephen Sondheim, at Union House: Center for Jewish Culture on October 5 at 7 p.m.
Benson and Socha are married and wrote the piece together, and they perform it as a two-hander. Katie Birenboim directs and Adam Rothenberg is music director.
The premise sets Sondheim beside Jewish tradition. The couple came to the idea as they grew closer to Judaism and began hearing in Sondheim's writing, with its wit, its anxieties and its arguments with the big questions, something that read to them as distinctly Jewish, although he described himself as an agnostic. In the show he becomes their "Rabbi" Steve, and his songs are the route into older Jewish teaching.
Benson's Broadway credits include Company and The Band's Visit. Socha's include Wicked and Head Over Heels.
The pair tried out material from the show at the recent concert Shana Tova: Stories & Songs of Hope & Renewal. The October 5 performance is billed as the premiere; no further dates have been announced.
