OUR MISSION
The Jewish Repertory Theatre is a program of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo. Founded in 2002, the JRT is a professional theatre whose mission is to present high-quality plays grounded in Jewish life, themes, and values. Through our productions, audiences from diverse backgrounds and beliefs explore both the uniqueness of Jewish heritage and the cultural experiences shared with others. Drama illuminates the human condition, and the JRT strives to bring this into focus through the lens of Jewish theatre. The Jewish Repertory Theatre is a theater for everyone.
SAUL ELKIN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Saul Elkin (1935 - 2025) was the co-founder of The Jewish Repertory Theatre of Western New York and appeared in or directed many JRT productions. He was the founder and artistic director of Shakespeare in Delaware Park, and a former chair of the University at Buffalo’s Theatre Department. Saul Elkin, the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Romania, spoke both Yiddish and English growing up in New York City. He began his acting education in a small children’s theater school for Jewish children. His first show was at the age of seven, when he was cast as the lead in a play by the founder of the Yiddish Art Theater, Maurice Schwartz. Elkin continued to work as both an actor and a director in both the Stage and Television. His acting and directing credits include more than 250 theatre performances, film, television (“The Edge of Night,” a soap opera in which he played a doctor), and several regional and seasonal theatre companies. He held a B.A. and M.F.A from Columbia, and a Ph.D from Carnegie-Mellon University. He came to Buffalo, NY, in 1969 and began teaching Theater at the University at Buffalo, where he served as Chairman of the Theater Department from 1971 to 1985. He founded Shakespeare in Delaware Park in 1976 and co-founded the JRT in 2002.
DAVID BUNIS, CO-FOUNDER
David Bunis is the co-founder of the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Western New York. A Buffalo native, he returned to Buffalo in 1965 after working in New York City for Bloomingdale’s. He served as chairman of the board of The Sample Shop, one of Western New York’s finest specialty stores, a chain founded in 1929 by his mother, Anne Bunis, and run by the Bunis family for over 60 years. He retired from the business world in 1990. David has been an active volunteer for many agencies in this region, having served on several boards, including the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo and Jewish Philanthropies. He is a member of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and counsels small business owners. David Bunis is the chair of the JRT advisory committee and serves as the company's producer.
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| Brittany Bassett | Robin Kurss |
| Michael Frisch | David Lundy |
| Holly Golden | Sheryl Schechter |
| Jody Goldstein | Maxine Seller |
| Leslie Mark Greenbaum, ESQ. | Alyssa Strang |
| Regina Grol | Laura Yellen |