Join Mizna on opening night for a pre-show party with hors d'oeuvres to celebrate the latest issue of our literary journal, and stay after the show for music by Abdellah Ouchagour and his band! More details at http://mizna.org/articles/events/44.shtml

Following a 12 week sold out premiere run in San Francisco, CA, I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I'm Afraid to Tell You will make its Midwest premiere in February 2010. The critically acclaimed, introspective one-woman show on life as a Palestinian-American will premiere in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 18th, 2010, followed by Chicago, Illinois in March/April 2010.

With the current ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the threat of global terrorism, and the never-ending negotiations and hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by all of the bad international news. That's exactly how Jennifer Jajeh feels. And to make matters worse, Jennifer is Palestinian. Well, Palestinian American. Or more precisely: a single, Catholic, first generation, Palestinian American woman who chooses to return to her parents' hometown of Ramallah at the start of the Second Intifada.

Jennifer Jajeh. (Photo: Mareesa Stertz)

In her tragicomic solo theatre show, I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I'm Afraid to Tell You, Jennifer Jajeh tries to figure it out for herself. Join her on American and Palestinian soil on auditions, bad dates, and across military checkpoints as she navigates the thorny terrain around Palestinian identity. Weaving together humor, pop culture references and live theatre, Jajeh explores how she becomes Palestinian-ized, then politicized and eventually radicalized in a fresh, often funny, searingly honest way.

I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I'm Afraid To Tell You, recognized by NYTheatre.com as "a fascinating look into a world we don't often see or hear about," made its world premiere in 2008 as a part of New York's International Fringe Festival. Following strong media praise and audience reception, the play made its San Francisco debut in 2009 to sold out audiences.

Jennifer Jajeh is a San Francisco based actor, writer and independent filmmaker. She has appeared in over three-dozen film, television, commercial and theater productions over the past four years, and can be heard on the web as a part of the ongoing improv podcast Radiostar. In addition to her work as an actor, she has produced and directed several short video projects. Her video work has appeared at the MOMA (New York), on PBS, in collections distributed by National Video Resources and Charles Street Video, as well as at national and international film festivals, museums, art galleries, and universities.

I Heart Hamas is directed by W. Kamau Bell (Comedy Central, Live 105, Roof Top Comedy). Noted by SF Weekly as "smart, stylist, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho," Bell was honored as their pick for 2008 Bay Area Comedian of the Year. As a solo theatre director, Bell has helmed "don't make me look too psychotic", "F**king Handicapped Guy", "Miss-Matches.com", and "Love, Humiliation, Karaoke". He founded and directs SF's Solo Performance Workshop, an incubator for new solo talent.

Tickets are on sale for $15 and can be purchased at http://www.bedlamtheatre.org/

More information is also available at http://www.ihearthamas.com.


Tour details

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Thursday-Sunday, February 18th-21st and 25th-28th.
Bedlam Theatre, 1501 S. 6th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55454.


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Chicago, Illinois
TBA.