THE ACCOMPLICES
By Bernard Weinraub
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“The Accomplices” is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service imprint. (www.dramatists.com)
It’s 1940. FDR is committed to defeating Hitler and winning the war, but slow to respond to reports of Jews dying en masse in concentration camps. His avoidance is abetted by his administration, and even his Jewish advisors. But one young activist refuses to stay silent. He takes on the U.S. government and the American Jewish establishment, risking everything to sound the alarm. Based on true events, The Accomplices is a searing, high-stakes drama about truth, power, and the complicity of silence.
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“This is a story that needs to be told, and Weinraub—a longtime New York Times reporter—does so with moving clarity. A substantial, punch-packing morality thriller. Don’t miss!” —Time Out New York.
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“Provocative, intelligent and compelling. THE ACCOMPLICES will give you plenty to talk about.” —New York Daily News.
October 18th, 8 pm - Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El 1001 Remington Rd, Wynnewood
October 19th 7 pm - Har Zion Temple
1500 Hagys Ford Rd, Penn Valley, PA 19072
October 25th, 8 pm - Hamilton Family Arts Center, 62 N 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
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October 26th, 2 pm - Congregation Beth Am Israel, 1301 Hagys Ford Road, Penn Valley, PA, 19072
SOLD OUT!
PROGRAM
Cast:
Peter Bergson - DJ Gleason
FDR - David Bardeen
Breckenridge Long - Kevin Bergen
Laura Houghteling - Hillary Parker
Rabbi Stephen Wise - Paul Guerin
Activists - Michael Moya & Andrea Rose Cardoni
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Directed by Jesse Bernstein​
BIOGRAPHIES
Jesse Bernstein (Director) is the Artistic Director of Theatre Ariel – but began his involvement with the theatre as a writer and performer of his solo show Ethics of the Fathers. Over 35 years, he has performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Arden Theatre Company, Ventura Theatre Company and the Walnut Street Theatre Company among others. In 1999, he originated the role of Reuven in Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok’s stage adaptation of The Chosen. For Theatre Ariel, he has appeared in Ethics of the Fathers, The Scribe, The Wanderers and Morning Star (collaboration with PAC). His TV credits include appearances on Law & Order, Veronica Mars and Days of Our Lives. www.iamjessebernstein.com
Bernard Weinraub (playwright) was born in 1937 in New York City. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. He graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1959.
After graduating from college, he was drafted into the Army and served for two years on a newspaper. For most of his career he worked as a foreign correspondent with The New York Times including home bases in Saigon, London, Nairobi and New Delhi. He also covered the White House and the movie business in Los Angeles.
He worked as a reporter for The New York Times. He started as a copyboy in his twenties, eventually being assigned as a foreign correspondent. From 1991 to 2004, he covered the film industry in Los Angeles.
He retired in 2005, publishing an article about Hollywood and its values. As a playwright, he published his first play, The Accomplices, in 2007. The play was performed both in New York and Los Angeles and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. His second play, out in 2014, was Above the Fold. Based on the Duke lacrosse case, it shows the struggles of an African American journalist who realizes the scandal is phony while covering it.
Weinraub was inducted into the CCNY's Communications Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012, honored for his career accomplishments in journalism and playwrighting.
DJ Gleason (Peter Bergson) is thrilled to be back with Theatre Ariel where he previously appeared in Survivors, Oh God, and Trayf. Other credits include: One Man Two Guvnors, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Delaware Theatre Company), The Butterfingers Angel (Uptown! PAC), Changing Channels (Fulton Theatre), King Lear, Awake & Sing! (Quintessence Theatre Group), Mikey The Elf, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Act II Playhouse).
David Bardeen (FDR) (he/him) is thrilled work with Theatre Ariel! Regional: Yale Rep, South Coast Rep, Walnut Street, Arden, Wilma, Lantern, InterAct, Theatre Horizon, Delaware Theatre Company, Azuka, 11th Hour, Irish Heritage, IRC, Boarshead Theatre, Totem Pole Playhouse, Hedgerow, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. TV: Weeds, Medium, NUMB3RS, Dirty Sexy Money. David is a seven-time Barrymore nominee, five for Supporting Actor in a Play, receiving the award in 2001 and 2017. He has directed readings for Inis Nua and the Lantern, where he was also the Assistant/Associate Director for several productions. MFA, Yale School of Drama. Thanks Jesse.
Kevin Bergen (Breckenridge Long) Theatre Includes: Revolution Shakespeare, Quintessence Theatre Group, The Walnut Street Theatre, The Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, InterAct Theatre Company, Simpatico Theatre Project, Shakespeare In Clark Park, Tiny Dynamite, The Shakespeare Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare, The Studio Theatre (D.C.), Theatre J, American Stage Theatre Company, the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and Shenandoah Shakespeare.
Training: American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard.
Hillary Parker (Laura Houghteling) is thrilled to be making her Theatre Ariel debut. Select credits include You For Me For You with InterAct Theatre Co. (Barrymore Award, Supporting Actress), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Lantern Theatre), God of Carnage (Hangar Theatre), Gypsy, A Midsummer Nights Dream (Capital Rep), The Winters Tale, The Alchemist, The Tempest (Quintessence), Romeo and Juliet (Media Theatre), The Hypochondriac, She Loves Me (Hope Rep), The Merchant of Venice (Saratoga Shakespeare), Our Town w/ James Whitmore (Peterborough Players), Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Restoration Comedy (Connecticut Rep), Into The Woods (Resident Theatre Co.)
BFA: Syracuse MFA: UConn. hillary-parker.com
Paul Guerin (he/him) (Rabbi Stephen Wise) Debut role at Theatre Ariel. A Philadelphia area native and performer, he was recently seen as Robert Lowell in a staged reading of Dear Elizabeth at Laurel Tree Theatre, and as Mr. Price in Kinky Boots at New Light/Delaware Theatre. He's performed at: Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival, Quintessence, English Theatre of Rome, Hedgerow, Arcadia University, Villanova University, Inis Nua, Dramatists Guild Footlights, PlayPenn. When not on stage, he tends the garden and fixes his old house.
Michael Moya (Activist) graduated from Snow College and Rowan University. He is originally from Utah and moved to New Jersey to gain more experience in theatre. Recent performances are The Music Man, Almost Maine, and Tempest all from Rowan University.
Andrea Rose Cardoni (Activist) is a Philly-based actor and teaching artist, thrilled to be performing with Theatre Ariel. Her most recent production QUEERANO, or A Very Great Mischief won the Fringey Award for Theatre with the 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Other credits include: The Hobbit (U/S, Arden Theatre), Hay Fever (U/S, Walnut Street Theatre). Other than performing and teaching with regional theatres in the area, she is also the Education Manager at The Person First - a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the youth mental health crisis through community building and workshops that foster emotional intelligence, resilience, and improved decision-making. @andrearosecardoni