Mirrors and Distortions

Join us for an in-depth post-show exploration into the powerful themes of Fires in the Mirrors!

Feb 16, 2025 | 5:30pm

What to Expect:

Opening Conversation: Begin with insights from a rabbi and a reverend as they share approaches to discussing complex topics across divides.

Then choose your breakout sessions:

1) An Introduction to Hasidic Community and Culture
2) The Recent History of Crown Heights and the Events of 1991
3) Journalistic Challenges: Covering Politically Charged Stories with Sensitivity and Integrity

Come back together: Engage with the play’s director and star!

A variety of sandwiches including Kosher and vegetarian options will be served, including vegetarian, tuna, meat, & Kosher meat. All Kosher sandwiches will be catered from Judah Mediterranean Glatt Kosher Grill! We’ll reach out to you regarding your preference via email.

Free event. Limited availability. Advanced registration required.
Please note: This does not include a ticket to the play.

RESERVE TICKETS

Event Speakers

Rabbi Jan Uhrbach
Rabbi Jan Uhrbach

Rabbi Jan Uhrbach is the founding rabbi of The Bridge Shul in Bridgehampton, NY. She is also Director of the Block/Kolker Center for Spiritual Arts at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she served as Interim Dean of the Division of Religious Leadership & Pearl Resnick Dean of the Rabbinical School. A well-known teacher of Torah and gifted writer and liturgist, Rabbi Uhrbach was Associate Editor of Siddur Lev Shalem for Shabbat and Festivals, served on the Editorial Committee of Machzor Lev Shalem, and is Associate Editor of Siddur Lev Shalem for Weekdays (publication expected 2025), all published by the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly. 

Rabbi Uhrbach received her ordination from JTS, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and the recipient of academic prizes in theology, philosophy, Talmud, and professional skills. The rabbinate is Rabbi Uhrbach’s second career. A graduate of Yale University (1985) and Harvard Law School (1988), Rabbi Uhrbach served as Law Clerk to Federal District Judge Kimba M. Wood. She then joined the New York law firm of Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP, where she specialized in media litigation and became a partner of the firm.

Rev. Joseph Randall Wright
Rev. Joseph Randall Wright

Rev. Joseph Randall Wright has served as the Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Bristol, PA since 2015. Reverend Wright accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior at the age of 13 while attending a Bible Camp in Macon, Georgia. Reverend Wright’s education includes attendance at Kutztown University for Business Administration in 1993 and continuous pursuit for a Masters in Theological studies at Palmer Theological Seminary. Reverend Wright was called to preach the Gospel in 2004 and has served in several areas of ministries prior to pastoral leadership including youth leadership, youth bible study, music and audiovisual ministries. Reverend Wright worked for FMC Corporation for over 30 as a Corporate and Regional Facilities Manager in their Philadelphia Office prior to retirement in 2024. In accepting his call to the gospel ministry, the Lord burdened Reverend Wright’s heart with Psalms 91:1. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. He has made it his life’s pursuit to live and serve from that place in Christ.

Outside of his personal relationship with Jesus Christ his first call in ministry is to his family. Rev. Randall has been married to his wife Kizzy for over 23 years, and have been blessed with four children from this union.

Susan Keith
Susan Keith

Susan Keith is the associate dean for programs in the School of Communication and Information and a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dr. Keith spent 16 years as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Alabama and Florida before earning a master’s degree from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and going into academia. She taught for three years at Arizona State University and has been at Rutgers for 20 years. Dr. Keith’s research focuses on media ethics, media law, media coverage of war and conflict, and visual communication. She is the co-editor of Teaching Journalism Online (UNESCO, 2023) and editor of the forthcoming book Teaching Communication Vol. III: Teaching Journalism and Media (Cognella, 2025). She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Media Ethics, where some of her research has been published. She lives in New York City.

Melissa Rothenberg-Kapustin, Esq.
Melissa Rothenberg-Kapustin, Esq.

Melissa Rothenberg-Kapustin, Esq. is a partner at The Rothenberg Law Firm LLP as well as a frequent lecturer of Jewish History and Jewish Law. She has been a guest speaker in many communities across the Northeast as well as The Institute for Jewish Ethics and Yeshiva University. In addition to her successful legal career and passion for teaching Jewish History, Melissa is the mother of 8 children, and married to Rabbi Natan Kapustin, an Orthodox rabbi.

Melissa attended Stern College as a Forcheimer Academic Scholar earning her BA, Magna Cum Laude, in Judaic and American Studies. While pursuing her BA, Melissa also attended a joint degree program at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University where she received her M.A. in Modern Jewish History. After several years of teaching Jewish History, Melissa earned her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark, graduating with High Honors as well as receiving acceptance into the “Order of the Coif,” a National Honors Society for law school graduates. In addition to practicing law full time, Melissa continues to teach one class of Jewish History at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls.

Timothy Welbeck
Timothy Welbeck

Timothy Welbeck is a leader in the fight for justice and racial equity. Timothy presently the Director for the Center of Anti-Racism at Temple University.  A Civil Rights Attorney by training and practice, Timothy is a scholar of law, race, and cultural studies whose work has allowed him to contribute to various media outlets, such as the CNN, CBS, BBC Radio 4, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NPR, The Huffington Post, WHYY, REVOLT TV, etc. Timothy lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and three children. 

Phyllis Johnson
Phyllis Johnson

Phyllis Johnson (actor/speaker) works in Theater, Film, TV, & Voice Over. Nominated for two NY Innovative Theatre Awards, Phyllis understudied A Naked Girl on the Appian Way/Doug Hughes, Director (Broadway). Recent TV projects include Zero Day (Netflix) starring Robert DeNiro, Equalizer (NBC), Uncoupled (Netflix), Law & Order: Season 22 (NBC), Blue Bloods (CBS), and Pose (FX). Phyllis is a voice actor and has leant her voice to 400+ film/TV episodes including Oscar winners and favorites such as Black Swan, American Gangster, and The Devil Wears Prada. She executive produced the award-winning film I’m Through with White Girls. Phyllis is a graduate of the David Geffen Yale School of Drama where she won the Fox Family Foundation Grant and The Oliver Thorndike Prize. 

Important Event Information

  • Free parking

  • Free Admission

  • Refreshments will be served

  • Wheelchair accessible; assisted listening devices available

  • The event will take place at Bristol Riverside Theatre located at 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA

RESERVE TICKETS
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