PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC Asks What Jewish Safe Havens Remain — Review

At its strongest, the play uses the family’s dilemma as a springboard for larger messy, challenging debates around Jewish personhood. A second act war of words between Molly and Marcelle’s strident daughter Elodie (Francis Benhamou, superb) over Israel is thrilling to take in, and includes a signature Harmon rant-monologue. Even better is the verbal sparring between Marcelle and her aggressively secular brother Patrick (Richard Topol), who dismisses the safety concerns and suggests she simply “draw the curtains and light candles in the dark.”