Theater Wit is embarking on our most ambitious production to date: Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon, co-produced with Northlight Theatre. In order to foster real-time dialogue on the themes of Prayer for the French Republic and gain insight into the world created onstage, we are thrilled to announce our very first dramaturgical lecture series — From the Bean to the Brasserie: Conversations on Assimilation, Antisemitism, and Culture.
From the Bean to the Brasserie is a groundbreaking lecture series by nationally renowned scholars, artists and thought leaders exploring historical, social and cultural themes of Jewish assimilation, integration and identity across America and Europe centered in an academic, humanistic, and intersectional perspective. These lectures provide a rich and evocative backdrop to the events of Prayer for the French Republic and crafts public conversation to create live, inclusive events to bring people together and encourage a humane perspective about safety, security and belonging for all.
We are thrilled to host these events at Northwestern University, Congregation Rodfei Zedek, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Mah Tovu Chicago and North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, as well as feature some here at our Theater Wit home.
In a moment when such discussions are more critical than ever, CityTalk invites everyone to take part — bringing curiosity, courage and compassion to the table as we explore how the stories of our past shape the possibilities of our future.
These talks are free to the public and open to all.
We are pleased to announce our first in the CityTalk From the Bean to the Brasserie series, author and historian Laura Hobson Faure!
Laura Hobson Faure (University Professor; Chair, Modern Jewish History; University Paris 1-Panthéon- Sorbonne) will be joining us in the midst of her book tour, presenting our first lecture in the series: Rebuilding Jewish Life in France After the Holocaust: American Jewish Aid and the Choice to Stay —
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, French Jews faced the daunting task of rebuilding their communities, institutions, and sense of identity after the devastation of war and genocide. Why did so many Jews choose to remain in France despite the trauma of persecution? What role did American Jews play in helping reconstruct Jewish life in postwar France?
In this lecture, historian Laura Hobson Faure explores these critical questions, drawing from her book, A “Jewish Marshall Plan:” The American-Jewish Presence in Post-Holocaust France (winner of a National Jewish Book award). Through financial aid, cultural support, and institution-building, American Jewish organizations played a pivotal role in revitalizing French Jewish life. Yet, the decision to stay in France—rather than emigrate to Israel or the United States—was not just about material recovery. It was a deliberate act of reclaiming identity, belonging, and a future in the country that had betrayed so many of its Jewish citizens.
In addition to A “Jewish Marshall Plan,” Laura Hobson Faure is the author of Who Will Rescue Us?: The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America During the Holocaust, the first account of Jewish children’s flight from Nazi Germany to France—and their subsequent escape to America from the Vichy regime, published by Yale University Press on April 8, 2025.
CityTalk From the Bean to the Brasserie is a city-wide, free to the public forum exploring ideas and themes related to Prayer for the French Republic, a play in co-production with Theater Wit and Northlight Theatre, opening this spring. More information on the full series can be found at citytalkchicago.org.
Laura Hobson Faure
Rebuilding Jewish Life in France
After the Holocaust: American Jewish Aid and the Choice to Stay
Hosted at Mah Tovu Chicago, an egalitarian minyan in Rogers Park
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 7:00PM
Registration is free, space is limited.
CityTalk From the Bean to the Brasserie
Full Lineup
Rebuilding Jewish Life in France After the Holocaust:
American Jewish Aid and the Choice to Stay
Laura Hobson Faure, University Professor; Chair, Modern Jewish History; University Paris 1-Panthéon- Sorbonne
Wednesday, March 26 • 7:00PM • Mah Tovu Chicago
Jewish Resistance in France during the Second World War:
Lessons for Today?
Sally Charnow, Professor of Modern European and Postcolonial History, Jewish Studies, Women and Gender Studies;
Hofstra University
Wednesday, April 9 • 7:00PM • Theater Wit
Antisemitism in France: Past, Present, and Future
Maurice Samuels, Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French;
Yale University
Friday, April 11 • 7:00PM • Theater Wit
The Arc of Memorial Vernacular:
Holocaust Memory and the Evolution of Public Memorials
James E Young, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Founding Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies;University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Thursday, April 24 • 7:00PM • North Suburban Synagogue Beth El
Assimilation After Revolution:
Jewish Emancipation in Post-Revolutionary France
Adi Saleem, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages & Literatures and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
Thursday, May 1 • 7:00PM • Segal Visitor's Center Auditorium,
Northwestern Evanston Campus
Yiddish Paris: Jewish Cultural Pluralism and Antifascism
in Interwar France
Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History, Berger-Neilsen Chair in Judaic Studies; The College of Idaho
Saturday, May 3 • 2:00PM • Theater Wit
French Intellectuals and the Jewish Question: Antisemitism, Universalism, and the Shifting Politics of Jewish Identity
Jonathan Judaken, Goldstein Professor of Jewish History and Thought; Washington University in St Louis
Sunday, May 4 • 10:00AM • Congregation Rodfei Zedek
Medieval Jewish Paris: A Virtual Tour
David Shyovitz, Associate Professor of History and Religious Studies, Director of the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies; Northwestern University
Wednesday, May 7 • 7:00PM • Theater Wit
American Jews, the Melting Pot, and Cultural Pluralism:
Then and Now
Daniel Greene, Historian, US Holocaust Memorial Museum; Adjunct Professor of History, Northwestern University
Thursday, May 8 • 10:00AM • Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
For more information on our speakers, click here.
And Don't Miss...
FULL CITYTALK SCHEDULE HERE
Space is extremely limited for CityTalk events — RSVP to secure your spot!
Theater Wit | 1229 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657 | 773-975-8150