Amy (Gordon) Guterson, Stern College Class of 1986 and the school鈥檚 first theater major, is thrilled that Journey Through Ruth will find a second life on Dec. 7 at the Schottenstein Theater. When the curtain rises on her two-act play, it will mark the revival of a work deeply rooted in her artistic and spiritual journey 鈥 and in the history of Stern College itself. For Guterson, who developed the play in the late 1990s with Pittsburgh鈥檚 Kol Isha Theater group, bringing it to her alma mater is a milestone moment, especially as she sees how strongly it speaks to a new generation of Jewish women.
Blending comedy with elements of magic realism, Journey Through Ruth reimagines the Book of Ruth through the voices and struggles of five contemporary women, each at a personal crossroads. Beverly, Nurit, Leslie, Rita and Devorah have little in common beyond their decision to tour Israel to learn more about the story of Ruth and Naomi. But as the play unfolds, their trip becomes less an educational excursion and more a journey of self-discovery.
As the characters make their way across Israel, traveling from one biblical site to the next, a miracle occurs: the boundaries of time dissolve. Biblical figures step into the present, and each woman confronts her own questions of faith and identity in scenes that are by turns humorous, heartfelt and perhaps transformative. Through these time-bending, sometimes hilarious encounters with Ruth and Naomi, the modern women begin to recognize their own struggles reflected in the ancient narrative.
By journey鈥檚 end, they return home as changed women, carrying with them a sense of connection across generations and a deeper understanding of what the story of Ruth asks of them 鈥 about overcoming loss and embracing the unknown. In the words of the playwright, 鈥渢he characters, both biblical and modern, ultimately form a community of women whose stories echo one another across time.鈥
The Stern College Dramatics Society (SCDS) production of Journey Through Ruth marks only the second time the play has ever been staged. How it reached the Schottenstein Theater is its own story of women reaching out across generations.
Last spring, SCDS president Talia Feldman and the play鈥檚 director Jessica Schechter began searching for a work that felt different from previous productions 鈥 something rooted in Jewish life yet resonant for today鈥檚 students.
鈥淲e wanted a play that feels central to young Jewish women in our modern age,鈥 Feldman explained. 鈥淪o many Jewish stories on stage center around tragedy 鈥 assimilation after the Holocaust, antisemitism, Jewish pain. Those are powerful and necessary stories, but I wanted something else. Something that reflected the Jewish values that guide me every day: self-reflection, growth, learning and strength. I didn鈥檛 want a play that looked backward. I wanted one that looked inward and forward.鈥
Schechter shared that instinct. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much heaviness in the world,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 wanted to explore something Jewish that was light and inspired and connected to Torah.鈥
Hoping to find a work that fit that vision, Schechter reached out to her connections in ATARA 鈥 the international network for Orthodox Jewish women in the performing and fine arts. Guterson, a longstanding member, responded almost immediately: 鈥淚 actually have a play that I think would be a great fit for Stern.鈥
The connection felt natural. 鈥淚 first met Amy Guterson at one of ATARA鈥檚 early arts conferences,鈥 Schechter recalled. 鈥淚鈥檝e known her for years and have always admired her work.鈥
It was also a fitting match given the artistic path that shaped Guterson long before Journey Through Ruth reached the Schottenstein stage. Guterson studied drama at Stern under Professor Peninnah Schram, trained at the Herbert Berghof Studio with master teacher Uta Hagen, and later fine-tuned her craft with the legendary director Mike Nichols at the New Actors Workshop and with Paul Sills, one of the founders of improvisational theater in the United States. She went on to perform Off-Broadway and in Yiddish and Jewish theater. After marrying and moving to Pittsburgh, she co-founded Kol Isha Theater, a multigenerational ensemble of Jewish women whose improvisational approach to creating original work became the foundation for Journey Through Ruth. She went on to found the Tzohar Seminary for Chassidus and the Arts, serving as its artistic director.
In the lead-up to the production, Guterson has been collaborating with Schechter, Feldman and the cast of 12 actors to update and re-envision Journey Through Ruth for 2025 using improvisational techniques similar to those she employed when first developing the play more than 25 years ago. For Feldman, the process has been nothing short of remarkable. 鈥淲atching how a play shifts and reshapes itself through the actors鈥 feedback and improvisation feels almost magical,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something powerful about sitting in rehearsals and seeing these characters take form 鈥 piece by piece 鈥 knowing that we鈥檙e not just performing them but breathing parts of ourselves into them.鈥
That sense of creative 鈥渕agic鈥 is something Guterson feels as well 鈥 not only in her Zoom sessions with the director and cast, but also in what she hopes the audience will carry with them. 鈥淚 am delighted to pass this special play on to the women of Stern College, to have them examine their Judaism, their womanhood and their personal connection and purpose in this world through the lens of theater,鈥 she said.
Guterson also acknowledged the Kol Isha Theater women who first helped bring the play to life, several of whom plan to attend the performances. 鈥淪eeing the play move from our hands into those of the Stern actors,鈥 she said, 鈥渋s a rare gift 鈥 a creative inheritance passing from one circle of Jewish women to the next. And that is pretty awesome.鈥
The Stern College Dramatics Society will present Journey Through Ruth at the Schottenstein Theater, Wilf Campus:
鈥 Sunday, Dec. 7 at 3:00 p.m. (Talk back with playwright and director following performance)
鈥 Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
鈥 Wednesday, Dec.10 at 7:30 p.m.
