By Stacey Dresner

WORCESTER – The play “Oasis” tells the story of a young French painter called up from the reserves by the French army in 1956 to fight Algerian rebels in the Sahara Desert.

Based on the autobiography of Noel Favreliere, the play follows the character as he faces a moral dilemma over the inhumane treatment of prisoners and becomes a deserter.

As written by Israeli playwright Amir Peter and directed by Hen David. “This is a story about someone who agreed to lose everything in order to save his conscience,” says David.

Peter will star in a production of “Oasis” presented by The Central Massachusetts Jewish Theatre Company from July 28-31 at the JMAC BrickBox Theater, the two-year old arts venue in downtown Worcester.

The production is sponsored by grants from the Jewish Federation of Central Mass., which allocates funding to the theater group annually, and the Consulate General of Israel to New England.

The production, which is also a part of the arts programming planned as part of Worcester’s Tercentennial Celebration, is also receiving support from the Worcester Cultural Coalition, via a block grant that gives theater groups a reduction in the rent they must pay to use the facility. Hal Scheider, founder of the Central Massachusetts Jewish Theatre Co. says that additional sponsorships are also welcome.

“Oasis” received the Award for Best Show at Teatronetto Festival in 2019; the Nisim Azkiri Award for Best Actor in 2019 and was the winner of the “Kipod Hazahav” Israeli Fringe Theatre Award for Best Show of 2020.

“It’s very moving,” said Schneider. “The character is given orders that he considers immoral, and the story is about how he dealt with it. It’s very timely when you think about what’s going on in Ukraine and what the Russians are doing. The Russians are doing what the character could not.

“And Amir does a fantastic job,” Schneider raves. “He becomes that character.”

This will be the first live theater production for the non-profit Jewish theater company since Schneider founded it in late 2019 “to present high-quality plays based on Jewish life, themes and values” and to “explore the uniqueness of Jewish heritage and cultural experiences.”

“I had a number of productions planned and that’s just about when Covid happened,” recalls Schneider, who switched gears and began offering the local audience virtual Jewish theater productions. With the assistance of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre (AJT), a Washington, D.C. non-profit that promotes the creation and presentation of Jewish theatre throughout the U.S., Schneider was able to present online “The Rain and the Wind: The Bob Dylan Story,” an Israeli play mostly in Hebrew, and “An Israeli Love Story,” about a young couple before and during the birth of Israel.

“The online productions were quite successful, but I felt the time had come to really do something live,” Schneider says.

So again, with the support of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre, Schneider has teamed with Interplay Jewish Theatre in Cleveland to bring Amir Peter and “Oasis” to the United States. It will appear in Cleveland the week before it comes to Worcester and both theater companies are sharing some of the costs.

“We are working together and sharing some of the unique costs in bringing Israeli theater here,” Schneider says. “Bringing an Israeli actor to work in the United States is not as easy as it sounds. It’s not a matter of getting on the plane. We need to get special visas, which is time consuming and expensive.

But it is going to be worth it. It’s a dynamite show.”

For the American performances, “Oasis” has been translated into English.

There will be two matinee and three evening performances of “Oasis.” The first performance on Thursday, July 28 will include a special “meet and greet” reception at 7 p.m., for members of the Jewish Federations’ Chaverim (40s and 50s group) and the YAD, Young Adult Division, although the 8 p.m. performance is also open to the public.

“I’m excited that we’ll have an in-person production at the JMAC venue. It’s wonderful to be able to hold an in-person show in downtown Worcester as downtown is experiencing this renewal,” says Steven Schimmel, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Mass. “I think the production itself will certainly be engaging for the Jewish community but hopefully for the non-Jewish community as well. The theme of the show about France’s war with Algeria in the aftermath of World War II and all that happened in that time-period really should make for a compelling production.”

Schimmel sits on the Worcester Tercentennial Committee and is happy that this Jewishly-themed event is a part of the celebration offerings.

“I think it’s great that we will be able to acknowledge and celebrate that milestone downtown and this gives the Jewish community a chance to take part in the celebration of the city in our own special way,” Schimmel said.

Showtimes for “Oasis” are the evenings of July 28, 30 and 31 at 8 p.m.; and matiness performances on July 29 and 31 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.cmjtc.org;  www.jmacworcester.org or at the Hanover Theater Box office or by calling 877-571-7469.

Main photo: Israeli playwright and actor Amir Peter in “Oasis.”