Bob Gunton, John Rubinstein, & Carolyn McCormick to Star in THE SOAP MYTH in The Hamptons This Summer

Ultimately, The Soap Myth is a call to action:  as the survivors of the Holocaust die off, who will be left to tell their story?

By: Jun. 23, 2022
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Bob Gunton, John Rubinstein, & Carolyn McCormick to Star in THE SOAP MYTH in The Hamptons This Summer

Bob Gunton, a two-time Tony nominee, Drama Desk and Obie winner (Sweeney Todd, Evita, How I Got That Story) will return to the New York area stage after a thirty-year hiatus to star in the acclaimed drama The Soap Myth by Drama Desk winner Jeff Cohen Aug 10-28 at Southampton Cultural Center. Joining Mr. Gunton is Tony and Drama Desk Award winner John Rubinstein (Pippen, Children of A Lesser God), Drama Desk winner Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet in the "Law & Order" franchise), and Rachel Sachnoff. The production is directed by Harris Yulin, Lortel Award winner (The Trip To Bountiful) and Emmy nominee ("Fraser", "Ozark"). The design team for The Soap Myth includes set designer Andrew Boyce (Broadway's Dana H) and 3-time Tony Award nominee, Drama Desk and Obie Award winning lighting designer Dennis Parichy (Broadway's Fifth of July, Talley's Folly, Burn This).

In The Soap Myth, fifty years after the end of WWII, Holocaust survivor Milton Saltzman (Bob Gunton) enlists the help of young journalist Annie Blumberg (Rachel Sachnoff) in a passionate crusade about a Nazi atrocity that Holocaust scholars (Carolyn McCormick, John Rubinstein) have reclassified from fact to myth. Through the lens of deadline reporting and journalistic integrity, the characters of The Soap Myth are caught between many different versions of the same story. Holocaust historians consider The Soap Myth one of the most important plays ever written about the Holocaust. The play engages one of the central issues of our time - Who has the right to write history? It confronts the pernicious rise of neo-Nazis and White Supremacists while exposing the scourge of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Ultimately, The Soap Myth is a call to action: as the survivors of the Holocaust die off, who will be left to tell their story?

"I urge audiences to see The Soap Myth. Experience it, interact with it, confront it, wrestle with it, engage it and challenge it."

- Michael Berenbaum, Founding Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

"The Soap Myth was epic, historic, important and meaningful beyond words - an evening this festival will not soon forget."

- Mandy Greenfield, artistic director of the Williamstown Theater Festival

The Soap Myth will play for fifteen performances only from August 10-28 at the Southampton Cultural Center's Levitas Center for the Arts, 25 Pond Lane @ Agawam Park, in the heart of Southampton Village. Each performance will include a post-performance talkback with the playwright, the cast and invited panelists.

About The Cast

Bob Gunton received his first Tony nomination for originating the role of Juan Peron opposite Patti LuPone in in Evita! and his second Tony nomination as the title character in the hit Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd. He has won a Drama Desk and Obie Award, but Bob is best known for starring in the blockbuster prison drama "The Shawshank Redemption" as the villainous Warden Norton opposite Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. "The Shawshank Redemption" is IMDB's top-rated movie of all time. Frank Rich, The New York Times' chief theater critic once wrote - "Bob Gunton's brilliance reminds us that some actors really can do anything."

Tony Award winner John Rubinstein is one of stage and screens most acclaimed and recognizable actors. He made his Broadway debut creating the title role of Pippin opposite Ben Vereen in Bob Fosse's blockbuster hit musical that ran for almost 2000 performances. (He also starred in the 2013 revival, this time as Pippen's father Charlemagne). He starred in Children of a Lesser God at the Mark Taper Forum in LA and on Broadway, winning the Tony, Drama Desk, LA Drama Critics and Dramalogue awards. The New York Times' Walter Kerr praised his performance as "...brilliantly exuberant (and) dazzlingly accomplished." He has appeared in a starring role on Broadway a dozen times and has acted in over 200 TV shows (including an Emmy nomination for the series "Family") as well as over 50 feature films. John's father was Arthur Rubinstein, considered by many to be the greatest concert pianist of the Twentieth Century.

Carolyn McCormick starred as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet in over one hundred episodes of the "Law & Order" franchise from 1994 to the present. Off-Broadway she won a Drama Desk Award and Lortel nomination for Will Eno's The Open House. Her Broadway credits include Neil Simon's The Dinner Party, Noel Coward's Private Lives and Equus opposite Richard Griffiths & Daniel Radcliffe. Along with her work in "Law & Order", she's also starred as a regular cast member on "Spencer For Hire" and "Cracker" along with her memorable portrayal of the holodeck simulation Minuet & Minuet Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

About the Creative Team

Harris Yulin garnered a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Director for his production of The Trip to Bountiful starring the legendary Lois Smith which New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley praised for its "...emotional authenticity that never strikes a false note." Yulin is one of the most revered character actors of his generation, on the Broadway stage and in hundreds of feature films and television shows ranging from "Clear and Present Danger" to the series "How The West Was One" to his Emmy nominated turn on "Fraser" to his recent indelible portrayal of Buddy Dieker on "Ozark." Film critic Jim Emerson once wrote that Yulin "should be in every movie ever made".

Playwright Jeff Cohen won a 2002 Drama Desk Award for his Tribeca Playhouse Stage Door Canteen - a free, 10-week USO-style variety show to "entertain the troops", the rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Performers included such stars as Sandy Duncan, Kristen Chenoweth, Colin Quinn, Kate Shindle, Mario Cantone, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad and dozens more. His plays include Men of Clay (Best New Play 2005, The City Paper), The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller (Critic's Pick- The New York Times & Time Out New York), and acclaimed adaptations of The Seagull / The Hamptons (Laura Linney's stage debut) and Woyzeck / Whoa-Jack! (Michael Ealy's stage debut). As a director and producer his work has garnered virtually every theater award shy of the Tony, including Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics, Lortel, Obie, AUDELCO and GLAAD Media and has been selected to the annual Ten Best lists of numerous publications including the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The LA Times and Time Magazine. He was founder and artistic director of three significant Off Off Broadway theaters - the RAPP Arts Center (now the Connelly Theater), The Worth Street Theater Company/Tribeca Playhouse and Dog Run Rep.




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