EYSHET F***ING CHAYIL to Premiere at Hollywood Fringe This Weekend

Artist Melanie Ehrlich shares her unique tale of reconnecting with her Jewish identity and becoming a “Woman of Valor” in the most unlikely of places.

By: Jun. 09, 2023
EYSHET F***ING CHAYIL to Premiere at Hollywood Fringe This Weekend
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It is not uncommon for someone of the Jewish faith to feel moved or called and reconnect with that faith when they visit a holy site, say in Israel. Or in the case of acclaimed artist Melanie Ehrlich…South Korea.

 

Ehrlich’s touching, inspiring and irreverently funny journey is on full display with her new solo show Eyshet F***ing Chayil (A Woman of F***ing Valor) premiering at The Broadwater this June as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

 

Show summary:

A young woman reconnects with her Jewish identity in Korea and returns to the U.S. to find a partner and build a Jewish family. A decade later, she finds herself with neither and pulled between religious and secular worlds that both don’t have a place for her. What is she doing wrong…and can she fix it before she runs out of time for both for good? Eyshet F***ing Chayil is about one woman’s unorthodox Jewish journey through music, love, tragedy, family, religion, Korean drums, anime porn, and inappropriate humor to find her path to becoming a Woman of Valor.

 

“Coming into my Jewish identity in Korea was such a unique experience but with so many themes––identity, isolation versus community, being pulled between secular and religious worlds––that I think it resonates with a lot of people,” said Ehrlich, an experienced theatre, film and TV actress who is making her Hollywood Fringe debut. “Plus, I got tired of waiting for Hollywood to write roles for Korean-speaking Jewish women, so I wrote this.”

 

While this story is mainly about the journey back into her Jewish faith, Ehrlich also shares her love and passion for Korean culture and what made her move there in the first place. One of the more unique elements of the show––and probably a first for the Fringe––Ehrlich performs on a janggoo, a traditional Korean drum.

 

Ehrlich is most notably known for performance as Helen in the Sundance Grand Jury Award winning film The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Ali on the Netflix show The OA, and most recently as the critically acclaimed Meg, Lil Dicky’s number one fan on the F/X show Dave.

 

Ehrlich hopes to eventually take the show on the road, both in the U.S. and abroad, especially in New York, Edinburgh and Seoul. There is also a dream of performing in Perth, Australia, where she is mildly famous…but that’s a story for another time. For now, Ehrlich is thrilled to share her story with the Hollywood Fringe crowd, another step in her adventure.

 

“The path less (or never before) traveled has always appealed to me,” she said. “It makes sense to me––it couldn't have happened any other (more traditional) way and had the same impact.”

 

Eyshet F***ing Chayil

 

Written and performed by Melanie Ehrlich

 

SYNOPSIS:


In this world premiere solo show by artist Melanie Ehrlich, a young woman reconnects with her Jewish identity in Korea and returns to the U.S. to find a partner and build a Jewish family. A decade later, she finds herself with neither and pulled between religious and secular worlds that both don’t have a place for her. What is she doing wrong…and can she fix it before she runs out of time for both for good? Eyshet F***ing Chayil is about one woman’s unorthodox Jewish journey through music, love, tragedy, family, religion, Korean drums, anime porn, and inappropriate humor to find her path to becoming a Woman of Valor.

 

DATES AND TIMES:

 

June 11 – 12:30 p.m.

June 13 – 6:30 p.m.

June 18 – 8 p.m.

June 21 – 9:30 p.m.

 

LOCATION:

 

The Broadwater

1078 Lillian Way

Los Angeles, CA 90038

 

TICKET PRICES:

 

$12

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 

https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9437

 




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