Written and performed
by
Barry Levey
(formerly titled
Hoaxocaust!)
…and other lies about the Holocaust
The Play
Press
Deniers call it a
“Hoaxocaust.”
What do they want
you to believe instead?
Join Barry on an unbelievable, around-the-world adventure as he tracks down deniers from the heartland to Helsinki, meets professors and presidents, and dodges a brother in Hungary and a boyfriend back home on a journey to discover the shocking truth!
What role should past horrors play in defining our religious views, our self-perception, even our politics? Is there such a thing as a contemporary Jewish identity independent of the Holocaust? Should there be? What if the Holocaust had never happened?
Developed at The New Group, the Cell, and Prospect Theater Company at 59E59, Maybe They Just Moved to Brooklyn premiered off-Broadway in 2018 as Hoaxocaust! at the Theater at the 14th Street Y. It performed at Theater for the New City (prod. David M. Milch) and won the NYC Fringe Festival's 2014 Overall Excellence award. It returned for the FringeNYC Encore Series: Solo in the City at the Baruch Performing Arts Center before touring to Jersey City Theater Center and Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael.
 Uses sharp satire to pierce the gasbags…. There are more controversial and provocative ideas crammed into these 70 minutes than in most plays on or off-Broadway. |
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 Squarely nails the inherent absurdity behind Holocaust denial. |
 Argues with great, quiet force. |
 So many enjoyable and provocative twists and ideas [it] left us in its grips for days. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a one-person show that was as thrilling and absorbing as this. |
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 A compelling, thought-provoking, emotional, can't stop thinking about, how will I sleep tonight one-man show. |
 Funny and engaging… something rare and wonderful to find. |
 Levey’s script is beautifully structured. It’s sharp and insightful, simultaneously funny and thought-provoking. |
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 We should all be glad that a challenging and intelligent solo show like [this] is onstage anywhere. This is worthwhile and timely theater of the highest order. |
 Skillfully raises questions about religion and politics with humor, earning laughs from a subject that many might think is too sacred to get such a treatment. For those looking for a show with substance. |
 The award-winning one-man show frolics as it gaslights everything we think we know. | Using considerable humor, wit, and sass…the tightly written play...leads to a gut-churning denouement. It’s powerful. |  Barry Levey's provocative satire extends its run. Two student matinees and a talk-back have also been added to the run. |  A journey to the Mordor of the Fox News set. This is a must-see. A masterful example of how really good writing can grab you. |  Raises many important issues about Holocaust denial on a comedic, unbelievable, around-the-world adventure. |
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 A meditation on Fake News, Holocaust denier Senate candidates and the internet’s alternative fact-spewers. |  The writer and performer behind this satirical play has some thoughts on the White House's scourge of dishonesty. |  Shines a bright light on Holocaust denial. |  We need Levey’s show more than ever. |
 Thought-provoking and brilliantly funny. |
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 Barry...leaves his non-Jewish boyfriend at home to embark on a journey to find and challenge Holocaust deniers from Illinois to Iran. |
 "Dr. Ruth - the famous sex therapist who also happens to be a Holocaust survivor -showed up unexpectedly one night and participated in an audience talkback." |
 Barry Levey must be awed by his own sense of timing. |
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…how Holocaust denial and similar conspiracies spread, [and] the Holocaust’s role in American Jewish identity. |
10 Things I Learned From my Play About Holocaust Denial |
 The parodic approach reminded Lipstadt of Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator.” |
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 Cecelia Beyer, Associate Rabbi: “Amazing” David Graber, Holocaust Education Committee: “Tremendous” Faith Racusin, Adult Education Committee: “An incredible journey” |
 Clever, cooly provocative, and...manages to introduce some levity into an area of discussion that would seem humor-proof. |
People
Barry Levey’s New York productions include Woman of Troy (Upstart Creatures), Let Me Call You Sweetheart (14th St. Y; as "Maimed" at Project Y), Hoaxocaust! (FringeNYC 2014 Overall Excellence Winner, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Theater for the New City, Prospect Theater Company); Critical Darling (The New Group); All the Way From China (Mad Dog at the Gene Frankel); and two shorts for Ars Nova, Downeaster Alexa and Yale Law School, the latter of which was a finalist for the Heideman Prize from the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Barry is a two-time O’Neill finalist whose work has been developed by Resonance Ensemble, the Lark, Arena Stage, Rattlestick, and Williamstown, among others. He holds a BA from Yale and an MFA from UC San Diego. www.barrylevey.com
Jeremy Gold Kronenberg (Director) is a New York City-based director whose production of Caroline, or Change was nominated for a 2010 New York Innovative Theatre award as outstanding production of a musical. Additionally, Playbill.com’s Matt Blank chose that production as one of the “unforgettable experiences of 2010.” Jeremy holds a BFA in Acting from the Ohio University School of Theatre and an MFA in Directing (Musical Theatre Focus) from The University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Recent directing credits include: The Big Bang and Fully Committed (Herb Strauss Theatre), Having Our Say (4 Theatre), Kiss Me Kate (The Mac-Haydn Theatre), Side Show (Post Theatre Company/Long Island University, HOAXOCAUST! (Theatre For The New City), Scheme of the Super Bullies! (New York Children’s Theater Festival), Is There Life After High School? and Drat! The Cat! (Opening Doors Theatre Company), The Fantasticks and Scrooge, The Musical! (Ozark Actors Theatre), and Disappeared, which was workshopped as part of the 2009 Lincoln Center Directors Lab. SDC Associate Member. www.jeremygoldkronenberg.com
NYC Fringe Festival, 2014
Winner: Overall Excellence, Solo Performance
