> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # ‘Jewish Mark Twain’ to arrive in Port Townsend - URL: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/jewish-mark-twain-to-arrive-in-port-townsend/ - Published: 2026-08-25T22:41:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-25T22:41:09.000Z - Description: Three dates with Sholem Aleichem to kick off new season. - Author: Diane Urbani de la Paz - Tags: Arts & Culture, Key City Public Theatre, Key City Theater, 2026-2027 season, Murray Horwitz, Sholem Aleichem, Diane Urbani de la Paz The new season at Key City Public Theatre begins with a singular performing artist, a man who has enjoyed a long, varied career who is now returning to a show he loves. Murray Horwitz, a co-creator of the musical “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” a public radio broadcaster who has won three Peabody Awards, and a former Ringling Brothers circus clown, is coming to Port Townsend on Labor Day weekend—September 4, 5 and 6\. He’ll give three performances of “An Evening with Sholem Aleichem,” in which he portrays the writer who illuminated Jewish life in all of its struggles, sorrows and joys. Aleichem, whose name means “peace be upon you” in Yiddish and Hebrew, was a major figure of world literature—“a big thing, enormously popular,” Horwitz said in a phone interview. Born Solomon Rabinovich in Ukraine, Aleichem adopted a pen name much like his contemporary, Samuel L. Clemens, went by Mark Twain. Back in the two men’s day, the story was that Aleichem was the Jewish Twain, while Twain was the American Aleichem. Aleichem became famous as a short-story writer and for creating the character who inspired “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye the dairyman—“but there’s much more to him than that,” Horwitz said. Audiences have a chance to discover the man, through Horwitz’s lens, at the Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington St., in performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, September 4 and 5, and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, September 6\. Tickets and information are at [https://keycitypublictheatre.org](https://keycitypublictheatre.org/?ref=jeffcobeacon.com) “We’re putting Murray in an incredibly intimate venue,” said Key City Artistic Director Denise Winter, adding that “there is such an ease to his performance. It feels like he’s just talking to you.” Most of all, she said, Winter looks forward to her theater filled with laughter. “He is a very funny man,” she said. She has known Horwitz since she was a student at Kenyon College in Ohio and he, a distinguished alumnus, came back to talk about his life so far. He has also been to Port Townsend, for a taping many years ago of “Says You!,” the public radio show he co-created. Horwitz has friends in Port Townsend, including KPTZ’s Chris Bricker, who was a Ringling Brothers clown around the same time Horwitz was in the early 1970s. These days, Horwitz said, he believes more than ever in Aleichem’s storytelling. He feels a deeper sense of connection to this figure he is portraying on the stage. This piece, he said, speaks to all kinds of people. “Everybody gets it. Everybody laughs at the same stuff . . . the universal themes of human foibles, weaknesses and human strengths too. We’re all the same, under the skin.” Following the three “Sholem Aleichem” dates, Key City Public Theatre’s 2026-2027 season continues in October with what Winter calls a “harvest of the arts,” an array of short runs. These include “Sips and Scripts” and “Playcraft Originals,” with details to be announced on Key City’s website. ![Zhaleh Almaee on stage in a red shawl and orange scarf tossing flower petals out of a basket. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/08/Stormlands_petals.jpg) **Zhaleh Almaee gave a “Playcraft Originals” performance of her piece, “The Stormlands,” at Key City Public Theatre earlier this year. A full production of the play is part of Key City’s 2026-2027 season. Photo by Key City Public Theatre* Then come the full productions: “The Gift of the Magi” and “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” by Tom Mula for the holidays, the new play “The Stormlands,” created by Zhaleh Almaee of Port Townsend in February and March, and “The Dark Lady,” about Emilia Bassano, the mysterious woman depicted in Shakespeare’s sonnets, in April and May. To finish the season, Key City will stage “Disenchanted,” the musical comedy about 11 classic princesses and what they would say when freed to tell their true stories. Winter has wanted to do “Disenchanted” for quite a while now, and said it’s a fun way to showcase some formidable female voices. This is “bawdy fun,” for adults only, she added. Each of these shows are the result of fruitful collaboration among artists, and Winter is feeling energized about them all.