BESHERT by Daniel Kushner
Join us for a free public reading of BESHERT by Daniel Kushner, directed by Stephen Burdman, presented as part of New Visions, NY Classical’s play development initiative supporting bold new works inspired by and in conversation with the classical canon.
Selected for development through Cycle 2 of New Visions, Beshert transports audiences to New York’s Lower East Side in 1929, where love, ambition, identity, and survival collide.
About the Play
1929, Lower East Side. Two men—a Jewish tailor and a Syrian immigrant—run a thriving dry cleaning business while hiding their forbidden romance. But when immigration raids and neighborhood betrayals threaten to expose their secrets, the life they’ve built together suddenly begins to unravel.
Beshert is a comedic, high-stakes romantic drama about fate, sacrifice, and the search for belonging in a system designed to erase you.
About the Playwright
Daniel Kushner is a New York City–based writer and actor whose work spans stage and screen, including Law & Order: SVU and the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof. He has also performed Off-Broadway and at regional theatres including Ogunquit Playhouse, Asolo Rep, A.C.T. of Connecticut, and Warehouse Theatre.
His writing has appeared in publications including New Voices Magazine and Pillar of Fire: A Queer Haggadah. He holds a B.A. in History from Brown University.
Learn more about Daniel Kushner and his work by visiting his website and Instagram.
About the Director
Stephen Burdman founded New York Classical Theatre in 2000 and is the vision behind the creation of Panoramic Theatre. Originally from Los Angeles, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and planned to become a doctor. During college, Stephen auditioned for a production of Hamlet, and discovered his passion for Shakespeare. That experience completely changed the course of his life. Stephen founded NY Classical to give all people the chance to discover classical masterpieces as he did.
Event Details
Public Reading:
BESHERT by Daniel Kushner
Date: October 26, 2026
Time: 7:00pm
Location:
ART/NY South Oxford Space Studios
138 South Oxford Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Admission:
Free and Open to All
About New Visions
New Visions is NY Classical’s play development initiative supporting playwrights who reimagine, respond to, and engage with classical stories, themes, and traditions through contemporary perspectives.
Through workshops, readings, and continued artistic development, New Visions creates space for playwrights to explore how inherited stories can speak to the world we live in now.
New Visions is supported by the Howard Gillman Foundation and Speaker of the New York City Council, Julie Menin, District 5.