Tommy Dorfman Reclaims Her Voice By Playing A Trans Rabbi In ‘Becoming Eve’

The stage adaptation of Abby Stein’s 2019 memoir chronicles the life of the first openly transgender female rabbi from a Hasidic background.

After a string of well-received performances in “13 Reasons Why” and “Jane the Virgin,” Tommy Dorfman was a star on the rise when she publicly reintroduced herself as a transgender woman in 2021. Behind the scenes, however, she says she grappled with the possibility that living as her true self would cut her acting career short, given the scarcity of opportunities for trans performers in Hollywood.

Four years later, the Georgia-born actor is in the midst of a career resurgence after shifting her focus to the New York stage. Last fall, she made her Broadway debut alongside Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler in director Sam Gold’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” breaking box office records. On Monday, she’ll tackle her most complex role to date when her new play, “Becoming Eve,” opens off-Broadway.

“I wasn’t sure I was still going to be acting after transitioning, even though I knew it was in my blood and in my spirit,” Dorfman said. “Now that I’m acting again, I’m insatiable. As a kid, all I wanted to do was theater, so having that dream realized made the times that were more challenging in the process insignificant. It’s given me an opportunity to reconnect with my voice and my body and my creativity.”

Directed by Tyne Rafaeli and produced by New York Theatre Workshop, “Becoming Eve” is an adaptation of Abby Stein’s 2019 memoir of the same name. It follows Stein ― known globally as the first openly transgender female rabbi from a Hasidic background and an LGBTQ+ rights activist ― as she reflects on her upbringing in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclave in Brooklyn, New York, and, later, her marriage and rabbinical ordination.

“Becoming Eve” begins as Stein ― identified in the play by her middle name, Chava, and played by Dorfman ― is preparing to broach the subject of her gender identity with her stern father (Richard Schiff of “The West Wing”), also a rabbi and descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism.