As a young Jewish man in 17th century Amsterdam, Baruch de Spinoza excelled as a theological student; but as he encountered free-thinking Protestants, atheists, and radicals in this relatively tolerant city, he began to question his religion and the nature of God. As a result, he was branded a heretic and faced excommunication.

Includes an interview with Steven Nadler, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age.

Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, in July 2011.

Director: Rosalind Ayres
Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg
An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring:
Edward Asner as Abraham van Valkenburgh
Richard Easton as Saul Levi Mortera
Andrea Gabriel as Clara
Arye Gross as Ben Israel
Amy Pietz as Rebekah
James Wagner as Simon de Vries
Matthew Wolf as Baruch de Spinoza
Associate Producer: Christina Montaño
Recording Engineer/Sound Designer/Editor: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood
Sound Effects Artist: Tony Palermo