Toronto Star

Like father, like son — almost. It may have initially looked as though Oren Safdie was following the paternal path set by Moshe Safdie — one of this country's most respected architects — but in the end, he wrote a play about it instead. Private Jokes, Public Places is in previews at Tarragon Theatre and opens next Tuesday. It tells the story of a young female architecture student, defending her revolutionary ideas for urban development against her more conventional professors. The author sat the other morning at a midtown Starbucks, talking about his show, his life, his family and how they all came together. Safdie was born in Montreal in 1965 and says he "practically grew up in Habitat," the famous housing development his father created for Expo '67. "It was my job, even as a kid, to give tours to all the visiting dignitaries." He grins. "It was my domain."