Jewish-Theatre.com Review
Recently, in my quest for Jewish theater, I began the day on Manhattan's old Lower East Side, once the center of turn-of-the-century Yiddish life. Eastern European immigrants had found their way to the area. And now a company was staging a little musical depicting that time and place. Later, heading across town, I caught up with a Holocaust play, focusing on one woman's true-life experience. My big disappointment: I had planned a pre-show lunch at Ratner's on Delancey Street (anticipating their famous blintzes), but, to my chagrin, the landmark restaurant had closed down.
As to the shows, there was good news and bad, particularly about the first one, "A Stoop on Orchard Street." Jay Kholos was inspired to write this little musical after visiting The Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Thus he takes us through the teeming turn-of-the-century immigrant world, following the fortunes and vicissitudes of one Jewish family. While this is certainly familiar territory ("Hester Street" and "Crossing Delancey" come immediately to mind), it is nonetheless an engaging little musical.
No, Kholos does not break new ground, and sentimentality abounds, but the nostalgic piece should certainly appeal to a selected audience. Any one who recalls tales his grandparents shared with him about this world should find the show appealing. There are no villains in "Orchard Street," and ultimately it all ends happily as several characters go on to fame and fortune. The only one who comes close to villainy is the father who deserts his family, seeking a better life north of Orchard Street. But even he is justified in his yearning and his dreams. The real villain, as such, is the hard grueling life of the immigrant. But Kholos stresses the positive, depicting the strong community life, centering on the front stoop, where the women gossip and the boys play stoop ball. As the Narrator (played by director Lon Gary) says: "The stoop became a place of news and social intercourse."
At its best, the show offers a nostalgic reminder of the past through its appealing songs, particularly the love ballads "Sarah," and "Another Man's Wife," and a rousing number on Jews who change their names. Several cast members have fine voices which do justice to Kholos' tunes, particularly Sarah Matteucci who plays Sarah. Also worthy of note, as performers and singers, are John Kirkwood (Simon), Eleni Delopoulos (Ruth), Anne Tonelson (the Bubbie), and Lon Gary himself as the Narrator. Though staging is awkward and rather amateurish, Kholos' many pleasant musical numbers rise above this problem.
***
On the other hand, "I Want the Whole World to See That I Can Cry," which was part of the recent downtown Fringe festival in Manhattan, is a perfect example of "less is more." In this small makeshift theater, and with the simplest of props and staging, a powerful Holocaust memory piece comes alive.
It is the true story of one Ester Herschberg (nee Erna Holtzberg), tracing her life from her sheltered girlhood in Krakow, Poland, through the Nazi labor and concentration camps, through the cattle-car rides and death marches, to her ultimate liberation. Writer/producer Miri Ben-Shalom has based the piece on Herschberg's journals, shaping it into a work of art and heartbreak.
Not that we haven't seen Holocaust dramas and read numerous testimonials, but this one is special. With Ben-Shalom's economy of language and graphic word images the now-familiar story becomes fresh. And indeed it is a story that needs to be reiterated to new generations. The author's matter-of-fact style, as if relating a day at the beach and not a teenager's life at Auschwitz, underscores the horrors.
The piece is further enhanced by the two brilliant actresses who interpret the role-Lucille Patton as the older Ester recalling the past and Kathy Searle as the young Erna undergoing the experience. Patton's ironic, composed style contrasts sharply to Searle's moving portrayal of wide-eyed innocence hardened to bitterness. Together they are a remarkable team, balancing each other, and their timing under Moni Yakim's direction is impeccable. Kurt Bauccio rounds out the cast as the numerous Nazi officers who cross Erna's path. Though he tends to rely too much on shouting, his calmer, more subtle moments are indeed chilling.
In all, "I Want the Whole World to See That I Can Cry!" is a piece that deserves to go on to a long life, with frequent appearances around the world.
-- Irene Backalenick