By FAYE SHOLITON

Two staged readings to honor the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, directed by Jacqi Loewy.

SUNDAY, MAY 4 and MONDAY, MAY 5, both at 7 p.m.

Hosted by DOBAMA THEATRE, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Hts., OH

On May 8, 2003, 79-year-old Evelyn Bergfeld receives a visitor at her Cleveland Heights home. He has come to deliver a carton of wartime newsletters that she had penned and distributed to hometown troops so many years before. The sight of these old gossip sheets – and this particular visitor – take her back to a happier time. And her care-taking daughter can see Mom young again, for one day. The award-winning play was inspired by a box of “Hello Again” newsletters that circulated to Cleveland Jewish troops from 1942-45. That collection is housed in the Jewish Archive of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

There is no charge for admission, but DONATIONS KEEP US GOING. Reservations are required, as seating is limited.

Contact interplayjewishtheatre@gmail.com and specify how many tickets and which performance you prefer.

BY RENEE CALARCO

Two STAGED READINGS directed by Mitchell Fields* and featuring: Adina Bloom*, Natalie Green*, Sheri Gross, Devra Levine and Chris Richards*

SUNDAY, DEC. 8, 2024, at 3 pm; and MONDAY, DEC. 9, 2024, at 7 p.m.

HOSTED AND CO-PRESENTED by THE MANDEL JCC, 26001 South Woodland, Beachwood, OH

Synopsis: Dr. Sharon Naftali has come to town to discuss her new book, “Christmas at Grossinger’s.” She’s written about the celebrated Carroll sisters, the two greatest Borscht Belt singers nobody’s ever heard of. Resuming her national tour just a week after her father’s funeral, Sharon struggles to keep it together…. until she literally and figuratively collides with the sisters who inspired her research. This comedy with heart blends family, Yiddish swing music and the healing powers of time-traveling scholarship.

RENEE CALARCO’s work has been produced all over the US., including at the Kennedy Center, Theater J, The Jewish Plays Project, Adventure Theatre and many more. In 2015, Interplay performed staged readings of her play G-d’s Honest Truth, winner of the 2014 international New Jewish Playwriting Competition. She will attend the Sunday performance of Christmas at Grossinger’s.

THERE IS NO ADMISSION CHARGE, BUT DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED, either with your reservations, or at the door

Book reservations at: http://interplayjewishtheatre.eventive.org/schedule

• appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

HOW TO REMAIN A HUMANIST AFTER A MASSACRE IN 17 STEPS

BY MAYA ARAD YASUR – and

O GOD

By ANAT GOV

SUNDAY, APRIL 14 @ 3 p.m and MONDAY, APRIL 15, @ 7 p.m.

HOSTED BY MANDEL JCC, 26001 S. Woodland Road, Beachwood, OH

In “How to Remain a Humanist,” an Israeli mother no longer recognizes the woman she’s become since extremists shattered her world. Penned in the days following the October 7th Hamas invasion, it is a reminder of a grim, but under-reported statistic: the toll of terrorism on our humanism and empathy. In “O God,” a Tel Aviv therapist is stunned to discover that her newest client is the Almighty Himself, fighting through his own crisis of self-doubt and regret. During this hour of no-holds-barred therapy, it will become clear that his problem is all too human in nature.

George Roth directs a cast featuring Tom Fulton, Laura Perrotta and Derdriu Ring – all courtesy of AEA.

ADMISSION IS FREE – DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED AT https://interplayjewishtheatre.eventive.org/welcome

THESE PERFORMANCES ARE MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CLEVELAND-ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND and in partnership with MANDEL JCC.

By MAYA ARAD YASUR

Translated from the Hebrew by Erin Edry, performed in staged reading

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, at 7 p.m.

Hosted by the Mandel JCC, 26001 S. Woodland Rd., Beachwood, OH, Stonehill Auditorium

Co-produced with Mandel JCC and the Maltz Museum, with support from the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, celebrating Israel@75.

Directed by Craig Joseph and featuring Shani Ferry, Fabio Polanco*, Chuck Richie* and Kadijah Wingo.

*appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

SYNOPSIS: Four unnamed storytellers recount events from a day in the life of a young Israeli violinist living and working in Amsterdam. The morning mail has brought an overdue gas bill for her flat – with charges and penalties dating back to 1944. The actors speculate what might have transpired, decades earlier, in this place, setting up a mystery and wild speculation. Who lived there? Why does the flat have secret compartments? And, what’s with the recluse upstairs?

AMSTERDAM is a study in unpleasant, but familiar attitudes of antisemitism, racism and xenophobia that lead to cruelty and alienation. Four storytellers tap into what it means to be the outsider in these circumstances – and what it will ultimately take to feel safe in a hostile world.

MAYA ARAD YASUR’s plays deal mostly with questions of identity, exile and war, through a dissection of narrative mechanisms. They have been produced and published worldwide and translated into English, German, French, Chinese, Finnish, Greek, Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Polish, Russian and Norwegian. She lived and worked in the Netherlands from 2007-2013. For her play AMSTERDAM, she received the Berliner Theatertreffen’s Stuckemarkt Prize.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PLAY CONTAINS MATURE THEMES AND STRONG LANGUAGE and is not suitable for children under 17.

For RESERVATIONS, contact Mandel JCC: 216 593-6285.

There is no charge for admission; DONATIONS WELCOME!

An evening of short plays and monologues to honor the creative genius of RUBE GOLDBERG

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16 at 7 p.m; and SUNDAY, AUG. 20 at 1 p.m.

Hosted by – and co-produced with – The Maltz Museum, 2929 Richmond Rd, Beachwood, OH, to support their exhibit “Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention!”

Featuring Anjanette Hall*, Peter Lawson Jones*, Barb Dragony & John Busser, and directed by Jacqi Loewy,* performing works by Hal Borden, Eric Coble, Kate Cortesi, Gary Garrison, John Minigan and Faye Sholiton.

*appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

The performance is included in the cost of museum admission.  Donations are welcome!
  Reservations are a must, as space is extremely limited.

  To register for the Wednesday, Aug. 16th performance; https://22382.blackbaudhosting.com/22382/Comic-Relief-in-Comfortable-Shorts-with-Faye-Sholiton 

To register for the Sunday, Aug. 20th performance https://22382.blackbaudhosting.com/22382/Comic-Relief-in-Comfortable-Shorts-in-the-style-of-rube-goldberg–2 

For additional information, please call:  216/593-0502