Brundibar (The Bumblebee) – What Does it Mean to You and Me?

Brundibar is a children’s opera written by Czech composer Hans Krasa and performed at the Terezin concentration camp more than fifty times, as part of a Nazi propaganda effort to deceive international observers and reduce suspicions about the facility.

Several days after the last performance, the composer and most of the children were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz.

On June 28th and 29th, Colorado Music Festival will present this timeless story that unites kids and their animal friends against the town bully.  The Festival will collaborate with the University of Colorado Opera Program to present a semi-staged production featuring CU students as well as a children’s chorus.  Ela Weissberger, a Holocaust survivor who, as a young child, performed the role of The Cat while in Terezin, will travel to Colorado to be a part of this production.  During her stay in Boulder, Ms. Weissberger will share her life story and participate in several events for our community. Click here for tickets >>

The presentation of Brundibar is part of the Festival’s Rediscovered Masters Program, a series of performances celebrating Jewish composers and their music, with an emphasis on music composed before, during, and immediately after World War II. For more information visit www.comusic.org.

Come get a sneak preview on Thursday, June 7th at The Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut Street, 80302. Boulder Renewal Rabbi Tirzah Firestone will guide us through a conversation about this unique production.  Guests will get an insider’s view into CMF’s upcoming production with University of Colorado Opera Program Director Leigh Holman.  Hear musical selections, learn about the historical context, and see visuals of past productions.  To enhance the experience, Boulder Rabbis Joshua Rose (Reform), Marc Soloway (Conservative) and Gavriel Goldfeder (Orthodox) will together examine the libretto and share their insights. The event is free, but space is limited.  Early arrival is recommended.

Colorado Music Festival extends a special thank you to the event Co-Sponsor, The Dairy Center for the Arts!  Event Community Partners are Haver and University of Colorado Boulder Opera Program.

PLUS: FREE MUSIC FESTIVAL TICKETS FOR JEWISH STUDENTS! Thanks to the support of Rose Community Foundation, Colorado Music Festival is offering 100 FREE General Admission Brundibar tickets to Jewish students ages 10 and up. Alternatively, students can buy any reserved seat at a 50% discount! Accompanying adults receive $10 off their tickets as well. Please contact Margaret Romero at romero@comusic.org or 303-449-1397, ext 7 for tickets! Brundibar performances are Thursday, June 28th and Friday, June 29th at 7:30pm at Chautauqua Auditorium. Visit www.comusic.org for more information.

At once both ordinary and extraordinary, No Way Out documents a family’s struggle to survive during the Holocaust and gives insight into the stories of thousands of Jews who attempted to flee Germany during the Nazi regime. No Way Out is based on the true story of Susan Shear’s family members in their own words taken from a collection of over 500 letters they wrote while living in Nazi Germany. Intimate, moving and riveting, No Way Outis a poignant true story of family love and devotion, humanity and dignity that the Nazis could not destroy.

Because it is such an intimate story and because Susan Shear is such a masterful storyteller, No Way Out gives us an incredibly valuable tool to teach about conscience formation and to learn about the tragic consequences of remaining indifferent to evil,” said Dr. Dan Clayton, Regis University History Professor.

No Way Out features Jeanne Paulsen, Jim Hunt, Jessica Robblee, Stephen Weitz, Martha Harmon Pardee and Leigh Miller.

Attendees are invited to the post-performance reception with refreshments and the opportunity to meet survivors Paula Burger, Eric Cahn, Rosalyn Kirkel and Ossie Sladek.

Purchase tickets for No Way Out at www.mizelmuseum.org/nowayout or call the Mizel Museum at (303) 394-9993.  Price: $30/adults; $18 students; 10 percent discount for groups of ten or more.

About Stories on Stage

Stories on Stage creates programs from the belief that literature is a rich source of powerful stories and actors enhance the impact of literature on people’s lives. We present literature from writers of diverse cultural backgrounds, read by professional actors to an audience that is as broad-based as our community. For more information visit www.storiesonstage.orgor call 303-494-0523.

About the Mizel Museum

The Mizel Museum is a portal to the contemporary Jewish experience. Exhibits, events and educational programs inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate diversity. Fine art, film, literature, drama, music, sculpture and technology offer interactive experiences that promote community and multicultural understanding. The Museum’s first permanent exhibit, 4,000 Road Trip: Gathering Sparks, is a dynamic journey through art, artifacts and digital media that narrates and illuminates Jewish history and culture. The Museum is located at 400 S. Kearney Street, Denver, CO 80224. For information visitmizelmuseum.org or call (303) 394-9993.

Superman. Batman. Spider Man. The Spirit. The X-Men. All invented by Jews. Then there’s Jules Feiffer and Art Spiegelman. And, of course, Harvey Pekar.

Jews built the comic book industry from the ground up, and the influence of Jewish writers, artists, and editors continues to be felt to this day. But how did Jews come to have such a disproportionate influence on an industry most famous for lantern-jawed demigods clad in colorful tights? Is the superhero really a Jewish phenomenon?

Find out Tuesday as Menorah concludes its Jewish Arts Month film series at the Boedecker Theater with a screening of “American Splendor” at 7 pm. Paul Giamatti stars in this feature film tracing the improbable career of morose comic book cult celebrity Harvey Pekar.

At 6:30, prior to the 2003 film, Kathryn Bernheimer will discuss the Jewish creative forces that have pioneered and dominated the comic book industry since its (Jewish) inception. There is no charge for the pre-show talk. Tickets to the film are available at www.thedairy.org. Films have been selling out, so reserve tickets online.

“Movies about artist’s lives are usually deadly and diminishing. This cubistic approach, blurring the line between the man and his work, gives us the impression we’re seeing the world from inside Pekar’s head. It’s as if the filmmakers let themselves be invaded by their subject’s quirky, cranky spirit.” – David Ansen, Newsweek

Even that nickname came from a Jew. The phrase Great White Way is attributed to Shep Friedman, columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph, and refers to a stretch of Broadway between Union Square and Madison Square that in 1880 was brightly illuminated by arc lamps. When the theatre district moved uptown, the name was transferred to the Times Square area.

Menorah pays tribute to the Jewish contribution to Broadway at its fundraiser, New York, New York, which includes a clips program highlighting great Jewish musicals set in New York City, from “West Side Story” to “The Producers.”

We thought you’d enjoy learning more about some of the famous shows celebrating New York which we’ll be showcasing Sunday night.

• Did you know that “West Side Story” was originally conceived as a Romeo and Juliet love story with a Jewish gang at war with anti-Semitic New York homeboys? Jerome Robbins initially proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish American family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side during the Easter-Passover season.

Presumably, Puerto Ricans are better dancers, and made more sympathetic rivals for The Jets. Yet the entire creative team remained Jewish, with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and choreography by Jerome Robbins. The film version won ten Oscars in its eleven nominated categories, including Best Picture, as well as a special award for Robbins. The film, directed by Robbins and Robert Wise, holds the distinction of being the musical film with the most Academy Award wins, including Best Picture. The soundtrack album made more money than any other album before.

• Did you know that a Jew born in Russia whose earliest memory is of his house being burnt to the ground during a pogrom wrote the emblem for urbane New York sophistication, “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” just as he penned the yuletide anthem “White Christmas?”  Irving Berlin, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history, wrote an estimated 1,500 songs during his 60-year career, including the scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 films, with his songs nominated eight times for Oscars.

• Did you know that Fanny Brice’s son–in-law, Ray Stark, created the show immortalizing the famous singer, actress and comedienne? Stephen Sonheim was originally hired to do the score for “Funny Girl” for actress Mary Martin, but decided he did not want to do the life of Fanny Brice with Martin because she wasn’t Jewish. Carol Burnett was approached but declined, saying “I’d love to do it but what you need is a Jewish girl.”

Barbara Streisand was performing at the Bon Soir in Greenwich Village when the producers went to see if she might be right for the part. Despite the fact that Streisand was wearing clothes out of thrift shops, which became the impetus for “Second Hand Rose,” Stark hired her on the spot. When it came time to cast the screen adaptation, Streisand was Stark’s first and only choice to portray Brice onscreen. Columbia Pictures wanted Shirley MacLaine but Stark insisted if Streisand were not cast, he would not allow a film to be made at all.

Streisand went on to share the best actress Oscar with Katharine Hepburn (“Lion in Winter”). Streisand’s first comment when handed the Oscar statuette was “Hello, gorgeous,” the first line in the film.

• More trivia: That line was repeated by Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks’ musical, “The Producers.” The title of Max’s latest flop in that film is “Funny Boy,” a musical adaptation of “Hamlet.” Brooks also satirized Florence Ziegfield’s style of musical extravaganza and use of busty showgirls in his famed staging of the notoriously tasteless and hilariously offensive song, “Springtime for Hitler.”

Come enjoy some of these musical moments at New York, New York, this Sunday, September 18 at 5:30 pm. The evening also includes a silent auction, fabulousNew York ethnic food, a trivia contest, prizes, dancing, a slide show of New York sights, and a soundtrack of New York standards.

The fundraiser honors Professor David Shneer, and a portion of the proceeds will fund a scholarship for the Program in Jewish Studies at CU.

Deadline for registration is September 15. Don’t miss the fun! Visit www.boulderjcc.org to register.

Spanning three cultures and as many generations, this solo show features the Russian Front, Holocaust bedtime stories, and undercover Bridge games at the Senior Center. A unique, irreverent, humorous true story of one legacy of war and ethnic conflict from the daughter of a Jewish Holocaust survivor father and a mother who was in the Hitler Youth.

Remaining performances at Wesley Chapel, 1290 Folsom St, Boulder:

• Tuesday, Aug 23 @ 9:00 pm
• Thursday, Aug 25 @ 8:30 pm
• Friday, Aug 26 @ 7:30 pm
• Saturday, Aug 27 @ 4:00 pm

Tickets ($8.00) available at the door. Advance tickets available through the Boulder Fringe Website at www.BoulderFringe.com.

Sample review from Rollo W:

Great! I saw this show in San Francisco recently, but it’s even better here at the Boulder Fringe! Very well written and charmingly performed. Annette Roman’s family history is a karmic bagel-schnitzel of Truth, way stranger than fiction. (You just can’t make this stuff up!) Don’t be put off by the swastikas. This show is unexpected and thought-provoking. Truly a Fringe “main course” with lots to chew on.”

More reviews at Annette’s BIFF page.

“>

Boisterous and brash, marked by musicality and precision, the production now playing at the CMF has the bracing kick of a vodka shot. It leaves you a little short of breath, slightly stunned – and wanting more.

Efim Zvenyatsky, director of the famed Gorky Theater in Vladivostok, and a Russian Jew, has been in Boulder the past few months with some members of his troupe preparing the production as part of a cross-cultural collaboration funded in part by the Opaline Fund of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.

I had the pleasure of meeting Efim for lunch just before the show’s sold-out and enthusiastically received opening night in the University Theater. CSF Producing Artistic Director Philip Sneed graciously arranged the meeting at Efim’s request, and joined us for a wide-ranging conversation about theater as well as Jewish life in our two nations.

“>

Photo by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado

A cosmopolitan and gracious man with a lively sense of humor, Efim was born in Birobidzhan, where his parents had been forced to reside when the Soviet Union formed the now-notorious Jewish Autonomous Region. Stalin relegated this remote and inhospitable territory to Jews, ostensibly to pursue Yiddish cultural heritage within a socialist framework.

Nothing at all grew there for the first 5 years, Efim noted. He still has family there, although part of his family now lives in Israel. Efim (whose name is the Russian equivalent of Chaim) explained that his mother was a cashier in a movie house and his youthful aspirations were fueled by the movies he saw there. At 16, he discovered the railroad tracks and left to make his life in theater. He was among a prestigious class of prominent Russian directors at the Moscow State Institute of Theater, and went on to direct across Russia as well as to become head of the Gorky in 1984.

Asked about anti-Semitism in Russia today, Efim noted that it was wide-spread and insidious, although it did not affect him personally because of his celebrity status. “I am one of the ‘good’ Jews who is useful and so they are proud of me,” he said through his translator, who also happens to be his daughter and an opera singer. Philip Sneed wondered if Holocaust denial existed in Russia and Efim laughed. “Whole of Ukraine!” he said with no need for translation.

Much of the conversation centered on the differences between theater in Russia and America. Here actors seem to treat their work as a profession, he observed, while in Russia actors regard it as an art. Russian actors tend to be better trained, he added, although that has been changing in recent years.

While he bemoaned the restrictions of the “metal curtain,” when American writers were banned and their work was unknown to the public, he also noted that with capitalism today theater has become more commercial and state funding cuts have resulted in a deterioration in quality.

Today, all the big Broadway shows are translated and staged in Russia by Russian companies that tour the country. Virtually all American culture is now available, he happily reports.

Efim has been working with Philip Sneed on numerous cultural exchanges, and Sneed and several CSF actors have performed at the Gorky. Gary Alan Wright, who co-stars as The Mayor in “The Inspector General,” acted in a hugely popular bi-lingual production of “Noises Off” at the Gorky.

Photos by Patrick Campbell for CU Communications

On July 15 and 16, Boulder audiences will have the chance to experience a bi-lingual performance, when several Russian actors join the American cast. It is amazing how much audiences understand from the context, intonation and physicality, Sneed notes.

This exceptional collaborative venture has been underwritten by a grant made possible by Jorian Schutz, whose family founded Blue Mountain Arts, the festival’s primary sponsor. Jorian is the brother of Jared Polis, Boulder’s Congressman and longtime supporter of Jewish life in Boulder. The philanthropic spirit as well as the spirit of service run strong in the family. Boulder JCC audiences may recall that their mother, Susan Polis Schutz – now a filmmaker as well as a poet – presented her documentary on depression last fall.

Boulder is fortunate to have such high level cultural offerings, and it is gratifying to see audiences respond so warmly to “The Inspector General.” The acting is uniformly excellent, with stand-out performances by Lanna Joffrey and Jamie Ann Romero as the Mayor’s wife and daughter team, and CSF veteran Stephen Weitz in the title role. I always get a kick out of Sam Sandoe, who I have been enjoying in character roles for the past 35 years, although the entire ensemble is exemplary. The set and costumes are vividly imagined by the Russian designers, taking us on a journey through time that underscores the play’s universal message and timely theme.

The Shakespeare Festival has been presenting plays by other authors for some time. Gorky’s play deals with assumed or hidden identity, as so many of the Bards do, and is a sharply observed satire of government corruption, personal misdeeds and the foibles of human nature. “The Inspector General” is a natural fit, and a definite hit.

For tickets, visit coloradoshakes.org.

- Note:  I am pleased to share this related information provided by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

In the summer of 2011, Colorado Shakeespeare Festival will host a company of Russian artists—a director, actors, and designers, as well as their translator—at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Russians, from the Maxim Gorky Theatre in Vladivostok, are coming to Boulder through a cultural exchange program that will impact not just the University but the Metro community as well. The exchange was made possible through generous grants from the Opaline Fund, the Boulder Arts Commission, the University of Colorado President’s Fund for the Humanities, and the University’s Faculty in Residence Summer Term (FIRST) program.

The program will include a production of Nikolai Gogol’s play, The Inspector General, performed by Russian and American actors, a university class in the Stanislavsky theory of physical action available through the University’s Continuing Education and Professional Studies Department, and lectures or forums at the Boulder Public Library, free of charge and open to the public.

The Maxim Gorky Theatre, the largest and most influential in Eastern Russia, is a wellspring of acting talent and innovation. Founded in 1932, the theatre is famous for its acting and directing talent and as an educational resource. Its repertoire includes world classics, Russian classics, and contemporary plays by Russian and foreign playwrights. The Gorky has toured in Russia, as well as abroad, in China, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S.

Master Teacher/Actor Aleksandr (Sasha) Zaporozhetc, who will teach the Stanislavsky course, and the Gorky’s Artistic Director and Executive Producer, Efim Zvenyatskiy, who will direct The Inspector General, have received highest state honors in Russia, as well as recognition in Western Europe. The Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s producing artistic director, Philip Sneed, and Zvenyatskiy have collaborated for 17 years and have produced six successful projects: three in Russia and three in this country.

CSF plans to partner its staff, actors and directors with their Russian counterparts for mutual learning. The Russians are interested in “best practices” in American theatre—the most efficient and effective techniques for producing a play. Likewise, CSF is interested in what works for the Russians. One-on-one conversations and first-hand observation are excellent ways to convey and absorb one another’s insights and professional values.

Sneed said,

There is no better way for human beings to understand one another than to work closely together in an art such as theatre. Within a remarkably short period of time, individuals begin to understand one another’s working styles. Differences of culture are set aside to achieve a common goal, and even language is no barrier. Stereotypes that rob us of our common humanity are set aside. That is the value of cultural exchange.

Some of the results we hope to achieve will be to expose our CU students in Theatre, Germanic and Slavic Languages, and other disciplines to new creative and cultural experiences and to one of the most influential acting techniques ever developed. With Sasha, students will work on scenes from Chekov and other playwrights. Students will simultaneously have the opportunity to watch Efim direct rehearsals of The Government Inspector. The play, though written in 1832, is a trenchant satire on the hypocrisy, greed, and self-delusion of petty officials and wealthy individuals. Its focus is startlingly modern.”

Bud Coleman, Chairman of CU’s Theatre & Dance Department, also remarked,

For over 75 years, the Maxim Gorky Theatre in Vladivostok has been one of Russia’s premiere professional theatres. We are honored to have artists from the Gorky working this summer with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and teaching for the CU Department of Theatre & Dance. This is a rare opportunity for Coloradans to experience some of the rich Russian theatrical legacy that brought us Chekhov, Gorky, Pushkin, Gogol, and the acting theories of Constantin Stanislavski. Observing senior artists performing a Russian classic along with American actors will greatly enhance the students’ understanding of how Stanislavsky’s theory is put into practice. Other results of the cultural exchange will be to introduce members of the community to these highly creative Russian artists and have the artists learn about how we live and think.”

For more information on the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, visit our website.