A Shayna Maidel

By Barbara Lebow

Directed by Frank Moffett

“A Shayna Maidel” (a beautiful girl), by Barbara Lebow, is a story (late 1940s) about a young polish girl, Rose, in her twenties, who came to the United States with her father, Mordechai, at the age of four and is now completely “Americanized.”  The plan had been for Rose’s mother and sister to join the others, but her sister fell ill with scarlet fever, the mother stayed on to care for her, and soon the rise of the Nazis cut off their escape.  Their ordeal in the concentration camps, which only the sister survived, has brought a burden of guilt to the aging Mordechai and deeply mixed feelings as he awaits the arrival of his elder daughter, Lusia, who has, at last, found her way to America.  With her halting English and old world ways, Luisa is a striking contrast to Rose, who is somewhat embarrassed by her rediscovered sister’s presence, and fearful that it will threaten her own hard-won independence.  Distraught, and concerned that she may never be reunited with Duvid, her young husband, Lusia embraces a series of memories and fantasies which make real the joys and horrors of her life before the war.  But when Mordechai gives Rose a letter from her mother, a “proof” of family is somehow restored, and old barriers give way to a renewed sense of hope and mutual dependence, and the conviction that a better future may yet arise from their troubled past.

Performances: May 2-17, 2008

May 2, 3, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 at 8pm, and May 11 at 2pm

Tickets $15.00 general admission, $13.00 for students/seniors. For reservations, please call (781) 893-9171 or email reservations@hoveyplayers.com.

Almost Fully Reserved!

Cast

Kris Reynolds as Rose Weiss
Sonia Maslovskaya as Lusia Weiss Perchenik
Joel Hersh as Mordecai Weiss
Evan Bernstein as Duvid Perchenik
Kimberly McClure as Mama
Kate Lovell as Hanna

Production staff

Assistant – Bruce Kantor
Stage Manager – Jessie Olson
Asst. Stage Manager – Gabrielle Aguillon-Hatcher
Production Assistant – Mark Sickler
Costume Designer – Kimmerie H.O. Jones
Light Designer – Jeremy Medicus
Sound Designer – Ed Council
Set Designer & Dress – Michelle M. Aguillon, Gabrielle Aguillon-Hatcher, & John MacKenzie
Props – Susan Aliber & Nancy Zagami
Publicity – Leigh Berry & Susan Harrington
Photography – Michelle M. Aguillon & Gabrielle Aguillon-Hatcher
House Manager – Kristin Hughes
Box Office Mngr & Reservations – Ronni Marshak
Webmaster – Eric Houghton Producer – Michelle M. Aguillon

IRNE Nomination!

The IRNE Awards for productions January 1 through December 31, 2008 were held April 6, 2009. Congratulations to Sonia Maslovskaya for her Best Supporting Actress award! She won for her performance as Lusia Weiss Perchenik in Hovey’s A Shayna Maidel.

The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards were founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal Newspapers and Larry Stark of TheaterMirror in 1997. The IRNE Awards recognize the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community. IRNE Reviewers include among others David Brooks Andrews, Sheila Barth, Jules Becker, Kay Bourne, Beverly Creasey, Joe Crowley, Shirley Esthimer, Richard Fahey, Guy Giampapa, Norm Gross, Rudy Kikel, Beatrice Lee, Kilian Malloy and Larry Stark.