eater, haul anc) clrary
Olympia's Odyssey
Actress' one-woman role in "Rose" takes her from a tiny
Russian shtetl, to the Warsaw Ghetto, to the ship "Exodus"
and, finally, to the boardwalk in Atlantic City.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
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JN: What do you like about the pro-
duction Rose as a concert piece and
how does it differ from the play?
OD: Performing Rose is such an extraor-
dinary experience because it covers a
woman's entire life. Not too many plays
do that. The concert piece is one-half
hour shorter [than the play] and does
not have an intermission, so it builds
nicely, I think.
cademy Award winner
Olympia Dukakis takes the
role of an 80-year-old
Holocaust survivor March
21 at Temple Israel, where she will
appear in Rose, a one-character theater
piece that recalls a woman's journey
through the 20th century.
The production, also being sponsored JN: Did you do any special research or
study to prepare for this role?
by Adat Shalom Synagogue and the
OD: I did quite a bit of research. I
Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah, is
watched
films and video about shtetl life
a concert version of Martin Sherman's
from
our
local Holocaust center in New
play. The work, expressed in mono-
Jersey.
I
watched
documentaries about
logue, covers experiences in Europe and
the
ghettos
and the Exodus
America and integrates
crossing,
read
books about
world events and issues as
survival
in
the
sewers and
they affected the members
studied
photos
about the
of Rose's family, who are
conditions [Rose faced]. I
introduced in words only.
also studied with a dialect
Dukakis, 70, who won
coach to achieve what I hope
the Oscar for Best
is
an authentic Yiddish
Supporting Actress in the
accent.
romantic comedy
Moonstruck, built her stage
JN: What did you learn
career before moving on to
about Judaism as you took
television and feature films.
on this character?
The actress, cousin of
Al OD: There is a desire to be
once presidential candidate
Olympia Dukakis plays even-handed and fir, to see
Michael Dukakis, became
an 80-year-old survivor both sides of an argument. I
fascinated with the theater
in the one-woman show learned how deep and abid-
while performing in her
"Rose," which she brings ing are the roots of family
father's amateur troupe in
and, in the case of Rose, life
to Temple Israel on
Massachusetts, but she
in the shtetl. The instinct
Thursday.
decided 16 become a physi-
and desire to survive are very
cal therapist before tackling
much a part of it as is the
the stage as a profession.
sense of not belonging, of being an out-
After earning a master's degree in per-
sider. And always, there is the humor.
forming arts from Boston University,
JN: What other Jewish characters have
she moved to New York, where she
you portrayed and can you make any
found Off-Broadway roles and met her
comparisons to this one?
husband, actor Louis Zorich, during an
OD: In Social Security on Broadway,
audition. They have three children.
*th Mario Thomas and Ron Silver, I
Dukakis — whose film credits include
played Marlo's 80-year-old mother,
Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus,
Sophie Greengrass. I loved her self-dep-
Look Who's Talking and The Cemetery
recating humor.
Club
will next appear in Strange
—
Relations.
In that Showtime drama, debuting
March 31, she plays another Jewish
character, Esther Lipman, the mother of
a son (Paul Reiser) stricken with
leukemia.
In anticipation of her performance in
Rose, Dukakis answered questions for
the Detroit Jewish News
JN: What are the universals in the
character of Rose that go beyond
Judaism?
OD: There's the desire to live life fully
and deeply and then find the courage to
do that. I think that's true for all people.
She shares, with all immigrants, the feel-
ing of being an outsider.
JN: Do you see any of yourself in this
role?