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If I Can Make It There

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Israeli actress finds a role — and a chance to learn
in Off-Broadway show.
Yiddish

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able, as an Orthodox Jew she has lim-
itations.
"There was one big Off-Broadway
play
that I had to turn down because
or Vera Felice, who plays
I
won't
work on Shabbat," she says.
Hadass in New York City's
"Getting replacements for me on
Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre
Friday nights and Saturday afternoons
production of Yentl, based -
is a problem.
on the Isaac Bashevis Singer folktale,
"There was also an American film
learning Yiddish meant going back to
that
went to Sundance that I had to
her roots.
turn
down."
"My father is Israeli and my mother
To
help accommodate her own
is Danish, and when I was growing
schedule and needs, Felice started a
up they would oftentimes speak
production company
Yiddish to each other,"
called Ocean Films.
says Felice, whose first
"We are in the process
language is Danish.
of doing two movies,"
"I understood most of
she says. "I feel I repre-
what they were saying,
sent Israel." -
but I wasn't able to con-
For now, Felice is
verse with them in
thrilled to be perform-
Yiddish. So for me,
ing in Yentl, her first
learning the language is
Off-Broadway show.
very meaningful: It's a
The
play tells the story
beautiful language and .I
of
a
young woman who
always wanted to be flu-
impersonates
a boy to
ent in it."
attend yeshiva, then
Felice — her full name
falls in love with arid
is Vera Felice Weingarten
Vera Felice plays Hadass
marries a woman, while
but she uses only her
in the Yiddish world
carrying on a profound
first and middle names
premiere of 'Yentl," at-
friendship with another
- professionally — was
New
York's
Folksbiene
male student.
born in 'Denmark and
Yiddish
Theatre.
This production is the
moved to Israel with her
first-ever
Yiddish trans-
parents at age 10. Her
lation of the stage play, which Singer
family lives north of Haifa.
and Leah Napolin co-adapted from
"I learned Hebrew when we moved
Singer's 1950s story "Yentl the Yeshiva
to Israel and I learned to speak
Boy" (originally penned in Yiddish).
English in my teens," says Felice.
Felice's role of Hadass, Yentl's wife,
As far back as she can remember,
was
played by Amy Irving in Barbara
acting was her dream.
Streisand's 1983 movie musical adap-
"I went to a show in Israel's big
Gesher Theater and I was so impressed tation.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for
with the power of theater I knew that's
me and I am very grateful," says
what I wanted to do," she says. "So I
Felice. "I would love to do more plays
studied theater in school and went to
in New York.
a theater camp where only 100 kids
"But although I love America
are picked to attend each summer. I
because
it has such open arms and
absolutely loved it there."
great opportunities, one day I will go
The camp opened doors for Felice,
back to my homeland and.apOy what
who landed TV commercials and inde-
I learned in America in Israel.
pendent Israeli films. But to further her
career when she finished high school at
Yentl, which begins previews on
age 18, she moved to New York.
Oct.
15, opens Oct. 27 and runs
"I always wanted to come to the Lee
through
Dec. 29 at the
Strasberg Studio to study method act-
Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, 344
ing in New York. And so that's what I
West 36th St., in New York City.
did," says Felice, who is now 21.
(212) 213-2120.
Although Felice says her experience
and training in New York is invalu-

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