A People's History

As part of 350th anniversary celebration,
JET season honors Jewish theater as a reflection
of Jewish life in America.

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

ro

lays of personal history —
representative of ethnic his-
tory — join the national cel-
ebration of the 350th anniversary of
Jewish communal life in America.
They make up the 2004-2005 sea-
son of the Jewish Ensemblq Theatre
and give perspective to generational
differences as Jews experienced and
impacted life in the United States.
The productions, starting with
Herb Gardner's I'm Not Rappaport
and concluding with James
Sherman's Door to Door, spotlight
the talents of acclaimed playwrights
who dramatized their feelings and
heritage. While this 16th JET sea-
son includes a fifth show, there also
will be a lecture program, still to be
announced, to address the larger cel-
ebration theme.
"We've had great Jewish theater
for 100 of those 350 years, and I
chose works by marvelous play-

wrights who were significant and
representative of what they had to
say about their times," says Evelyn
Orbach, JET artistic director and
member of Celebrate 350: Jewish
Life in America 1654-2004, the
committee providing resources for
the year of activities. "They couldn't
have had the opportunities in other
countries."
The late Gardner would have
agreed. He had problems retaining
the Jewish identity of a character
when Rappaport was performed in
France and Germany. The play, run-
ning Oct. 13-Nov. 14 at JET, intro-
duces two seniors who are fighting
to keep active.
Nat, a lifelong Jewish radical por-
trayed by Arthur Beer, and Midge, a
black apartment super acted by
Council Gargle, battle yuppies,
street thugs and drug dealers in their
fight for dignity and self worth.

A PEOPLE'S HISTORY on page 62

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Arthur Beer and Council Cargle in JET's production of "I'm Not Rappaport"

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