arts & entertainment
Honoring
John Hirsch
New one-man show spotlights
the orphaned Holocaust survivor
who became artistic director of the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Mon Nashman es John Hirsch
in Hirsch, debuting during
the Stratford Shakespeare
Festival's 60th season.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
A
lon Nashman was a Toronto
teenager when he saw a produc-
tion of The Dybbuk directed by
the late John Hirsch, and that dramatic
experience changed his life.
A regular theatergoer before reacting to
the mystical Jewish play about romantic
entanglements, Nashman soon decided he
wanted to pursue a theater career.
Nashman's decision resulted in some
30 years of acting, directing, writing and
producing and now is the foundation of a
tribute to the professional who served as
inspiration.
The tribute takes the form of a one-man
theater piece, Hirsch, and spotlights the
man who became artistic director of the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival during the
1980s.
Hirsch, debuting June 20-Sept.14 as
part of the observance of the 60th anni-
versary of the Canadian repertory com-
"To inhabit him, to encounter him and
pany, reveals the essence of the orphaned
to argue with him is a kind of joy that a
Holocaust survivor who found a home in
performer rarely gets to experience."
Canada, built an acclaimed international
Nashman, named Toronto's No. 1 theater
career and lost his battle with
artist in 2008 by that city's Now
AIDS.
magazine, began working on the
"I get to encounter a
production six years ago after
remarkable man every time I
being approached with a collabo-
do this play:' says Nashman,
ration idea by Paul Thompson.
53, in a phone conversation
The two met when Thompson
from Canada. "John Hirsch
was director of the National
ignited the whole regional
Theatre School of Canada and
theater movement in North
Nashman was a student. They
Alon Nashman:
America and was the ulti-
became colleagues and friends,
"John Hirsch
mate artist, a creator in every
and their new initiative has
ignited the whole
respect.
Thompson as director.
"John Hirsch embraced var- regional theater
"Every word of the script
movement in
ied theatrical styles through
has flowed through me in one
North America."
Shakespearean works, musi-
way or another:' says Nashman,
cals, children's drama, puppet shows and
who wanted to cover the broad scope of
everything in between. His personal his-
Hirsch's life (1930-89).
tory was so rich, so full of both trauma
"A lot has been generated through
and triumph, that I think of him as a
experimentation and improvisation based
wonder being.
on the research we've done and the sto-
Fresh Facets
Stratford's diamond-anniversary season
sparkles with classics and newer works.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
Nothing, Cymbeline) and going into other
areas of classical theater, innovative new
Canadian theater and crowd-pleasing
r. David Goldbloom considers
musicals:' says Goldbloom, outlining the
himself very lucky to be chair-
season in a phone conversation from
man of the board of governors of Canada.
the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in its
"The opportunity to see Oscar-winning
60th anniversary season.
Christopher Plummer in a one-man show
The Canadian
is a rare opportunity. He's going to do A
psychiatrist, in a
Word or Two, directed by Des McAnuff,
four-generation fam-
our artistic director. It's about the litera-
ily of Stratford fans,
ture that influenced Plummer's life.
gets to see every play
"Plummer's involvement with the fes-
more than once in
tival is almost as long as the festival has
performances running been in existence. Anybody who caught
through Oct. 28.
his performance as Prospero in The
Allik
Board of
"We are celebrating,
Tempest two years ago knows that he's
Governors
as we do every year,
probably the leading actor alive today."
Chairman
the works of William
Goldbloom, 58, who was invited to
Dr. David
Shakespeare (Henry
join the board in 2005 after his term
Goldbloom
y Much Ado About
ended with the Glenn Gould Foundation,
D
believes American audiences, return-
ing and new, will especially appreci-
ate the comedy and cleverness of The
Matchmaker, written by American play-
wright Thornton Wilder.
"For some people who haven't been
to Stratford for a while, they will have
nostalgic recall of when we used to do
Gilbert and Sullivan with some frequen-
cy," Goldbloom says. "Pirates of Penzance
is our first revisiting of the Gilbert and
Sullivan canon in a long time.
"We're also doing the perennial chil-
dren's classic You're a Good Man, Charlie
Brown. It was very important for us to
have shows that would appeal to families.
"I believe that once you expose young
people to live theater, you create the seeds
for an attachment and commitment that
videos, computers and television simply
cannot reproduce!'
Two of the songs in the Charlie Brown
musical — "My New Philosophy" and
"Beethoven Day" — were added to the
1967 Clark Gesner score by Andrew
Lippa, who graduated from Oak Park
High School and the University of
Michigan and whose family attended ser-
vices at Congregation B'nai Moshe.
ries we've heard talking to the greats of
Canadian theater.
"Every word in the play is not a word
John Hirsch necessarily uttered, wrote or
thought, but I'm hoping that it's nonethe-
less truer than documentary authentic-
ity. I'm also hoping that we have actually
touched his soul in such a way that he
would feel extremely well represented!'
Nashman, whose emotional reaction
to The Dybbuk had to do with links to his
own family history in the Jewish shtetls
of Eastern Europe, started serious acting
studies at the University of Toronto before
moving on to the National Theatre School,
where he added directing to his academic
interests.
"I've been working steadily since I
graduated in 1990," he says."I've been in a
variety of settings, from a native Canadian
theater company to pretty much all the
theaters in Toronto and theaters in other
parts of Canada."
Honoring on page 52
Ken James Stewart, Erica Peck,
Andrew Broderick, Amy Wallis and
Kevin Yee in You're a Good Man,
Charlie Brown.
"When I was a kid,
I used to read Peanuts
comics all the time and
had a bunch of com-
pilations of Peanuts
books:' recalls Lippa,
47, during a call from
New York. "I love how
Composer
truly big-hearted and
Andrew Lippa
funny the characters
are, and the musical
shares that."
Lippa, who created the songs and addi-
Fresh Facets on page 52
May 3 s 2012
47