46 | OCTOBER 5 • 2023 J
N
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
W
hen Detroit Public Theatre
(DPT) co-founders and co-pro-
ducing Artistic Directors
Courtney Burkett, Sarah Clare Corporandy
and Sarah Winkler and Executive Artistic
Producer Dominque Morisseau began
brainstorming about which play would
kick-off DPT’s ninth season, they knew
that Eight Nights was just the ticket. The
play is currently running through Nov. 5.
Eight Nights, an award-winning play by
Jennifer Maisel, tells the story of Rebecca
Blum (played by Rivka
Borek and Sarah Winkler), a
19-year-old Holocaust survi-
vor, who forges a new life in
America in 1949. The play
takes place over the eight
nights of Chanukah, spanning
eight decades of Rebecca’s
life in a New York tenement
apartment.
“It’s witty, deep and sur-
prising,” describes playwright
Maisel. “It deftly weaves
the Jewish experience with
that of Black, Japanese and
LGBTQIA+ Americans and of
refugees around the world.”
Winkler grew up in Rye, New York, and
attended the Community Synagogue
of Rye. Her two oldest and dearest
friends from her hometown are the
children of Holocaust survivors.
“
At a time when the teaching of
history is under attack in states across
the country, when books are being
banned, when antisemitism and
racist hate speech and violence are
rising and rising, all of us at Detroit
Public Theatre felt an urgent need to
produce this play now,” said Winkler,
who moved to Birmingham 10 years
ago with her husband and three
children. “It is a true rallying cry for
tikkun olam — for healing and rec-
ognition of our shared humanity and for
solidarity amongst diverse communities.”
IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
Jennifer Maisel, who won an Ovation
Award for Best Playwriting for Eight
Nights, flew in to Detroit the first week of
rehearsals from her home in Los Angeles.
Maisel then came back for tech week and
preview performances and was there on
opening night to work with DPT’s cast and
crew, seven of whom are Jewish including
Maisel.
“It is a huge gift to have the playwright
in the room with you. You get to explore
the text in such depth with the expert right
with you to answer any and all questions,”
says Winkler, who has known Maisel for
nearly 25 years.
Eight Nights at Detroit Public Theatre is
the second major production of Maisel’s
play.
“It’s important, as a writer, to keep dis-
covering what works and what possibly
doesn’t work in the play. And one produc-
tion isn’t necessarily going to tell you that.
I love a rehearsal room. I live for table-
work. It’s so helpful for me to listen to
actors, designers and the director construct
A true rallying cry for tikkun olam.
Detroit Public Theatre Presents
Eight Nights
Sarah
Winkler
JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Details
Eight Nights runs approximately 90 minutes
with no intermission. Facilitated post-show
talkbacks will follow every Saturday and
Sunday matinee. Following Thursday and
Friday evening performances, Eight Nights
cast and DPT’s producing artistic directors
will discuss themes of the show with the
audience. To purchase tickets, go to www.
detroitpublictheatre.org/season-nine.
Jewish Cast & Crew
Rivka Borek – Rebecca Blum, Amy, Nina
Eric Gutman – Erich Blum (Rebecca’s father)
Sarah Winkler – Anna Blum, Rebecca Blum
Marya Mazor – Director
Jennifer Maisel – Playwright
Sarah Pearline – Scenic Designer
Kate Hopgood – Sound Designer
Jennifer
Maisel
Detroit Public
Theatre opened its
ninth season with
Eight Nights running
through Nov. 5.
PHOTO BY LUMUMBA REYNOLDS