"A Shayna Maidel" by Barbara Lebow. Performed by the Contra Costa Christian High School Dramatic Arts Program at the Dean Lesher Center, Knight Stage III on November 7-8, 2003, Walnut Creek, CA.
Play Summary and History: "An emotional powerhouse of almost overwhelming proportions." -The Hartford Journal Enquirer.
Rose Weiss leads a comfortable life in Brooklyn New York, 1946. But when her older sister, Lusia, missing for years in Poland, is at last located, Rose's life changes drastically. When Lusia arrives, each sister must look inside herself to find connections to the family she thought she had lost. Moving deftly between post-war America and pre-war Poland, award-winning writer Barbara Lebow's haunting play is a heartfelt look at one family's experience of loss, hope, and reunion. The play was first produced as a "play in progress" in 1984 and was funded in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts. The New York Times reported on the first production, "A powerfully, haunting, and deeply affecting portrait of a family, which conveys the aftermath of the Holocaust through a poignant and imaginatively conceived examination of one family's experience." (Text excerpted from City Light Online and Wesleyan College News Director's Notes).
Choosing the right play for our high school production is always a challenge. It is also, however, a wonderful opportunity. As I pore over dozens of scripts and pray for God's direction, I am also continually impressed with the tremendous opportunity these plays present. I had wanted to do Barbara Lebow's A Shayna Maidel since the first time I read it some sixteen years ago. As I selected it for the fall production, I looked forward to realizing plans for the play that had germinated over several years. Once I began the process, however, I was excited to see God open my mind to the play in a completely new way. I acquired a new level of appreciation for the play from my new perspective as both director and teacher. Specifically, God impressed on me the insight Lebow shows on the struggle of waiting for God to fulfill his perfect will. It is a powerful thing to perform a play on a subject like the Holocaust and capture the tender and profound truth of hope in God in any circumstance - out of any circumstance. Barbara Lebow's title A Shayna Maidel means a "pretty girl" in Yiddish. In Yiddish, however, the phrase has a breadth of meaning which includes hope, prospect, and promise. It is, in essence, a blessing. The reiteration of this phrase throughout the play mirrors the characters' commitment to keeping hope alive in the aftermath of their loss. This resilience is a testament to the power of God's promises. Robin Lynn Rodriguez, Director
Play Summary and History: "An emotional powerhouse of almost overwhelming proportions." -The Hartford Journal Enquirer.
Rose Weiss leads a comfortable life in Brooklyn New York, 1946. But when her older sister, Lusia, missing for years in Poland, is at last located, Rose's life changes drastically. When Lusia arrives, each sister must look inside herself to find connections to the family she thought she had lost. Moving deftly between post-war America and pre-war Poland, award-winning writer Barbara Lebow's haunting play is a heartfelt look at one family's experience of loss, hope, and reunion. The play was first produced as a "play in progress" in 1984 and was funded in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts. The New York Times reported on the first production, "A powerfully, haunting, and deeply affecting portrait of a family, which conveys the aftermath of the Holocaust through a poignant and imaginatively conceived examination of one family's experience." (Text excerpted from City Light Online and Wesleyan College News Director's Notes).
Choosing the right play for our high school production is always a challenge. It is also, however, a wonderful opportunity. As I pore over dozens of scripts and pray for God's direction, I am also continually impressed with the tremendous opportunity these plays present. I had wanted to do Barbara Lebow's A Shayna Maidel since the first time I read it some sixteen years ago. As I selected it for the fall production, I looked forward to realizing plans for the play that had germinated over several years. Once I began the process, however, I was excited to see God open my mind to the play in a completely new way. I acquired a new level of appreciation for the play from my new perspective as both director and teacher. Specifically, God impressed on me the insight Lebow shows on the struggle of waiting for God to fulfill his perfect will. It is a powerful thing to perform a play on a subject like the Holocaust and capture the tender and profound truth of hope in God in any circumstance - out of any circumstance. Barbara Lebow's title A Shayna Maidel means a "pretty girl" in Yiddish. In Yiddish, however, the phrase has a breadth of meaning which includes hope, prospect, and promise. It is, in essence, a blessing. The reiteration of this phrase throughout the play mirrors the characters' commitment to keeping hope alive in the aftermath of their loss. This resilience is a testament to the power of God's promises. Robin Lynn Rodriguez, Director
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