Marina Nebro: Arts and Culture

I first want to apologize for the lack of content as of late on Marina Nebro: Arts and Culture. My second year of college is off to a slow start in terms of my cultural endeavors, but I’m sure it will start picking up in no time! Let’s get on to the good stuff, shall we?!?!

Mostly drawn to the Roundabout Theatre Company’s play by its title, Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews pleasantly surprised me as a moving and meaningful piece of theatre. With the death of Poppy, the patriarch of the Feygenbaum family, his grandchildren come together to celebrate his life and mourn his death. Diana/Daphna (Tracee Chimo) has returned home from college at Vassar for the funeral and is staying with her cousin Jonah (Philip Ettinger) for the time being at his New York City apartment. It seems like these cousins are complete opposites. As Jonah plays video games and keeps to himself, Daphna just doesn’t stop talking! She reflects on her life at Vassar, and her relationship with her family, especially her late grandfather. All she wants, she says, is his chai necklace – an important family heirloom with a lot of religious and sentimental significance. Will Liam let me have it, she asks? Jonah’s brother Liam (Michael Zegen) neglected to make his way to the funeral due to a ski trip he was on with his (non-Jewish, shicksa) girlfriend. An absolute disgrace, according to Daphna! This only proves that the chai truly belongs to her. For a translation, chai means “life” in Hebrew. (more…)

If you asked me about Romeo and Juliet prior to this summer, I would have told you all that I know about it: the play is by Shakespeare and I haven’t looked at it or thought about it since 9th grade when I read it for English class. But now, nearing the end of the summer, I have tons more to say! For one thing, I worked run-crew at Flushing Town Hall for Ralph Carhart’s Queens College production of the play. I interacted with the actors, the people back stage, and the audience throughout my week-long experience. Many of the lines, repeated over and over through rehearsals, got stuck in my head. I was so very used to the way the actors portrayed their characters, how Romeo (Thomas Stagnitta) was so gloomy and love struck, how the nurse (Nikki Daddiego) was impossibly funny with her accent and mannerisms (in this production, the Montagues and Capulets were distinguished by being Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims respectively). This all changed when I went to see Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, featuring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad (a racial take on the star-crossed lovers).

There is absolutely no need for a synopsis of the play. Even those who have never seen a production of it have seen an adaptation of some sort – West Side Story being a popular one. Any tale of two lovers from feuding families or social circles originates from R and J! But how did this production, directed by David Leveaux, differ from all of these other adaptations? Let’s find out! (more…)