"The Last Jews of Kalisz"- Keeping Alive The Rich Legacy of the Jews of Poland

Kudos to author Irv Kempner for his commitment to keep alive the memory of his father, David Kempner, who survived the Holocaust to live a full life in America. This very personal book, "The Last Jews of Kalisz," is also a loving tribute to the countless Jews from David's home town of Kalisz, Poland, who perished under the thumb of the Third Reich and their Polish collaborators.

The early chapters of this book set the scene and tell the history of Jews in Kalisz in Western Poland, perilously close to the German border. Jewish history of Kalisz began in the 12th century with settlers who were fleeing Crusaders. Over the years, the Jewish population of the city grew to close to 35%, and stayed that way until the purges began.

As I read the story of Mr. Kempner and his family and fellow citizens, I was reminded of the notorious quotation often attributed to Joseph Stalin: "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." By highlighting his father's tale of survival in contradistinction to the death of many of his family members, author Kempner moves the reader beyond mere statistics to make the tragedy of the Holocaust very personal. Writing this book is only one part of Kempner;s commitment to uphold the memory of the Jews of Kalisz. He is involved in a movement called March of the Living that brings visitors to Poland and Germany to learn details about the history of the Holocaust.

After being liberated from a death camp in May of 1945, David Kempner made good on a promise he had made to a young woman he had met before his imprisonment. He tracked Marilla Freidenreich down in Germany. Not long afterward they were married. Thanks to the kindness of a boyhood friend from Kalisz who had emigrated to America, the newlyweds were sponsored to resettle in the U.S. by Manny Duell. David started as a low-wage worker in the garment industry, and eventually founded his own successful company.

My reason for giving this fine book 4 stars rather than 5 is the author's propensity for needless repetition. He often repeats the same information several times within the same page or paragraph. For the second edition, some judicious editing will make this important book  even more compelling reading.

Enjoy.

"If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka" by Tori Sampson - at Playwrights Horizons

Tori Sampson is a new voice that should be - and can be - heard when you travel to Playwrights Horizons to see her play "If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka," She adapts a Nigerian folk tale, and uses Beyonce lyrics to address the issue of beauty and body image among teenage girls. She stands on the shoulders of Middle Ages Morality plays, and claims August Wilson's "Fences" as a strong creative inspiration for her writing. There is a bow to "Mean Girls" in the interactions among the village girls.

Massassi (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) is the prettiest girl in her village, coddled and sheltered by her parents. Maechi Aharanwa and Jason Bowen. Her fellow 17 year-olds resent her for her beauty and perfection, and plot to remove her as a threat by drowning her in a nearby river. Her rivals are Akim (Nike Uche Kadri), Adama (Mirirai Sithole),and Kaya (Prumzile Sitole). The role of Kasim, the young man who catches the eye of Massassi, is played by Leland Fowler.

Antoinette Crowe-Legacy
Nike Uche Kari, Mirirai Sithole, Phumzile Sitole
"If Pretty Hurts. . ."
by Tori Sampson
at Playwrights Horizons
Through April 5

The tale is narrated by Rotimi Agbabiaka, as Chorus. He throws a good bit of campy Billy Porter into his vibrant portrayal of the voice of the village oral tradition.

The plot to drown Massassi is complicated by the fact that the river is inhabited by river spirits. In the most visually and aurally stunning scene in the play, we see Massassi being welcomed by the spirits, accompanied by a soaring Gospel rendition by Carla R. Stewart as The Voice of the River.

The Drowning Scene
"If Pretty Hurts. . ."
by Tori Sampson
at Playwrights Horizons
Through April 5

There is a scene that closes the play that shows one of the girls sitting at a makeup table applying beauty products while gazing in a mirror. Ms. Sampson is offering this play as a mirror to prompt us to take a look at ourselves and at our culture's preoccupation with surface beauty while ignoring deeper values. While this play is not perfect and could use some judicious cutting, it is a compelling examination of a contemporary issue that rightly has caught the eye of a number of  playwrights.

The cast is well directed by Leah C. Gardiner. The shimmering Scenic Design is by Louisa Thompson, Costumes by Dede Ayite, Lighting by Matt Frey. Original Music and Sound Design are by Ian Scot.

The play run at Playwrights Horizons through April 5th, and is worthy of your patronage and consideration.

Enjoy!

Al

A Jewish Joke - A Play by Marni Freedman and Phil Johnson - McArthyism Was No Laughing Matter

Phil Johnson as Bernie Lutz
"A Jewish Joke"
by Marni Freedman and Phil Johnson
The Roustabouts Theatre
Theatre Row

The Roustabouts Theatre production of "A Jewish Joke" is a serious exploration of the invidiousness of the the Hollywood Blacklist during the McCarthy anti-Communist hysteria. We see the destructive results of the witch hunt through the eyes and voice of a screen writer, Bernie Lutz, played in a tour de force performance by the amazing Phil Johnson. Mr. Johnson co-wrote the script of "A Jewish Joke" with Marni Freedman.

In the course of an hour and a half, we get to see Bernie travel a painful arc, from euphoria to despair. The play is set on the eve of the Premiere of a film that Bernie wrote with his partner, Morris Frumsky, who is notably absent. The action transpires in Bernie and Morris's writer's bungalow on the MGM lot in 1950. As Bernie awaits the arrival of Morris - a la"Waiting for Godot" - he handles an avalanche of incoming phone calls, each of which leads him deeper into the realization that he and Morris are the targets of an investigation into Communists in Hollywood.

When the pressure on Bernie gets too great, he injects comic relief by pulling an index card from his desk and reading a standard Jewish joke in an aside to the audience. It is an ever-present reminder that humor, and especially Jewish humor, almost always is birthed in tragedy, As the reality of the situation becomes clear, Bernie faces a moral dilemma. The FBI offers him a chance to save himself by implicating Morris. As he wrestles with this crisis, we see Bernie slowly emerge as a mensch from the chrysalis of a schlemiel. Under the fine direction of David Ellenstein, Mr. Johnson gives a memorable performance that is no joke.

Phil Johnson as Bernie Lutz
"A Jewish Joke" 
by Marni Freedman and Phil Johnson
The Roustabouts Theatre
Theatre Row

Costume Design is by Jordyn Smiley and Peter Herman and Sound Design by Matt Lescault-Wood.  The play can be seen - and should be seen- at Theatre Row on West 42rd Street.

Enjoy!

Al

"The House of Medici" by Christopher Hibbert - Insights Into Renaissance Florence and Beyond

Previously, I reviewed the book "The Medici Effect" by Frans Johansson.  In his work on innovation, Frans uses the Medici family of Renaissance Florence as template for the kind of enabling patronage that draws together talent from a variety disciplines, arts and sciences - with the ultimate impact of empowering extraordinary levels of creativity and innovation.

As I read Johansson's book, I was struck by the fact that I knew precious little of the history of the Medici and the story behind them emerging as the greatest patrons of the arts the world has ever known.  Despite the fact that I have visited Florence, Italy, I still felt that my knowledge of that world needed to be enhanced.  As someone who often alludes to Renaissance Men, I felt that it behooved me to learn more about the time and place that spawned the first generation of prototype Renaissance Men - Leonardo, Michelangelo and their ilk.

A quick Google search led me to Christopher Hibbert's classic book on the history of the Medici - "The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall."  Hibbert does a nice job of leading the reader through a Grand Tour of several generations of the Medici - bankers to the Papacy who investments a large portion of their largesse in supporting artists and scholars of many stripes.  A nice set of end notes provides a parallel tour through the architectural history of all of the sites mentioned in the body of the text.

While I will not take the time for a full review here, I do want to share some insight that I gleaned early in the book that shed important light on how Florence emerged as the haven for genius that turned it into the magnet that it remains today for people who want to experience the glory of its Golden Age.

In 1438, Cosimo Medici arranged for a Council to be convened in Florence that would attempt to repair the breech between the Roman Church and the Orthodox Church centered in Constantinople.  The Council ultimately failed to bridge that theological chasm, but had more salubrious effects on the reputation of Florence as a center for the arts and scholarship.

"Yet for Florence, as Cosimo had foreseen, the Council had happier consequences.  As well as profiting the trade of the city, it was an important influence on what was already being spoken of as the Rinascimento ["Renaissance"].  The presence of so many Greek scholars in Florence provided an incalculable stimulus to the quickening interest in classical texts and classical history, in classical art and philosophy, and particularly in the study of Plato, the great hero of the humanists, for so long overshadowed by his pupil, Aristotle." (Page 68)

This book helped me to fill in some missing pieces in my understanding of how the Renaissance emerged from the Dark Ages that had beclouded and adumbrated Europe for so many centuries.  I recommend it as a useful resource for those, who like me, are not serious students of history, but who desire to know more than "the average bear" about the intellectual history of Western Civilization.

Enjoy.

Al