2008 SEASON: Idealism vs. Reality
Click here to for a PDF of our 2008 Season Brochure
GOLDA'S BALCONY
Written by William Gibson
Directed by Len Robinson and Terri Hefron
Show Dates: January 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 2008
William Gibson, author of The Miracle Worker, has written another incredible play about another extraordinary woman. "I am at the end of my stories" are the first words uttered in Golda's Balcony, and they are as dramatically profound as they are rhetorically inaccurate. Gibson's play is bursting with stories and history and bound together with the type of smoldering life force that separates truly powerful drama from merely fine words on a page. Golda's Balcony portrays Golda Meir during the early days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. As Golda reflects upon her life amidst a barrage of phone calls, crises, and political posturing, she is contemplating an earth shattering decision — whether to use nuclear weapons against her enemies. The play revolves around the question of what happens when an idealist gains power. Come see this remarkable one-woman show in the intimate setting of Spectrum Theater's second floor Black Box Theatre.
STEAMSHIP QUANZA
Written by Susan Lieberman and Stephen J.
Morewitz
Directed by Don Rice
Show Dates: April 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 2008*
*Dates for this production do not follow our normal show schedules.
Inspired by a true WW-II incident, Steamship Quanza portrays the collision of three worlds during 1940: a Virginia husband and wife lawyer team and their son, the passengers of the S.S. Quanza and the U.S. Government. The S.S. Quanza is fleeing Hitler's Europe bound for Mexico while Eleanor Roosevelt and the Secretary of State are battling over granting emergency visas to war refugees. When the ship arrives, all the passengers are allowed to disembark except the 82 Jews on board. As the S.S. Quanza returns to war torn Europe, it stops over in Hampton Roads, VA, to refuel. There the Jewish husband-wife lawyer team, alerted to the situation by one of the Jewish passengers, rush to save their lives. You won't want to miss this compelling drama that captures the plight of this family and the S.S. Quanza's refugees.
SHMULNIK'S WALTZ
Written by Allan Knee
Directed by Lisa Nowak
Show Dates: June 12, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 2008
Allan Knee's romantic comedy, Shmulnik's Waltz, is the Jewish version of Cyrano de Bergerac. Shmulnik is a poor Russian Jew who falls in love with the beautiful and wealthy Rachel, but is scorned by her father. He writes a waltz for her which he sings at her window every night, much to the distress of her family. Rachel's family emigrates to America and Shmulnik follows, but he gets on the wrong boat and is halfway to China before he realizes his mistake. Finally, he gets to San Francisco and works his way across the country to New York City – only to find that his beloved is engaged. Shmulnik ends up ghost-writing love letters to Rachel for his rival and in the process discovers that love and life are not always as they appear. Enjoy this whimsical tale, told with "yiddish" flair.
