BELLA'S DREAM, a new play with dance written and choreographed by Dana Boll, follows the true life story of Bella and Raymond Boll (the playwright's paternal grandparents), who heeding the advice of a dream, left their home in Poland, weeks before the Nazis invasion. Directed by Jessica Ammirati BELLA'S DREAM begins performances June 16 prior to an official press opening of June 18 at the Flamboyan Theater located at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center (107 Suffolk Street) in Manhattan.
Inspired by the author's grandparents' real-life story, BELLA'S DREAM tells the tale of a newlywed couple in 1939 Poland, Bella and Raymond, who are warned in the wife's dream to leave the only home they have ever known. While on the run, they find themselves traveling thousands of miles, through the wilds of Siberia to the deserts of Uzbekistan, meeting Eskimos, Gypsies, prisoners and refugees along the way. BELLA'S DREAM interweaves scenes from Bella and Raymond's journey with present day experiences of their son, Ronny, who, in the parking lot of a Florida supermarket, confronts the anti-Semitism his parents tried to escape so many years ago.The play's supermarket setting highlights the importance of food in wartime, the commodification of people then and now, and parallels the chance encounters of strangers in town market squares and the modern marketplace. A series of post-show talk backs with the cast and creators of BELLA'S DREAM will be held following the 2pm matinees.Videos