Tovah Feldshuh Recreates GOLDA'S BALCONY Performance for Bristol Riverside Theatre's Jewish Theatre Festival, 4/25

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents a one-day Jewish Theatre Festival, in partnership with Theatre Ariel on Sunday, April 25. Highlights of the Festival, which will explore the contemporary Jewish experience as seen by Jewish performing artists, will be Tovah Feldshuh recreating her award-winning performance in Golda's Balcony and the only area performance of the Multi-Cultural Theatre Of the Galilee performing Sofia's Drawings. In addition to a special performance of The 10 Imaginings of Sarah and Hagar by Theatre Ariel, there will also be an exhibit of the history of Jewish theater as well as smaller, family-oriented programming.

"We are delighted to be filling a void in Bucks County by offering this culturally-specific arts festival to the community," said Bristol Riverside Theatre Founding Director Susan Atkinson.
Golda's Balcony by William Gibson follows the trajectory of the life of Golda Meir, from Russian immigrant to American schoolteacher to a leader in international politics as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Tovah Feldshuh, who won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and was nominated for the Tony Award, made Golda's Balcony the longest-running one-woman show on Broadway.

The Multi-Cultural Theatre Of Galilee is comprised of actors, musicians, artists, environmentalists and human rights activists, representing the diverse population of Jews and Arabs from the Galilee region in Israel. Presenting a unique visual theater incorporating objects, puppets and their bodies, they utilize non-verbal forms of communication so that language is not an obstacle. Sofia's Drawings, winner of the First Prize for Best Play and Music at Haifa's InterNational Theatre Festival, is based on a series of drawings by Sofia, a 16-year old girl, made while hiding in Holland from the Nazis. Sofia was the daughter of Clara Asscher-Pinkhof, a known children's author. Before Clara was sent to the concentration camps and Sofia when into hiding, they published a series of children's stories, written by Clara and illustrated by Sofia, in the weekly Jewish newspaper in Amsterdam. Efrat Hadani, Sofia's daughter, acts in the play and relates her mother and grandmother's story.

Theatre Ariel's original production of The 10 Imaginings of Sarah and Hagar explores themes of womanhood, family and community, both ancient and contemporary. Founded in 1990, Theatre Ariel remains Philadelphia's only professional theater dedicated exclusively to exploring the Jewish experience. With a commitment to regional and world premieres of new Jewish plays, Theatre Ariel has commissioned and produced 48 new works. The three-year success of Theatre Ariel's Ten-Minute Play Festival, resulting in thirty ten-minute plays, has served as a model for similar festivals at several theaters in the United States, Canada and Israel. The company's touring productions, which often use improvisation and socio-drama to explore Jewish identity, has brought new works of Jewish content to traditional and non-traditional performance venues, schools, synagogues, community centers, churches, conferences and museums.

Tickets to Golda's Balcony beginning at 7:00 PM range from $60-$150. Daytime passes for all other events are $20. All tickets are available by calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100 or visiting brtstage.org. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA. Tickets will go on sale February 15.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 50 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts. Currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker, Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, and Managing Director, Amy Kaissar, BRT enters its 23rd season. For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.

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