The Mother - 1939 - Broadway Articles Page 18

Christian by Disguise - A Tale of Survival by Erna Kamerman Perry Book-Signing To Be Held at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Aug. 3-4, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Erna Kamerman was just three years old in 1939 when war broke out and came crashing through the door of her native Poland, disrupting and forever changing her life and that of her family. Despite the trauma suffered at such a tender age, she vividly recalls her experiences of moving to a Jewish ghetto, hiding from the Nazis and escaping with her mother through the night to live another day. She shares her early memories of being a Jewish child in war-torn Europe in an engrossing new book, Christian by Disguise - A Tale of Survival. 'Life kept me busy and I buried the memory of that time fairly deep,' said Erna Kamerman Perry, 78, from her home in Delray Beach, Fla. 'But years have passed and those who have experienced the Holocaust are disappearing. Death is no longer something far on the horizon but a frequent visitor to many around me. And so, it seems that I must take the chance of telling my story, a story that was a part of the horror my people experienced,' she added. Because of the foresight of her parents who had young Erna learn Christian prayers while in hiding, she managed to lie and convince soldiers in a train station that she was a Polish Christian girl by reciting her prayers. She escaped with her mother to live in a rectory and convent, where her mother worked as a slave laborer. They remained there, disguised as Christians, through the rest of the war. Christian by Disguise relates her harrowing ordeals of suffering hunger, living with fear and losing most of her family. It's a true tale of survival, overcoming adversity and ultimate resilience. While numerous books exist about the Holocaust, there is nothing quite like Christian by Disguise. More than 70 years have passed since that formative event in the train station, yet Erna's memories about her early experiences are just as sharp and vivid as if they happened recently. Erna writes in everyday language, making the book accessible for all ages - including younger readers. Librarians and educators can add a whole new dimension to their history lessons by adding Christian by Disguise as a teaching tool. The book is available in paperback and Kindle online at Amazon.com and for Nook e-reader at BarnesandNoble.com. According to Erna, who will sign copies of her book at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum this August, 'I have no illusions that another thread in the weave of the narratives about the Holocaust will make any difference: The deniers of it will keep denying, the haters will keep hating, genocides will keep occurring. I only want my children, my (few) relatives, my friends, and those readers interested in the historical horrors of the 20th century to know that once there was a little girl who, through no fault of her own, had to lie and pretend so she could live to see another day.' About Author Erna Kamerman Perry: A retired professor of Romance languages, Erna Kamerman Perry, 78, started writing her memoirs in 2013. Born in Poland, she came to the United States via Italy in 1951, and settled in Detroit, Mich., where she attended and graduated high school. She received a scholarship to Wayne State University, where she majored in Romance languages, ultimately receiving both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Gifted with languages, Mrs. Perry speaks Polish, English, Italian, Spanish, German and a little Russian. She taught Spanish and Italian part-time while her two children were growing up and began writing textbooks with her husband, John, in 1972, which she continues to do. Their Contemporary Society text book is in its 14th edition. She and her husband currently reside in Delray Beach, Fla. Christian By Disguise - A Tale of Survival by Erna Kamerman Perry, © 2014, ComteQ Publishing, Paperback, ISBN:978-1-935232-78-0, 122 pages.

The cast will depart on July 25 to rehearse with Artistic Director Andrzej Dziuk, for a production that will premiere at the Teatr Witkacy, before we bring it home for a Chicago production that will open our season on September 25th!

Dear Bookworks Bookworm, I read a book this month that I had every intention of liking, but didn't. It had a story line that interested me but the characters were one dimensional and flat and the writing that was not worth writing home about. Rather than review a book that disappoints, I decided to review a movie that I had just seen with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche, Words and Pictures. This is a movie well worth the ticket price. It is always a pleasure seeing a movie where actors do what they should be doing best, acting and where writers are doing what they should be doing best, writing.

The Pear Avenue Theatre's closing production of its 13th season celebrates the 100th anniversary of a classic play from one of our most revered and beloved playwrights, George Bernard Shaw. Written in 1912, Pygmalion premiered on the London stage in April, 2014, and became an instant hit for Shaw and his leading lady, Stella Campbell, in the role of Eliza. Audiences for the last century have enjoyed this timeless tale of an East End flower girl and her West End phonetics tutor. Pear veteran actor and director Michael Champlin helms the production, which runs today, June 20 through July 13, 2014 (no performance on July 4th).

The Philadelphia Story, on stage at the Shaw Festival, takes the audience back to 1939, to the wealthy who have survived the Great Depression. Survived? It looks like they flourished! The audience applauds the luxurious set as the curtain is raised. Everything is gold, silver and white - a lavish grand piano and gold satin cushions in a room piled high with elegantly wrapped wedding gifts.

CHICO AND THE GYPSIES, legends in their native France and multi-platinum recording artists around the world, are to make their long awaited UK concert debut on November 30th with a special one-off show at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

They love, they fight, they make up, they care for each other - it's a marriage. The award winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company presents "The First Fifty Years," a dramatic-comedy that shows the ups and downs of a marriage in seven scenes, each during a pivotal anniversary. Beginning right after their honeymoon in 1872, seven years after the end of the Civil War, the play marks the lives of Anne and Martin Wells up to their golden anniversary at the beginning of the Roaring '20s, in 1922.

The Pear Avenue Theatre's closing production of its 13th season celebrates the 100th anniversary of a classic play from one of our most revered and beloved playwrights, George Bernard Shaw. Written in 1912, Pygmalion premiered on the London stage in April, 2014, and became an instant hit for Shaw and his leading lady, Stella Campbell, in the role of Eliza. Audiences for the last century have enjoyed this timeless tale of an East End flower girl and her West End phonetics tutor. Pear veteran actor and director Michael Champlin helms the production, which runs June 20 through July 13, 2014 (no performance on July 4th).

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ Anne Steinberg recently published the kindle version of Manroot, a paranormal romance novel, on Amazon. Manroot is the evocative and stirring story of a lonely town in Missouri, and a young woman named Katherine who discovers a mystical side to herself that she'd never known existed.In the spring of 1939, Katherine Sheahan and her father, Jesse, are looking for work in the isolated tourist town of Castlewood. Jesse gets a job as handyman and Katherine as a maid at a small hotel. Jesse drinks and neglects his work and eventually disappears, abandoning his daughter. Frieda Broom, the hotel Manager, takes Katherine under her wing, and teaches her about ginseng, the manroot, and other secrets of the foothills. Katherine discovers that she is a natural healer and has the ability to communicate with spirits, a gift she inherited from her Navajo Indian mother.

odman Theatre announces that a new production of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, Tony Award-winning playwright, screenwriter and author and Academy Award nominee, completes its 90th Anniversary 'Season to Celebrate.' Goodman Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper directs the 1939 classic American Southern drama that 'could not be more timely, as the play's social skewering remains satisfyingly fresh' (Los Angeles Times). The Little Foxes is slated to appear today, May 2 - June 7, 2015 as the fourth production in the 2014/2015 Season, followed by Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which runs June 20 - July 26, 2015.

Goodman Theatre announces that a new production of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, Tony Award-winning playwright, screenwriter and author and Academy Award nominee, completes its 90th Anniversary 'Season to Celebrate.' Goodman Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper directs the 1939 classic American Southern drama that 'could not be more timely, as the play's social skewering remains satisfyingly fresh' (Los Angeles Times). The Little Foxes is slated to appear May 2 - June 7, 2015 as the fourth production in the 2014/2015 Season, followed by Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which runs June 20 - July 26, 2015.

Australia

Peabody, Mass.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Hold onto your hats! Shows beginning in late April include 'Avenue Q,' 'Ragtime,' 'Juno,' 'Hey! Dancin'! Hey! Musical!,' 'How To Succeed...,' 'Hair,' 'The Sound Of Music,' 'Motown' and 'The Wizard Of Oz!' AMAZING! Plus news from The Second City, the Goodman, that JCS arena tour, a 2015 'Little Shop' and the return of the Mormons! Whew!

The Last Act of Lilka Kadison/by Nicola Behrman, David Kersnar, Abbie Phillips, Heidi Stillman, Andrew White/directed by Dan Bonnell/Falcon Theatre, produced in association with the Lookingglass Theatre Company*/through April 19

In the late '70s, Vivian Reed captured a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award for her work in the Broadway musical Bubbling Brown Sugar, and although Reed has delivered some critically-acclaimed work in the many years since (a Tony nomination for the 1992 musical The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club and a star turn in the revue Three Mo' Divas), during the last decade she had gone and stayed away too long, mainly to take care of her ailing mother. Last November, she dipped a toe in the New York nightclub waters, producing a one-night show at 54 Below that was highly praised and offered hints of great things to come. But this past Monday night—the first of what will ultimately be a four-show run of “An Evening With Vivian Reed” (the next three dates are April 14, May 20 and June 19)—this performing powerhouse established her return in earnest. With Reed's still expressive voice tackling musical genres ranging from R & B to Jazz to Great American Songbook standards to Gospel (even a dash of Opera), her electric and passionate show was cabaret/nightclub performing as revival meeting in more ways than one. Reed is not only reviving her singing career, she is inspiring impassioned converts at the same time.

San Francisco Playhouse presents the world premiere commission of Bauer by Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson.

On the red carpet, the siblings shared how thrilled they were with the tribute to their mother.

In no time at all, Houstonians will be able to click their heels and follow the yellow brick road to The Hobby Center to see TUTS' presentation of the National Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WIZARD OZ. In anticipation of the musical landing in Houston, I spoke with Jacquelyn Piro Donovan who plays Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch of the West about the show and her career.

Quilting is truly an art form, and though a lot of the quilts made over the years were made strictly out of necessity, a lot of them now hang in art museums. Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder uses this fact to tell the story of the Pettway women from Gee's Bend, Alabama. Now, if you're thinking that quilting is all this play is about, you'd be mistaken. It's certainly a part of the picture, but Wilder let's us view the family as they age and confront the changes that occur to them against the backdrop of our history. GEE'S BEND is a fascinating piece that's deserving of your time and attention, and Mustard Seed Theatre has put together a very fine production.

Roland Hayes, Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson. While Robeson and Anderson are probably names that many Americans can identify, Hayes probably is not.

San Francisco Playhouse presents the world premiere commission of Bauer by Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson.

The critically acclaimed Brits Off Broadway festival, host to the UK's most innovative and provocative theater in New York City, returns for its 9th season of New York premieres of new British theater. Presented by 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), Brits Off Broadway launches on Tuesday, April 1 and runs through Sunday, June 29. The single ticket prices range from $25 - $70 ($17.50 - $49 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to Brits Off Broadway go on sale on February 28, with a special pre-sale for 59E59 Members beginning February 21. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. For more information on Brits Off Broadway, visit www.59E59.org or www.britsoffbroadway.com.

San Francisco Playhouse presents the world premiere commission of Bauer by Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson.

Publishers Newswire (PNW), an online resource established in 2004 for small publishers, as well as lesser known and first-time book authors, today announced its latest semi-annual 'Books to Bookmark' round-up. This list of 21 new books is from the second half of 2013 which may have been missed due to not originating from major New York book publishers, or 'big name' authors.