Remember the Women Institute’s event at the JCC as Yom HaShoah Concluded
Remember the Women Institute presented our annual Yom HaShoah Women, Theater, and the Holocaust event at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, Amsterdam Avenue at 76th Street, at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. This year we again offered an inspiring evening using theater to enrich the audience’s understanding about women’s experiences during the Holocaust. Performances included excerpts from an off-Broadway play with the original starring actor and the premieres of three short plays:
- Excerpts from Hannah Senesh, a play about the young poet from British Mandate pre-Israel who parachuted into Hungary on a rescue mission during the Holocaust, written and directed by David Schechter, performed by Jennifer Apple, who starred in the recent Folksbiene off-Broadway production.
- Pour Out Your Blessings, about keeping one’s faith while in Sommerda forced labor camp, a short play written and directed by Jessica Feder-Birnbaum and performed by actors Amy Erlanger and Eve Sorel.
- Chava & Zenia, adapted and directed by Dr. Meghan Brodie, from an important new book of decades of letters between two life-long friends and survivors, Letters from the Afterlife, edited by Goldie Morgentaler. Dr. Brodie’s Ursinus College students, Calista Baechtold, Mel Petro, and Laisha Torres performed, with Anna Cisler as dramaturg.
- Eye Witness, written by Cynthia L. Cooper, a short play about an artist-survivor in Mexico, and her unusual interaction with an interviewer, with Jessica Bauman directing and performances by Lynda Sturner and Julie Voshell.
The performances were followed by a talk-back among the playwrights and directors, as well as a reception.
The evening was part of the National Jewish Theater Foundation’s Remembrance Readings. Co-sponsors for the event were Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, National Jewish Theater Foundation, and Jewish Theatre Circle. Patti Askwith Kenner provided a generous grant to Remember the Women Institute for this event.
Highlights of the event, photographed by Jeff French Segall.
Rabbi Yael Rapport, Director of Special Initiatives, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, greeted the audience.
Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel, Founding Executive Director of Remember the Women Institute, made opening remarks.
Jennifer Apple as Hannah Senesh in David Schechter’s Hannah Senesh.
Amy Erlanger (l.) as Dita and Eve Sorel as Klari in Jessica Feder-Birnbaum’s Pour Out Your Blessings.
(l. to r.) Calista Baechtold as the narrator, Mel Petro as Chava Rosenfarb, and Laisha Torres as Zenia Larsson in Dr. Meghan Brodie’s adaptation of Chava & Zenia.
Dr. Meghan Brodie, left, introduces her students in Chava & Zenia.
Lynda Sturner (l.) as Buba and Julie Voshell as Yana in Cynthia L. Cooper’s Eye Witness.
The talk-back with playwrights and directors, (left to right) Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel, David Schechter, Jessica Feder-Birnbaum, Dr. Meghan Brodie, Cynthia L. Cooper, and Jessica Bauman.
Participants in the program (left to right): Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel, David Schechter, Jessica Feder-Birnbaum, Jennifer Apple, Cynthia L. Cooper, Julie Voshell, Amy Erlanger, Jessica Bauman, Dr. Meghan Brodie, Lynda Sturner, Mel Petro, Calista Baechtold, Laisha Torres, Anna Cisler, and Eve Sorel.
Patti Askwith Kenner (l.) and Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel.
