Readings of four short plays by women writers will recognize Yam HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, in an event to be presented by Remember the Women Institute on April 24, 2025 at 7 pm. The event, Women, Theater and the Holocaust, will be at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.
The four plays included in the program show the breadth and depth of women’s theatrical writing about the Holocaust, connecting in real and imaginative terms the resounding effects of experiences of resisters, victims, survivors, and family members.
The theatrical program is presented by Remember the Women Institute, a nonprofit headed by Executive Director Dr. Rochelle Saidel. The organization conducts and encourages research and cultural activities that advance the inclusion of women in history, with special emphasis on the Holocaust. This is the tenth anniversary of Remember the Women Institute’s Women, Theater, and the Holocaust Yom HaShoah Program.
The play readings include:
How To Live, (excerpt) by Mindy Pfeffer, which follows the tense encounters of a woman psychiatrist and a patient, both Polish and both harboring searing Holocaust memories. Directed by Illana Stein, the play is performed by James Hallett and Mindy Pfeffer;
As Happy as God in France (excerpt) by the British-based playwright Julia Pascal creates an imaginary scene in which highly-regarded women from the Holocaust era interrogate the morality of a woman’s actions in a concentration camp. The play is directed by Dr. Meghan Brodie and performed by Calista Baechtold, Sophia Bush, Evan Chartock, Gianna Daiuto, Mel Petro, Tovah Tolub, and Annie Zulick;
Powerless by Dana Leslie Goldstein is the surrealistic tale of generational grief and a Holocaust survivor who is able to use transference to keep his memories alive. Directed Robert Bruce McIntosh, the play is performed by Sarah Guilbault, Jacob Harran, and Leslie Kincaid;
The Courier: Based on a True Story by Cynthia L. Cooper is about women in the resistance and the story behind the story of a celebrity-driven Hollywood movie. The play is directed by Melanie Sutherland and performed by Ivy Austin and Jimmy Georgiades.
The plays are followed by a talkback with the creative artists and a reception.
Remember the Women Institute will also launch the sixth edition of its interactive on-line publication, Women, Theater, and the Holocaust Resource Handbook, a guide to plays by and about women and the Holocaust, written and edited by Rochelle G. Saidel, Karen Shulman, and Bess Wadler. The publication is available for free at rememberwomen.org.
This event is presented by Remember the Women Institute with partners the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, National Jewish Theater Foundation, Jewish Theatre Circle of NYC, and the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, and support from Patti Askwith Kenner and the Five Millers Family Foundation. The evening is part of the National Jewish Theater Foundation/Holocaust Theater International Initiative Remembrance Readings.
Tickets for Women, Theater and the Holocaust ($10 in advance, $15 at the door) may be purchased from the JCC at this link: https://tinyurl.com/h6zs4yhv.