return

YR Theaterworks Presentation of
Kindertransport a Huge Success

With a departure from its usual comedic productions, Yeshivat Rambam Theaterworks, under the professional direction of the talented Mr. Gavriel Lewin, presented a poignant Holocaust drama.  Kindertransport, which tells the story of Evelyn (senior, Kayla Prince), a British woman who has hidden her true Jewish identity from her daughter, Faith (freshman, Chavie Sharfman), who discovers her mother's secret and yearns to search for her missing roots, and Eva (freshman, Brooke Prince), the nine-year-old Jewish child from German, that Evelyn used to be.

The story of young Eva runs concurrently with the story of the adult Evelyn, as a flashback tale.  Eva's mother, Helga (senior, Lauren Schuster), sends her away from the atrocities of Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport, in which 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish children escaped from Nazi Germany on trains headed for the safety of England.

Eva is adopted by an Englishwoman, Lil Miller (senior, Shana Siegel) and slowly adapts to the idea that her parents will not be joining her, as they are probably dead. Eva, being raised in a Christian household, abandons her Judaism, and clings to her new identity as Evelyn.  When Eva (Evelyn) is seventeen, her natural mother, Helga, who has survived the infernos of Auschwitz arrives in England to redeem her, but is rebuffed by Eva (Evelyn) and sent away.

This story is a sad commentary of the Holocaust, as even though Eva was saved physically, her Jewish soul was spiritually decimated.

The talented cast all gave superb dramatic performances. They were so moving in their roles that it was hard to find a dry eye in the house. Amazing cameo appearances were made by Freshman Tuvia Miller (Nazi Officer) and Sophomore Itamar Gnatt (The Ratcatcher), and extremely amusing appearances by Juniors Alex Porcelain (English Organizer), Sam Allen (Station Guard) and Yitzy Schleifer (Postman).

Thank You to Mrs. Renee Siegel (producer) and the behind-the-scenes crew: Maddy List (assistant director), Leora Roshgadol (stage manager), Shana Burstyn and Shoshana Kreymer (costumes), Shayna Minkoff (makeup and hair services), and Mickey Lebovic, Ben Schwartz and Zach Schwartz (stage crew), without whose expertise we would not have had such a successful performance.

return