20
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010
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THE JUSTICE
THEATER
Audience spellbound at Tymp’s ‘Bee’ ■ Tympanium Euphorium’s
production of the Broadway musical provided a charming return to grade school. By HANNAH LEVINGER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The spelling bee has never been funnier. Tympanium Euphorium’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was a complete riot from start to finish. The plot is simple enough—six elementary school students from all over Putnam County gather in a gymnasium to battle for the title of County Spelling Champion—but the combination of a great script, hilarious acting, beautiful singing and superb directing made the show a phenomenon that should not have been missed. Alex Davidson ’10 made his University Theatre Company directing debut with Spelling Bee. In his director’s note, he mentioned how important it is for him to have fun and excitement in theater, and he made that quite evident in his directing. The production seemed effortless and well-rehearsed, making it a joy to watch. The entire production fit together perfectly, and a good deal of that had to do with the skill of the musical direction. Mindy Cimini ’12 was both the musical director and the pianist for the show. The musicians were able to support the action onstage without ever detracting from it. The performance was clean and blended beautifully with the voices of the actors. This was a highly talented cast of actors and singers. The actors were able to pass beyond acting and actually become the characters. All of the 20-or-so-year-old actors were completely believable as elementary school-aged children. In one case, it may have been slightly overdone: Julie Stein’s ’11 character had an overpowering lisp that made it difficult to understand her when she spoke, even though that may have been the intention. Nick Maletta’s ’13 song “Prayer of the Comfort Counselor” was a stunning song with every note piercing the heart of the audience. Adam Levine ’11 sang about the embarrassment of having an uncontrollable erection in the
song “Chip’s Lament (My Unfortunate Erection).” He sang with realistic emotion and had everyone watching feeling his pain. I would say that the stand-out acting job of the performance was that of Jeremy Weinberg ’12. He played a homeschooled child named Leaf, and every single movement he made while onstage intensified the depth of his character. One of the amazing aspects of the play was watching the actors change roles. Many of them played multiple and varied parts. Maletta and Weinberg slid seamlessly between playing their main roles and portraying two flamboyant gay men, while Levine made a brief appearance as Jesus. This use of doubling, and the fact that it was done so well, made it obvious how talented the actors were. These abrupt appearances kept the audience perpetually on the edge of their seats. Another great aspect of the play was the audience participation. Four members of the audience at every performance were pulled onto stage to participate as the additional spelling bee contestants. For the performance on Sunday at 2 p.m., the audience members were Prof. Harry Coiner (ECON), Carly Saada (a nineyear-old), Josh Basseches ’12 and Melanie Steinhardt ’13. The actors onstage were able to improvise around all of the audience members. Herbie Rosen ’12, playing Vice Principal Douglas Panch, did a great job at making sassy comments off the cuff at Prof. Coiner, and economist jokes abounded. The set on which the actors stood was simple yet evocative. Although sparse with only a set of bleachers, a judging table and a chair for the Comfort Counselor, it had the essential set pieces to make it clear that the play took place in a school gymnasium without adding visual distractions. In addition, there were little details on the walls of the auditorium that added to the elementary school ambience, like posters of art projects from a fourth grade class and juvenile science projects. In my opinion, the play was a complete success. The directing of both actors and music coupled with an enthusiastic cast made every moment of the production a pleasure. I have rarely laughed that hard in my life, especially at something as trivial as a simple spelling bee.
ASHER KRELL/the Justice
LETTER LOVER: Julie Stein ’11 played Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere in ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.’
ART
Clashing identities connect in Klionsky’s art ■ Two Brandeis professors
discussed Marc Klionsky’s work, which explores Jewish experiences in Russia. By REBECCA BLADY JUSTICE EDITOR
Julian Olidort ’11 coordinated a marvelous interdisciplinary presentation sponsored by the Brandeis Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry Sunday, April 18 titled “Painting the Face of Russian Jewry: The Art and Journey of Marc Klionsky.” The event featured his own grandfather, who created the mesmerizing, emotional paintings on display in Rapaporte Treasure Hall for the evening. Klionsky’s presence in the room allowed for a wonderful degree of interaction between Olidort’s family and the Brandeis professors serving as presenters, giving the audience an insight into the affectionate relationship between Olidort and his grandfather, rooted in the dark history of the Holocaust yet strengthened by divine blessing and unswerving love. With a beaming smile, Olidort, the evening’s master of ceremonies, began by introducing his grandfather, Marc Klionsky, who lived in Minsk, Belarus, at the time of World War II. Led by his father, Klionsky journeyed east with 200 fellow Jews and ended up alone in a city the Germans never reached. He found work
painting advertisements for movies and designing costumes for the theater and later studied at the National Academy of Fine Art in Leningrad, Russia. This, however, marked only the beginning of his career. The youngest artist ever exhibited at the Tretiakov National Gallery in Moscow, Klionsky painted works that reached exhibits throughout the Soviet Union, Europe, Israel, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and became world-renowned for his portraits. The event featured speakers Profs. Antony Polonsky (NEJS) and Nancy Scott (FA). In an astoundingly rich address, Polonsky discussed the Russian-Jewish immigration experience. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, nearly two million Soviet Jews began to immigrate to America and Palestine, bringing along experience in a socialist mindset. This set Russian Jews apart until the struggle for a Jewish state united Jews around the world. A cultural gap remains, Polonsky said, but Jews should focus on bridging it. “We are all part of Am Yisrael [the nation of Israel],” Polonsky concluded. Scott gave a fascinating lecture about Klionsky’s art, drawing upon the extraordinary impact that the pain and difficulty of immigration tends to have on creative expression. Scott focused on art created in the United States, as much of Klionsky’s work from his pre-New York era was lost or left behind in Europe. Among the most outstanding pieces presented was his 1975 surrealist paint-
ing Exodus, which displays a man’s face split in two with a woman’s body rising out, arms outstretched, with angel-like figures soaring out of her chest in a depiction of freedom of the unconscious mind. Scott also displayed Klionsky’s portrait of Golda Meir, painted on his first trip to Israel in 1976, and his 1995 portrait of Elie Wiesel, currently owned by Bar Ilan University in Israel. “What am I? Am I Russian? Am I American? Am I a Jew?” Olidort asked as he reflected on what inspired him to organize the program. “This, to me, was a chance to explore my personal identity through my personal background, and I thought my grandfather’s artwork would be an appropriate place to start.” “There’s a special atmosphere here,” Klionsky told the Justice. “It’s nice because there is [a combination of] art and Jewish feeling.” Klionsky’s wife, Irina, underscored the special role that Olidort’s family history plays in his life and the significance of the event to his family. “He understood very well what’s going on in his grandmother’s and grandfather’s head. … It was very, very important to us that he did this.” “It’s also very important for me to bring my grandfather to my generation, to let him see what is today’s youth and also the Russian Jewish youth, which had a very strong contingency here tonight,” Olidort said. “So I was happy that he had that— and my grandma as well—to see where I am. I see where he’s coming from, and he sees where I’m going.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIAN OLIDORT
SPLIT SELF: Marc Klionsky’s 1975 painting “Exodus” was one of many shown at Sunday’s event, where Profs. Antony Polonsky (NEJS) and Nancy Scott (FA) spoke.