Headlines Zionts: Continued from page 3
“Fiddler on the Roof.” “I literally went every night with a defibrillator under my feet,” Nancy remembered. “I thought it was a good insurance policy to have with me.” Becky Toth was in the orchestra during that production. She later cast the actor in “Urinetown” at Stage 62. “Leon had this innate ability to not only bask in the love others had for him in a way I would be uncomfortable with, but he could accept it and would return that love tenfold,” Toth recalled. “He was able to give it back. That’s the legacy that anyone that worked with him will remember.” They’ll also remember his commitment. “He and Nancy were always there,” Toth said. “You never felt like you owed them anything. Leon was just there for you. He always looked out for the needs of everyone around him.” Zionts began producing musicals with Bruce E.G. Smith in 2008, forming the botique musical theater production company Front Porch Theatricals. Nancy joined the company in 2014.
“We became producers,” Smith said. “We always joked about the musical ‘The Producers.’ He wanted to be in the image of Max Bialystock and I was Leo Bloom.” They staged productions of popular, wellknown shows like “In the Heights,” “Parade” and “Big Fish.” “The heart and soul of the company is Leon and that will never be replaced,” Smith said. While not all of the musicals they produced had Jewish content, “they’ve always been stories about character and family and social justice,” Nancy said. “Social justice was always an important part of Leon — as a feminist, as a supporter of LGBTQ rights, as a supporter of immigrant rights.” Equally important was using actors with Pittsburgh connections, said Smith, who also noted that the company paid its interns and worked to create an atmosphere of respect by providing food tables for the actors. Zionts continued to act while producing with Front Porch Theatricals. Elinor Nathanson, co-founder of ShpielBurgh Productions, said Zionts performed in all three works the company produced since its founding in 2016. “Whe n I w rote ‘Hadassah,’ I suggested Leon to Sara Stock Mayo, who was
at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum on Oct. 28, 2018, following the shooting at the Tree of Life building. “He regularly sang at the Jewish Federation’s annual meeting for years and years,” said Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Marketing Director Adam Hertzman. “When we were looking for ways to honor the lives lost on Oct. 27 and introduce the program appropriate to the tone of the event, Leon was a natural fit.” In a tribute suited to both an actor and producer, Zionts’ funeral was standing room only. He was remembered by colleagues, friends and families through stories and song. “It was astonishing to hear the remarkable stories told and the memories of those who spoke,” said Jeanne Drennan, who knew Zionts through her work as the executive director of the Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh. “I think Leon projected a belief that Leon as Mordechai in a production of everything was going to be wonderful. “Hadassah” in March 2019. At left, a Leon Zionts bobblehead Photo by Jennifer Bails It’s very hard to resist that kind of enthusiasm, and who would want to?” Zionts is survived by Nancy and their directing, for the role of Mordechai. We two daughters, Allison Laine and Dani Lyon; joked that we used divine casting because his mother, Shirley; his sister and brother, as we never use auditions and Leon was divine well as 18 nieces, nephews and great-nieces in so many ways. He was 100% on board.” and great-nephews. PJC Zionts often sang both the U.S. national David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ anthem and “Hatikvah” at many public events, including the memorial service pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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heal,” Allan said. The exhibit opened last month and runs through Dec. 6. “We have used gallery visits and work in many classes in middle and upper school in an age appropriate way,” Allan said. “In lower school, we showed selected photographs and only talked about community and helpers and didn’t mention the shooting. Lower school students wrote haikus about the importance of community. It is Lynn’s and our hope that other schools or organizations borrow the photos and pass them along to continue the discussion of the importance of standing up to hate.” Johnson has strong ties to Squirrel Hill and its adjacent neighborhoods. She grew up near the Carnegie Mellon University campus, and her first apartment after leaving home was on Morrowfield Avenue. While she now lives on the North Side, she still comes to Squirrel Hill to shop. “It’s like the center for me, my home,” she said. Although Johnson has photographed many other locales in the U.S. that have been victimized by mass shootings, seeing her own city affected hit her hard. She wanted to capture on camera people finding ways to manage in the wake of such horror, and began her work by roaming the neighborhood seeking images that would tell that story.
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Lynn Johnson
Photo provided by Lynn Johnson
“That was the first thing I did, kind of wander around to see what was going on in the community because I really thought it was important to see regular life,” Johnson said. “And that was one of the things I talked about to the editor of National Geographic, that I wanted to show how life continues to go on and how people were reacting not negatively but by helping each other.” She was looking “for places and people to photograph who were coping,” she said. “I just didn’t want to haunt the funerals. I refused to do that. I figured if the newspapers needed to do that, that was fine, but that was not how I wanted to work.” Although there is an emotional toll from a deadly attack hitting so close to home, for Johnson “photography is a way to figure
Twins, Ronna Wedner Levin, right, and her sister, Robin Exler prepared most of the flowers for the funerals of victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Photo by Lynn Johnson
things out,” she said. “For me, it’s always been an art form that allows one to ponder and puzzle out the complexities of life, even though there might be pain involved.” The photographs from the exhibition are available for loan to schools, religious institutions and other organizations to further the conversation about the importance of community. “When Sally asked to show them, I said, ‘Please show them and travel them and use them for education,’” said Johnson. “I would
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just love for them to be out there in the world so folks can learn from them. If people want to use the material to educate and sensitize and do the good work of keeping us from harming each other, these images are available.” For inquiries about the exhibit, contact Sally Allan at allans@winchesterthurston.org. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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