Pulitzer-Nominated Play at Mint Museum Randolph Has Heartfelt Connection to Our Jewish Community

Charlotte Jewish News, March 2025

By Cynthia Farbman Harris

Resilience has always been at the heart of the Jewish experience. It has also been a driving force in my own life—both on and off the stage.

I have been acting in Charlotte for much of my life, performing with the Student Theatre Guild at Theatre Charlotte and as a high school intern with CPCC Summer Theatre. My journey took me to Los Angeles after earning a BFA in Acting/Directing from UNC-Greensboro, but eventually, my path shifted, and I became a lawyer as well. You can guess which profession paid the bills. But my heart never strayed from acting.

When I returned to Charlotte, I found my way back to the stage, performing opera and theatre with many local companies, including Actors Theatre, Queen City Theatre Company, Moving Poets, and Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST).

In 2019, I read “Alabaster” by Audrey Cefaly while preparing for an audition at Actors Theatre Charlotte. The writing was electric, raw, and real—I connected with it immediately. Before the cast could even be announced, Actors Theatre closed its doors. Sadly, this was just one of many theatre companies in Charlotte that have folded due to lack of funding, loss of performance spaces, and the impact of COVID.

The past several years have been difficult in one way or another for most of us. But for me, as a Jewish woman, the past two years have been devastating. Like so many in our Jewish family, I have felt as though the world has turned upside-down. The events of October 7, 2023, and the months that followed tested, and continue to test, the very essence of what has always sustained the Jewish people: resilience.

I knew I had to do something. I could help bring back a company that was dear to my heart—Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST) —and I could produce “Alabaster.”

“Alabaster” takes a similar journey of resilience. It is a Pulitzer-nominated, Kilroys-listed, all-female darkly comic Southern drama and winner of the Calicchio Prize. After a tornado barrels through town, leaving nothing but death and destruction, only June and her sassy pet goat Weezy and Weezy’s mother Bib live to tell the tale. When a prominent photographer visits to take pictures of June's scars, all are forced to a flashpoint of electric confrontation and recovery.

CAST’s production of “Alabaster” delivers electric acting, vivid soundscapes, and enveloping lighting, all in an immersive theatre-in-the-round. It is an irreverent, inspirational exploration of love, art, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Where: Mint Museum - 2730 Randolph Road, Charlotte - Van Every Theatre

When: Feb. 27-March 16, 2025

Times: Thu, Fri, Sat Evenings: 7:30 p.m.; Sat, Sun Matinee: 2:30 p.m. (2 hours w/Intermission)

For Tickets and more information: Visit https://nccast.net. Tickets may be purchased in advance from the CAST website, with any remaining tickets available at the door.

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