Mainstage Season
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Selection of Circle’s Theatre’s MainStage productions are selected with the opportunities for inclusion and equity. |
The Wise Men of Chelm
By Sandra Fenichel Asher. Based on Jewish folktales.
NOVEMBER 18, 2023 (7:00pm)
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 (2:00pm)
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Jewish Community Center, Alan J. Levine Theater
| On November 18 and 19, Circle Theatre will present two Chelm stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer at the Jewish Community Theater. The mythical comic town of Chelm is a beloved staple of Yiddish literature! Once upon a time an angel, carrying a sackful of foolish souls back to heaven for repair, snagged his sack on a tree growing on top a tall mountain top. The sack tore and the poor foolish souls rolled down the mountain side into the town of Chelm. Student dancers from the community will learn and perform tradional dances of the schtettle in a preshow sharing.
“The Wise Men of Chelm”, adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher, will be performed by a core of Circle Theatre artists. An opening act of “When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw”, adapted by Jenni Castello, will be read by residents from Quality Living Inc. Shtetl, a form of Jewish dance, will be choreographed into both productions. |
“THE LITTLE PRINCE”
APRIL 6 & 7, 2024
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“The Little Prince”, a beloved fable written by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, will be the mainstage production for Circle Theatre’s 40th Anniversary ! The produc-tion will be performed April 6 and 7th, 2024 at the Jewish Community Center stage and feature vignettes from partnering organizations including Munroe Meyer Institute, Quality Living Inc, Gotta Be Me, and VODEC.
The narrator of the story becomes an aircraft pilot who encounters a small boy whom he calls “The Little Prince”. The prince travels to a series of asteroids, each featuring a grown-up who has been reduced to a “function”, including a business man, a king, a lamp lighter, a conceited man, a drunkard, a geographer and then Earth. Partnering organizations will be the “hosts” at these visits, de-livering the dialogue as well as building the props and sets for each visit.
Circle Theatre core actors will speak the character lines with the partners in a process called “shadowing”, a theatrical device that utilizes the individual strengths of several individuals to play one role. Individuals who are not being shadowed will create a fluid movement ensemble as visits are made to the as-teroids, stars and sun on every planet.
“Capture The Moon”
NOVEMBER 23 & 24, 2024
By Ernest Joselovitz and Harry Michael Bagdasian. Adapted from the Jewish folktales of Chelm.
Capture the Moon, based on the traditional Yiddish tales of Chelm, portrayed as a mythical Eastern European shtetl, its people being awfully poor, very devout, thoroughly democratic (just about anything could justify a town meeting), and of a uniquely innocent way of thinking and acting. The play spotlights this poor village’s humorous attempt to solve a streetlighting problem by capturing the moon and harnessing moonlight. The failure of the first attempt (to capture and store the moonlight in a barrel of water) forces them to seek the help of the neighboring Christian village to climb their church steeple (almost) up to the moon. With their neighbors’ cooperation, the Chelmites then must journey through the surrounding Christian countryside in search of the moon at its lowest point on the horizon. On this journey, they become aware of their “differentness,” and they are finally appreciated for it. Capture the Moon offers, in children’s terms, interesting elements of Jewish history. More than that, though, it is a play about a common devoutness that encourages mutual respect, respect for different ways of thinking and imagining.
Gotta Be Me, a partner organization also providing all abilities program for peo-ple with disabilities and their families, will be the opening act for the “Grimm Tales” performances. Gotta Be Me actors will tell the story of the “Town Musi-cians of Bremen”, a Grimm tale based on the account of the German storyteller Dorothea Viehmann (1755-1815). This is the story of four aging domestic an-imals, who after a lifetime of hard work leave their farms to become musicians in Bremen and enjoy life. However, they find a den of thieves and decide to outsmart them. Munroe Meyer Institute acting interns will shadow
highlights of the performance.
“Wizard of Oz: Young Performers Edition”
April 6th and 7 2025
L. Frank Baum’s beloved story of a young girl’s adventure in a magical land has been entertaining audiences for over a century. MGM’s blockbuster 1939 film adaptation, featuring the timeless songs of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, along with the brilliant instrumental music of Herbert Stothart, elevated the popular novel to even greater heights. This stage adaptation, featuring the characters and celebrated songs from the film, brings the wondrous Land of Oz to life in a jubilant theatrical experience.
Join Dorothy and her loyal companion Toto as they “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” through the Land of Oz, determined to reach the Emerald City, where the great and powerful Wizard of Oz will help them get home. Of course, along the way, Dorothy encounters witches (both good and bad), Munchkins, talking trees and winged monkeys. But most importantly, she befriends three unique characters: a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man with no heart, and a Lion with no “nerve.” Their journey to happiness – and self-awareness – is a glowing testament to friendship, understanding and hope in a world filled with both beauty and ugliness.