June 15, 2012
The Gazette - June 14, 2012By Pat Donnelly
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Veterans return to new show
Musical revue traces the history of Yiddish Theatre back to Romania
Anyone searching for good old-fashioned entertainment need look no further than the Segal Centre, where the musical On Second Avenue is now playing, in Yiddish and English, with surtitles in French – and in English where necessary.
If the title sounds familiar, that’s because On Second Avenue, by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld, which premiered in New York in 1987, has played the Segal before, notably in 1998. The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre company also toured the show internationally.
Now, there’s a new production with a few of the older players, such as Aron Gonshor, brought back, presumably by popular demand, as his hapless guy persona in the vaudevillian numbers is one tough act to follow.
He and Sam Stein are great shtick handlers.
Edit Kuper brings warmth and dignity to the role of narrator in this musical revue that traces the history of Yiddish Theatre back to Romania in 1876 when a poet named Abraham Goldfaden founded the first professional troupe.
Then it takes us to New York where Yiddish Theatre reigned on Second Avenue in the 1930s as it once did on the Lower Main in Montreal. Once the locale moves to NYC, English gets mixed in with the Yiddish songs and corny jokes.
It was from this joyous mashup of old world music and dance that the Broadway musical was born.
The mainly amateur cast of On Second Avenue is large (more than 30 performers) and enthusiastic. There are an impressive number of excellent voices. Apparently Toronto talent scouts already have their eye on Eva Petris, who sings a lovely fairy tale duo with Jordan Marchand (recruited from the ranks of the Hudson Music Club, where he recently appeared in 42nd Street). And Cheryl Blum, among others, knows how to sell a song.
But this is really a company show that begins and ends with rousing chorus numbers. The creative team, which includes musical director John Gilbert (who steps in to do a tango number), set designer John C. Dinning, choreographer Jim White, lighting designer Luc Prairie, costume designer Susan Vera (who has a passion for turquoise) and sound designer Peter Balov, has delivered a polished retro musical event.
Bryna Wasserman made it back to Montreal just in time for the second act of the Wednesday night preview of On Second Avenue. But the former artistic director of the Segal Centre, now executive director of the National Yiddish Theatre, Folksbiene, in New York, said she has to be back to the Big Apple again by Friday afternoon.
She blamed her week’s whirlwind agenda on pop singer Neil Sedaka, who was one of the prominent people honoured at a special benefit concert for the Folksbiene held on Tuesday night in New York. Sedaka wasn’t available for the usual winter dates. And the opening of On Second Avenue had been set in stone on the calendar long before.
For someone who had just completed the marathon drive from New York solo, Wasserman looked remarkably composed. She greeted friends in the lobby as she had done for so many years during her tenure. Now, she is merely a visiting co-director of On Second Avenue.
The other half of the co-direction team is Audrey Finkelstein, now the Artistic and Program Co-ordinator of the company. Next season Finkelstein will be directing the Yiddish production of Tales from Odessa alone. So this Second Ave. will be the last we’ll be seeing of Wasserman’s work for a while. Enjoy it while it lasts.
On Second Avenue continues at the Segal Centre, 5170 Cote Ste. Catherine Rd., until July 1. Call 514-739-7944. Visit segalcentre.org.