A Shayna Maidel (a “pretty girl” in Yiddish) is a memory play produced by The Two of Us Productions, recounting the story of two sisters reuniting after years of being separated by WWII; one sister moved to New York City prior to the war with her father, while the other sister barely survived a concentration camp. This is a play of deep sorrow, regret, and heartfelt emotions.
The New York City sister, Rose White (nee Rayzel Weiss), had very little knowledge of her family’s struggles through the war. Along with the audience, she learns the atrocities her family faced. The actress, Karissa Payson, shows the character’s growth through the play, and a sincere appreciation for her sister’s journey. As a working, Americanized New Yorker, Rose learns how to deal with her “fresh-off-the-boat” newly-discovered family.
The father, Mordechai Weiss, was played brilliantly by Kenneth Goldfarb. He was the ultimate father, not missing a chance to complain that his daughter, Rose, cooked a roast was a little too salty. He delivered a few humorous lines in the play which helped lighten a heavy drama. The daughter, Luisa Weiss Pechenik, played by actress Constance Lopez, highlighted the fears and struggles that every new immigrant faces when coming to America. She played a range of emotions from her playful childhood in Europe to nightmare-stuck evenings in New York. Luisa was shocked and pleasantly surprised that the mounted police officer in New York gave her directions in Yiddish; her character learned to fear anyone in uniform. This play reminds us that similar immigrant stories can be told today as families flee persecution in their homeland.
The family in Europe, Mama (played by Deborah Lombardi) and Luisa’s childhood friend, Hanna (played by Christine Vermilyea) stayed together and aided in Luisa’s survival. It’s a tale of self-sacrifice and family. Both characters are played with vigor and life, and a love for family and friendship above all.
Together, Luisa with her husband Duvid (played by Matt Leinung), light up the stage. Their relationship is fun and frolicing, skipping and bouncing with joy, before the war. You can feel their love.
Constance Lopez, as an actress, has the emotional contrasts with Luisa frolicalling in love during one scene and in another, reading a long list of names of friends and relatives, who died in the war.
The play asks the question, how do you continue living when you have lost so much?
Overall, there is still hope. Where there is family and love, there can be some hope.
For more information and tickets, please visit their website, here.
1 thought on “A Shayna Maidel – The Two of Us Productions at the Copake Grange”