Morgenstern in Vienna - poster by Andy Needle
On May 2nd, Wagner College’s Theater Department and Holocaust Center collaborated for the first time in the Holocaust Theater International Initiative Remembrance Readings with the National Jewish Theater Foundation (NJFT).
The cast pictured (left to right) - Felicia Ruff, Mickey Tennenbaum, Brain Sgambati, Theresa McCarthy, and Theatre Alumnus Sarah Shoshana Rosen
For Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wagner College Theater Faculty and Alumni performed Alan Goodson’s Morgenstern in Vienna, sprinkled with yiddish and superbly directed by second generation Holocaust survivor Mickey Tennenbaum. Alan Goodson was one of three finalists for the 2016 Stanley Drama Award.
Alan Goodson
Play Synopsis:
"Having fled Vienna in 1938 for America, Samuel Morgenstern has returned and seemingly made peace with his hometown. Suddenly he is besieged by visitors, including his estranged daughter Raizele, a psychologist and divorcee and Joshua, a young Jewish-American journalist. Amid their humorous, torturous and touching efforts to negotiate their relationships, Bubbe, Morgenstern's grandmother murdered by the Nazis, appears and serves homemade chicken soup. The streets outside explode in xenophobic rioting, while inside the apartment a glacier keeps expanding and passions explode in a poignant search for identity in an ever-changing 21st century world."
A stellar cast of Wagner faculty read the play. Mickey Tennenbaum who had also performed was joined by Theresa McCarthy, Sarah Shoshana Rosen, and Brian Sgambati, with Broadway credits. Chair of the Theatre Department Felicia Ruff read the stage directions, and Andy Needle created the stunning poster.
1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Holocaust survivors lit candles after the play.
Read more about Alan Goodson and his play Morgenstern in Vienna
Pictured (left to right): Sarah Shoshana Rosen, Brian Sgambati, Alan Goodson, Felicia Ruff, Mickey Tennenbaum, and Lori Weintrob.
