A Shayna Maidel

It's a good song, happy. It was a song then about the future, so now it is a song about now

"A Shayna Maidel is an intimate look at the family of a Polish Holocaust survivor after WWII. A Hungarian-American Holocaust survivor spoke movingly on a panel after the Thursday performance. She shared that after the October attacks on Israel, she could not sleep. She realized talking with other Holocaust survivors that “never again” was no longer true. It is hard for me to believe that we are living in this age of staggeringly widespread antisemitism, that hasn’t existed in a fever pitch like this since WWII. Harassment, vandalism, assaults, hate speech, and murder of Jewish people are up 400 percent in the United States, according to the ADL. Now, more than ever before, it is restorative and vital to celebrate stories of Jewish life and culture, and listen to the warnings of history about where this insidious dark bloom of hate will take us." Amanda Callas, BroadwayWorld.com

What Critics are saying

A Shayna Maidel was produced by Laguna Playhouse in March of 2024. The cast performances and production received rave reviews. OUR aim IS to BRING THESE PERFORMANCES with A MODERN FRESH CONCEPT THAT WILL COMMUNICATE the powerful message and humanity of this play to a wider audience and the communities that can bennefit from it in our CURRENT climate.

"a phenomenal performance"

"painfully moving to watch"

"a masterful job"

"versatile"

"Magnetic. Masterful."

"utterly compelling"

Team

Marnina Schon - Educational Outreach Coordinator

Rob Beitzel - Producer

Zarah Mahler - Actor/ Producer

Val Vigoda - Producer

Bio

Bio

Bio

Bio

Production Concept

Overview

This production of A Shayna Maidel will employ a sparse, abstract set design that will allow the audience to focus on the narrative and the relationships between the characters, stripping away any distractions and drawing attention to the psychological and emotional landscapes that drive the story.

Set Design

The stage will feature an abstract, skeletal framework that suggests various locations (a New York apartment, a Polish town, etc.) without fully realizing them. For example, a few simple pieces of furniture—a chair, a table, a bed—will be used interchangeably for different settings. These pieces will be worn and aged, symbolizing the wear and tear of memory and trauma. The background will consist of hanging, translucent fabric panels that can be lit differently to evoke various moods and locations. These panels will serve as both a screen for projections (such as shadows or abstract images related to memories) and a barrier that characters can move behind or emerge from, symbolizing the thin veil between past and present, memory and reality.

Lighting

Lighting will play a critical role in delineating spaces and times. Stark, cold lighting will be used during scenes that delve into the past, evoking the harsh realities of the Holocaust. Warmer, softer lighting will be employed during moments of connection and reconciliation between the sisters. The lighting will shift subtly to indicate transitions between memory and present, often blurring the lines between the two to reflect the characters' struggles with their past.

Cast Placement

When not actively participating in a scene, the actors will sit on the perimeter of the stage, visible to the audience. These seats will be simple stools or chairs, placed at irregular intervals around the stage. This placement will emphasize the constant presence of the past and the community, even when not directly involved in the action. The presence of the actors on the perimeter will also create a sense of shared experience and memory. This communal staging underscores the play’s themes of family, memory, and survival, reminding the audience that these experiences are interconnected and inescapable.

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Production Concept continued

Costuming

Costumes will be muted and timeless, with a focus on texture and layering to reflect the characters' emotional states. The costumes will be simple, reflecting the sparse design of the set, and will include subtle changes (such as the addition of a shawl or a change in hairstyle) to indicate shifts in time.

Sound Design

The sound design will be minimalist, relying on subtle cues rather than overt music or effects. Sounds of the Auschwitz depot and a child crying for her mother will play during a connected moment of memory, while typical New York crowd and Subway noises may be heard in juxtaposition at other points in the play. Actors that play instruments like violin will provide the music for the moments of the play that call for it. When the sisters sing a song of hope from the camps, the thesis of the play, the other cast will join in for a full and powerful rendition.

Director’s Vision

The overall vision for this production is to create an intimate, emotionally charged environment where the internal struggles of the characters are laid bare. By using a sparse, abstract set and placing the cast on the perimeter, the focus will remain on the psychological and emotional journeys of the characters, allowing the audience to experience the weight of memory, loss, longing for connection, and hope for the future that permeates A Shayna Maidel. This approach aims to make the play’s themes of survival, and family resonate deeply with the audience, leaving them with a powerful sense of the characters’ history, enduring struggles and triumphs, and their optimism for their future and that of their children.

Val Vigoda - Producer

Val Vigoda is a singer, electric violinist, songwriter and keynote speaker, best known for her unique combination of gorgeous vocals, dazzling electric violin, and powerful lyricism. Her life journey has taken her: around the world on rock tours with Cyndi Lauper, Joe Jackson, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and her own indie band GrooveLily; to the theatrical stages of New York as an award-winning writer and performer in multiple groundbreaking original hit musicals; into the hearts of millions as a prolific Disney songwriter; and most recently, onto conference stages delivering potent "keynote concerts" about some of her favorite subjects—creativity, resilience, optimism and courage. In addition to her work as a pioneering writer-actor-musician in award-winning original shows such as STRIKING 12, SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES, and ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME, Val is also a cutting-edge live-looping artist, an Artist Mentor for the Electrify Your Strings program (which brings rock arrangements and high-octane performance energy to school orchestras throughout the nation), and a former Army lieutenant. She is the recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, the LA Ovation Award for Best Musical, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical. Val lives in Los Angeles with her son Mose.

"@zarahmahler is one I will always travel to see. I will go where she performs. Her work is magnificent. Grounded. Light. Heavy, Rip your heart out heavy. Present. Listening. Embodied. Magnetic. Masterful. Congrats to @lagunaplayhouse for a beautiful show and wonderful cast." -Julia Aks

"At center stage at the Playhouse is Mahler’s remarkable, utterly compelling portrayal of Lusia, the actor’s personality and demeanor shifting from one moment to the next depending on when (and where) we’re seeing her." Newport Beach Independent

"I found it painfully moving to watch. This is a very human and personal drama, anchored by a lead performance of ferocious realism, heartbreaking vulnerability, and bone-deep power from Zarah Mahler." BroadwayWorld

Zarah Mahler - Lead Actor, Producer

ZARAH is an actor, musician, and singer/songwriter, born and raised in LA. Broadway credits: Ruth in Soul Doctor (Circle in the Square), Nessa in Wicked (National Tour). Regional faves: Sally in Cabaret (Drury Lane Chicago), River in Appropriate (Mark Taper Forum), Rent (Hollywood Bowl), etc. TV: Recurring in Major Crimes (TNT), Ghost Whisperer (CBS). Guest starring in The Rookie (ABC), 9-1-1 (FOX). Film: The Wretched, Ramona at Midlife, Nightmare Cinema, Beyond Skyline, etc. Original music, including her debut album Ophidian, is available at iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.

"Zarah Mahler is phenomenal and versatile. Her performance will break your heart." -Jamison Jones

Marnina Schon - Educational Outreach

Marnina Schon (she/they) is an actor, violinist, comedian, and Jewish educator. These roles often intersect e.g.: developing a musical web series about the Torah with the Jewish Writers Initiative; performing in Anne at the Museum of Tolerance with her students in the audience; making goofy Instagram Reels about Jewish holidays; and starring in the Israeli dramedy series and 2023 Sundance Selection "Chanshi" with Henry Winkler. Raised at a pluralistic Jewish day school, Marnina left the Bay to study at UCLA, and there became the Hillel/Jewish World Watch Social Justice Engagement Chair, a student council member for the Center for Jewish Studies, and an oral history fellow at Holocaust Museum LA. Marnina also studied Jewish history and memory at the Freie Universität Berlin and with Yiddishkayt's Helix Project in Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania. Marnina then continued to build connections across the LA Jewish community while programming events at IKAR and organizing with Bend the Arc as a Jeremiah Fellow. As a Jewish educator, mentor, and officiant Marnina has taught students aged 4 to 84 at the Sholem School, IKAR, Hebrew Helpers, Bronfman Youth Fellowships, Shalom Bayit, and the Silverlake Independent JCC, where she's also led community-wide services for the High Holy Days. Marnina has always been passionate about making Jewishness accessible, meaningful, and joyful.

"What makes A Shayna Maidel so distinctive as a story about Holocaust survivors is that playwright Barbara Lebow does exceptional work showing us what the immigrant experience looks like for so many people. Part of it is due to Lusia’s character, the other part is owed to the actress Zarah Mahler. While Mahler plays one character in this play, it’s as if she plays three different people spanning different times... It’s a phenomenal performance of a well-conceived character." The Orange Curtain Review

Rob Beitzel - Producer

Rob has been involved in more than two decades of NY theater, developing plays and originating roles by Ethan Cohen, Adam Rapp, Kia Corthron, Eisa Davis, Brooke Berman, and even Tenessee Williams in one of his previously unproduced late works opposite Shirley Knight. Starring in productions on Off-Broadway stages like The Atlantic, Barrow Street Theater, New York Theater Workshop, The Culture Project, Rattlestick Playwrights’ Theater, etc. Rob has worked with TONY Award winning directors David Cromer and Daniel Aukin, Academy Award winner Damien Chazell, Emmy winner Carey Joji Fukunaga, and numerous other talents like Michael John Garces, Eric Ting, and Jessica Kubzansky to name a few. He spent three seasons developing works at The Eugene O’Neil Playwrights’ Conference and has been featured on stages from London to Los Angeles. He began his journey and passion for play development as a drama student working alongside playwright instructors Christopher Durang, Marsha Norman, and Tony Kushner at The Juilliard School where he received his BFA.

"Mr. Swetow does a masterful job in bringing a sense of vulnerability to this tightly wound and complex character." The Show Report