My wife and I had a rare night out last Friday to see a play. After reading Sarah D’Esti Miller’s review in the Press & Sun-Bulletin, I decided to take my wife to “A Shayna Maidel” (pronounced a-shain-a may-dull) put on by the Chenango River Theatre in Greene. I’m really glad we went! “A Shayna Maidel” literally means (in Yiddish), “a pretty girl.” It is the story of a Polish/Jewish family separated before the Holocaust, and then prevented from reuniting by the Holocaust. Eventually, the only member in Poland who survived is reunited with her sister in New York. The play explores the awkwardness of a family that has been separated for so long now dealing with becoming a family again, and the pain of the past. If you were to stop and wonder,

What was it like for so many people who lost most of their families in the gas chambers during the Holocaust–what went through their minds? How did they keep it together and not give up or go insane?

This play will help answer it. It is not a happy-go-lucky play. But neither is it a complete downer. On that score I will disagree with Ms. Miller’s review. She indicates there’s not much in the way of comic relief for the heavy subject matter. But I found there were times of laughter. We laugh at some of the antics and idiosyncrasies of the father (who, along with one daughter, made it to New York before the terrible events of the 1930s in Poland). But make sure you bring some tissues–your eyes will tear up.

My one criticism of the play is there are periods where it seems the dialog runs long and becomes a little tedious. The play by my watch ran just over two hours. But overall, this play is excellent and worth your time. The actors from the Chenango River Theatre put on a master performance. It is well worth the trip to Greene (which is only about 12 miles from Binghamton) to see it. The play runs through November 11th. Performances are Thursdays through Sundays, and the price of a ticket is really reasonable–$16 Thursdays & Sundays, $19 Fridays & Saturdays, discounts for students.

Go see it before it’s gone!

Technorati Tags: A Shayna Maidel, Greene NY, Chenango River Theatre