Any woman or girl enjoying the warm weather in the South Florida area is in for a treat come Thursday, February 20, or Sunday, February 23. On those dates, at 7:30 p.m. plus a matinee at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jewish Women’s Theater of South Florida (JWTSFL) will perform its original production, “It Takes a Woman: A Salute to the Women of Broadway,” written and directed by Chrissy Wright.
Scheduled to be performed at the Michael Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, 18900 NE 25 Avenue, in North Miami Beach, the show is a project of JWTSFL, a non-profit whose mission is to provide an opportunity for Jewish women to develop, express, and showcase their talents in singing, dancing, and acting in a professional venue for all-female audiences.
“This original Broadway review is a salute to the diverse and dynamic women who set the bar for today’s top female artists. I am truly blessed to have been given this opportunity to do what I love with a group of women I love,” said Wright.
Formed two years ago, JWTSFL was born of a need from Orthodox-Jewish women who wanted a place to perform but insisted on adherence to Jewish law which mandates that they not do so either in a company or for audiences that include men.
“As an Orthodox-Jewish woman, it’s not easy for me to find a venue where I can perform and still keep Shabbos,” explained Rachel Benveniste, one of JWTSFL’s performers. “JWTSFL understands the barriers Orthodox-Jewish women face if they want to perform and has created a venue to ease some of those obstacles. With this group, I can perform surrounded by like-minded women who enjoy theater without having to make religious sacrifices.”
Benveniste, the daughter of Dr. Richard and Susan Rosenbluth, was born and raised in Englewood, where her dramatic talent and soprano voice were honed and polished at a variety of local venues, ranging from the drama group at the Frisch Yeshiva High School to the JCC on the Palisades, where she performed in dramatic presentations as well as musicals and summers at the NJ Summer Performing Arts Program held at Rutgers in New Brunswick.
After earning her degree in Vocal Performance at New York University, Benveniste performed with a number of New York repertory groups, including the New York Opera Forum and New Jersey Verismo Opera. Eventually, she returned to NYU and completed a master’s degree in Music Therapy.
Married with three children, Benveniste runs music programs for mothers and children in the South Florida area and performs wherever it is feasible, which is why JWTSFL was tailor-made for her and the other participating women who share her needs.
In JWTSFL’s current production, she plays Hannah, a Jewish businesswoman who relinquished a musical-theater career because she chose to adhere to Jewish law and not perform on the Sabbath. Instead, Hannah decides to join some friends in the creation of a Jewish women’s theater company to perform in shows for women by women.
“The character is loosely based on me and my personal journey with JWT. When I worked in New York, I found it very challenging to perform and still keep an Orthodox-Jewish lifestyle. Just like me, Hannah is given the opportunity to showcase her talents after spending many years with no venue available to her,” said Benveniste.
JWTSFL’s executive producer, Sara Gottlieb, said this is exactly why she sought to create her troupe.
“These talented women had been restricted from appearing in local shows due to Sabbath observance and the religious restriction of women singing in front of men. I am thrilled to be partnering with Chrissy and our amazing cast in this production,” she said.
Last year, JWTSFL presented its first show, a fully staged production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which sold out three weeks before the first performance.
“This year, we have added an additional showtime. We have more than 30 women involved in our production, serving in the cast and crew, and ranging in age from 15 to 70. We are so excited to be bringing this fabulous show to the South Florida community,” said Gottlieb.
For tickets to “It Takes a Woman,” email [email protected] or go to www.jwtsfl.com.
For Benveniste, who played Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally in last year’s production, one of the highlights of the JWTSFL experience is knowing that the audience will include the daughters of many of the performers.
“My daughter gets a kick out of seeing me on stage. She’s been hearing me sing her whole life, but there’s something different when it’s on a stage with lights and costumes. The women in JWT have children of all different ages, and most have never had the chance to see their mothers perform. Some were amazed to learn how truly talented their own mothers are,” she said.
Some of those daughters were inspired to audition themselves this year, and the current production features a mother-daughter team.
Benveniste’s 12-year-old daughter, Devorah, is still too young to participate. “But she longs for the day when she can be part of a JWT production herself,” said Benveniste.
