For those who fondly remember old-time musicals such as “South Pacific,” the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Irving Berlin, and weekends at Kutsher’s in the Catskills, Palisades Players had a show just for you. “Broadway: A Jewish Experience,” written and directed by local talent Deborah Murad Nesser, was a musical production reflective of the Jewish experience in America from the Lower East Side/European immigrant days to the present.
Replete with songs that touched the hearts, minds and memories of audience members of all ages, “Broadway: A Jewish Experience” was the inaugural production and fundraiser for the Palisades Players, a new theater group based out of the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. The Palisades Players is intended to be “an inspirational home for professional, pre-professional and highly experienced theater artists,” according to the community theater’s own description.
The production featured two sold-out performances in early November which entertained visitors by musically illustrating Jewish traditions throughout the ages. Interspersed with “news reports” intended to anchor the audience to a particular time period, the production provided audience members with a fun, musical glimpse into Jewish history in America.
“The production showed humor about our Jewish experience in a secular world,” said Deb Roberts, artistic director.
The show featured 44 cast members, approximately half being seasoned performers, including Broadway performer Tim Connell and an opera singer from the Met. There were close to 10 children in the cast, who sang and performed along with the adults, four of whom have since been selected by scouts at a local casting call. Most of the cast members are from northern New Jersey and include local talent such as Steven Goffstein, Rebecca Lopkin, Alan Schwartz and more.
Roberts and Executive Chairman Julian Millstein established Palisades Players as a way to assemble the best local talent and create a professional-type theater group whose performances could equal anything that could be found on Broadway. The theater group officially began in June of 2014 and was intended to serve talent from throughout northern New Jersey, NYC and Broadway. Palisades Players will showcase quality theatrical events, primarily featuring works that illustrate Jewish culture and tradition and celebrate the work of Jewish playwrights.
For more information, visit www.jccotp.org or call 201-408-1493.
By Jill Kirsch
