Behold This Production Of BEHOLD HER At The Fringe Festival

By: Aug. 20, 2018
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Half Key Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Behold Her by Arden Kass on September 7-23 as part of the 2018 Fringe Festival. Directed by Tori Mittelman, the production features Michaela Shuchman and Marcia Saunders in a performance with live music by Chana Rothman that reflects on changing images and definitions of feminine beauty through the prism of Jewish culture.

Performances at the Dell Theater at the National Museum of American Jewish History (101 South Independence Mall East) are Fridays at 8:00 PM, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 1:00 and 4:00 PM. Tickets at $15 ($10 for students and Under 25) are available at www.halfkeytheatre.org.

Behold Her asks the question: What really is "Jewish beauty"? Is it Hedy Lamarr's perfect face? Queen Esther's diplomacy? Or just having straight hair for a Bat Mitzvah? From brassy Bella Abzug to beauty queen Bess Myerson, from philanthropist Rebecca Gratz to poet Emma Lazarus, Behold Her convenes a delegation of memorable Jewish women, both real and imagined, historical and contemporary, to explore shifting perceptions of Jewish beauty that started with Eve and persist today.

Arden Kass (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter, musical theatre librettist and independent producer. School Play, her live documentary theatre piece dramatizing the plight of public education in Pennsylvania, premiered at the National Constitution Center and toured PA in 2015. She is currently developing her first full-length musical at the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop in New York.

Tori Mittelman (Director) is a Philadelphia-based creator and teaching artist. She recently directed Riders to the Sea with Irish Heritage Theatre in Philadelphia and several productions at Dreamland Theatre in Nantucket. She has been the Assistant Director for Kristin McLaughlin Mitchell for Spamalot, Next to Normal, and A Christmas Carol:A Live Radio Show with Resident Theatre Company. She has also assisted for Blanka Zizka at Wilma Theatre for When the Rain Stops Falling and Matthew Decker at Theatre Horizon for Peter and the Starcatcher.

Marcia Saunders (Actor) has been an Acting Company Member at The People's Light and Theater since 1976. She's received multiple Barrymore nominations and was the recipient of a Barrymore Award for Claire in A Delicate Balance. With People's Light & Theater she has appeared in over 90 plays most recently this season in Mornings At Seven and Romeo & Juliet, A Requiem. She has also appeared locally at Arden Theatre Company, The Wilma Theater, Walnut Street Theater, Lantern Theater, and Simpatico. Off Broadway credits include Atlantic Theater Company's production of The Intelligent Design Of Jenny Chow.

Michaela Shuchman (Actor/Producer) is a Philly based theatermaker. This is her third Philly Fringe Festival, having performed last year in Airswimming and in 2016 in Scarlet Letters which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her performance in Scarlet Letters was named in DC Metro as one of the top performances of the 2016 Fringe Festival. Michaela has worked with the Walnut Street Theatre, 11th Hour Theatre Co, Resident Theatre Co, Theatre Horizon, & PlayPenn. Upcoming productions include Merchant of Venice with DelShakes and Honk with Delaware Theatre Co.



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