When producer/director Shari Upbin wanted to use some music for her West Boca Theater production of From Door to Door, she found the perfect fit on YouTube.
"I needed the song L’Dor V’Dor (From Generation to Generation) so I went on the internet and I found it. And lo and behold it was sung by the cantor of B'Nai Torah Congregation (Boca Raton)".
Phyllis Spear in From Door to Door
Upbin said she wanted to do the "proper thing" before using it, so she called the Temple and left a message for Cantor Udi Spielman. He not only gave her permission to use the rendition but he came to see the show."
He sat and after the show he said to me, 'I need to speak with you.' He had tears in his eyes. I want to bring this to our congregation. It must be seen,' " she recalls him saying.
On Sunday, Jan 18 at 1 p.m., From Door to Door gets a staging at B'nai Torah Congregation, 6261 S.W. 18th St., Boca Raton.
It kicks off The Premiere Theater Arts Series at B'nai Torah that Upbin will be producing. The theater series was added to B'Nai Torah Congregation's Concert and Cultural Series. "They bring in the finest performers from all over the world," says Upbin about the series.
Spielman was hoping to expand the offerings to include theater and after the producer/director agreed to create a one-day only performance of From Door to Door, the Cantor, who is the artistic director of the series ask her, "Do you have another play?"
Shari Upbin
The theater goddesses had been shining that day since Upbin had just received a call from Seth Greenleaf , artistic director and partner in GFour Productions. GFour is a Broadway producing company and has been behind shows including: 9 to 5 The Musical with Dolly Parton, Book of Mormon; Greenleaf also directed the award winning play RFK: A Portrait of Robert F. Kennedy, and the wildly successful Menopause The Musical.
"He, too, had seen From Door to Door and he wanted to speak with me about an idea he had. He said, 'I have a play and I would like you to do a production. The name is In the Voice of Our Mothers and it's a play about the women of the Bible telling their stories in their own words."
The New York production of In the Voice of Our Mothers. Photo by Joon Hwang
Writer/Director Carol Fox Prescott describes her show this way: “Breathing life into ancient texts and told this time from the point of view of the women, In The Voice of Our Mothers reveals the intimate and powerful narratives of our Biblical matriarchs. . . Here are generations of women, learning, risking, and loving in all its complicated forms. We witness their journey through deserts of discovery, moving with audacity towards that female dance of freedom on the other side of the sea, which is no longer there. And we cannot help but follow, right into our own lives."
"This show is an event in itself," says Upbin.
In the Boca Raton production, Renee Rogoff will play Sarah, Mary Stucchi is Rachel, Penny Mandel is Rebecca, Malia Nicoline is Miriam and Irene Kessler will play Leah. Peggy Linker is understudy. The play also calls for a female shofar player. Judy Goldman will play the shofar in the production.
Music has been added that was not previously included in the touring productions. Upbin's daughter, Danielle, a rabbi, has released a CD titled Reveal the Light and the music will be used as part of In the Voice of Our Mothers. "I gave one of the CDs to Carol (Fox Prescott) as a gift. And she said, 'this is my dream, these are the songs.' "
From Door to Door will be presented Sunday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. at B'Nai Torah Congregation, 6261 S.W. 18th St., Boca Raton. Tickets are $35; Congregation members, $25. In The Voice of Our Mothers will be presented at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15 at B'Nai Torah Congregation. Call 561-392-8566 or www.bnai-torah.org for information. In the Voice of Our Mothers will also be presented at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center, 5850 South Pine Island Road, Davie, on Tuesday, March 10.
