V.
BERNIE: I swear to you, I wanted to tell him. I almost did. I came very close. I wanted to tell him, don’t know why. Don’t know why. Wiesel told, something from Midrash or Talmud, something, he told me it said:
ELIE:Life is for planting trees in whose shade you never expect to sit.—p. 16.
You can still see Imagining Madoff, of course. But you’ll have to travel. Auditions are currently underway for the show at Stageworks/Hudson, a 100-seat theater in Hudson, N.Y. The run is slated to start on July 21. Though the Stageworks version will be the Wiesel-free rewrite, there’s a difference. According to Artistic Director Laura Margolis, her company has no plans to run the script past the Wiesel Foundation.
“I feel that this is a play that is Shakespearean in scope,” Margolis says. “Not only is it beautifully poetical, but it speaks to humanity in a way that is ageless. Who would think that you could take a character, Bernard Madoff, who none of us know and none of us will ever be able to delve into the mind of, and actually create a human being that we in some way can understand?”
But for now, seeing a Shakespearean Madoff won’t be an option for D.C. theater-goers. And it’s unclear whether it ever will be. Margolin speaks cautiously about the idea of trying again.
“You know, I like the idea of a Jewish theater. I like the idea of a theater where Jewish issues are discussed, where Jewish drama is alive. Ari has expressed interest in other pieces of my work, and I welcome his interest.”
Roth is slightly less guarded—if not exactly fearless. “This can be an exclusive to the City Paper: I will produce that play in September 2011 and open the season with it. Provided we do not get sued.”
Our Readers Say
The decision to comply speaks of a sad state of affairs for American theater.
Every piece of theater is more than just a piece of art removed from the world; it is art embodied in the world. To produce a play is to stand before a group of others and make a statement. I can understand why neither Margolin nor Roth want to make a stand for a statement that offends a friend a pillar of their community. That Wiesel sees her play as offensive is sad. That Theater J chose not to go ahead with the play upholds the spirit of generous community that Theater J, Ellie Wiesel, and Deb Margolin all stand for, and is in best traditions of writing.
Ms. Margolin seems to have constructed a character that is far deeper intellectually and spiritually, far more grounded morally, far more complex, then Wiesel, rather an intellectual for the weak minded, has ever been. The key for Ms. Margolin in salvaging this piece might lie in recognizing that the reason Wiesel objected to this characterization was that it was so glaringly far above him. Wiesel knows on some instinctive level that he is unworthy of this veneration.
Ari Roth, in my mind, seems badly tarnished by this episode. Let it be for him an opportunity for growth that might provide Theater J with a stronger platform from which to launch its next phase. Roth might recognize the petulant adolescent that Elie Wiesel has proved himself to be and shed the preconceived notions embedded in his psyche by Wiesel's careful management of his own public image. By casting aside the imposter, Wiesel, Roth might truly open his stage to more righteous portrayals of a "certain kind of jewish morality."
I look forward to seeing this work fully realized at some point in the future and hope Ms. Margolin finds the support she needs at Theater J to that end.
Whether Elie Wiesel deserves the respect the world seems to accord him is a different issue; I had thought so but haven't studied his life. What seems clear to me, though, is that theatres must be free to make production decisions on any basis they choose, whether it involves tearing down icons or respecting them, and that there is courage also in ignoring demands from any quarter to make other kinds of choices. For my money, Ari Roth's track record amply demonstrates his personal and artistic courage.
As an aside, I'm not sure why Wiesel objects so strenuously, but whatever. He's an old man who's led a difficult life, and like anyone he's free to object to any public portrayal of himself he finds distasteful. Theater J is free to abide by or defy that objection; I see nothing cowardly in their call.
jEWS only believe in suppressing others. They are genocidal megalomaniacs.
jews are a clear and present danger to America and everything it is supposed to represent.
Ref: Black Gold Holy Secret Warriors De-Classified: "The Swiss, The Gold, and The Dead" from "Waltzing With A Dictator: The Marcoses And The Making of American Policy" [Ray Bonner] links: The Evil Roots of Good, The Evil Roots of Bad, The Evil Roots of Ugly under The public subsidized Amerikan Idols of Greed [A.I.G.] with Aloha from the U.S. Militar cross-roads in the remote U.S. Offshore South Pacific [Camp Smith] for: "The Crimes of Patriots" [Jonathon Kwitny]: Old Soldiers never die, they just never....ever....fade away: "Killing Hope: The U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 11" [William Blum];
Public Scope for well calculated All-Amerikan Politico Frauds: The Knights of Malta; Opus Dei; Jesues Angleton [CIA]; 1948 Israeli War of Independence; Meyer Lansky [Murder Inc]; Jewish Defense League [JDL]; Kissinger of Death New York Associates [9/11 WTC Commission "Report"]; Classified Family Jewels Report [Church Commission with Inside Staffer Mole - future AIPAC Executive Leader: Tom Dine [1980 - 1993] to Steve Rosen [1993 - 1999: Clinton - Ken C.V. Starr extorted Lewinsky investigation DOD spy ring with Keith Weissman Pardoned by Obama Administration visa Jane Harmon [Woodrow Wilson Institute] & Douglas Feith [Cox & Zell]; and the Ford 1976 Halloween Massacre; The 1976 Foreign Soverign Immunities Act [FSIA]; CIA: Allan Dulles, John McCone, Richrad Helms, James Schlesinger, William Colby, George H.W. Bush, William Casey ["The Man Nobody Knew"]; Former Nixon Sect of Labor - former Nixon Sect of Treasury - former Reagan Sect of State: George Schultz: S.F. Bohemian Club; = "Fifth Column: The Host and The Parasite" [Greg Felton];
Hawaii Aloha Hana Hou Compromised: "It Takes A Pillage" [Naomi Prins]for The Best Fascist Shadow Government Money Can Buy: "Although you may never see us, we are in your everyday lives" [Office of Hawaiian Affairs]: Hawaii Shaloha Hana Hou: "Democracy in America is being undermined [hyjacked] from within. It's been going on for a long time and it's getting worse. [i.e. Koch Industries, Jackson Stevens Inc, Sheldon Adelson, Bernie Madoff, "Casino Jack And The United States of Money"]. Not only that, but we're being forced to fund the deception" [V - Ventura];
We are Bank Fraud Legions: "Never Forget - Never Forgive....expect us"! Voltaire: "In general, the art of government consits of taking as much money [private targeted properties, "smart" business ideas, privatized personal assets] as possible from one class of citizens to give to another"? Hana Hou...."Yes We Khan"!
Leave a Comment