The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company is turning 10 this year, and to celebrate, it’s remounting its inaugural show, and acclaimed Canadian actress Lally Cadeau is starring in it once again.
Stratford-based Cadeau plays the title character in Martin Sherman’s Rose, which opens Sept. 15 at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts.
Sherman’s one-woman show, inspired by his maternal grandmother’s story, follows Rose, an octogenarian Holocaust survivor who’s reflecting on her long life.
“It feels absolutely wonderful,” says Cadeau when asked what it’s like to play Rose once again. “And the interesting thing is of course that I have lived 10 years longer. Things have occurred in my life, which in some ways replicate what happened to Rose. And you know, the play actually has more resonance for me now.”
The show balances the heaviness of the Holocaust with Rose’s dry sense of humour. She’s funny, Cadeau notes, but not in a yuk yuk sort of way.
“I think humour is a survival technique. It’s how we get through hideous situations. And if you can’t reflect on your life with humour, well, you’re doomed,” says Cadeau.
While Rose’s story is undoubtedly unique, Cadeau believes the character is familiar to all women, regardless of whether they’re Jewish or not.
“I can relate to her even more than I could before, because in a way, her life does parallel the journey of Judaism in the 20th century, but on another level, it’s very much an every woman’s story, and I don’t mean that to be at all patronizing. I mean it in truth.”
Harold Green’s co-artistic director David Eisner agrees. When his company first premiered Rose, he says audiences, regardless of their religious heritage, were profoundly moved by the production.
But along with being well received by audiences a decade ago, it was a critical success, too. Cadeau won a Dora Award for her performance, along with the show’s four additional nominations.
For the remount, the company is not only bringing back Cadeau, it’s also working with the same creative team it used back in 2006, including set, costume and lighting designer Phillip Silver, and Keith Thomas, who’s doing sound. Eisner is directing.
Rose is just the first play in the 2016-2017 season that’ll mark the company’s 10th anniversary. There’s also a fundraiser celebrating Leonard Bernstein and a musical revue featuring Tony award-winner Brent Carver.
It’s all part of Harold Green’s plan to attract a varied audience and to present work that’s both challenging and entertaining.
But to open its season, it’s looking back. “It does come full circle to have her [Cadeau] now help us celebrate the 10th anniversary with this richer, wonderful production of Rose. So I think people are in for a real treat,” Eisner says.
And just as Rose introduced Toronto to the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, it also illustrated its importance in our local arts and cultural scene.
“An early review of the show said rather than explain why we needed a Jewish theatre, they presented Rose,” says Eisner. “And from that, we gather it really is the story of 20th-century Jewry through this one woman’s eyes.”
Rose runs until Sept. 25 at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts. For tickets, visit www.hgjewishtheatre.com, or call 1-855-985-2787.
