‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ are back with a new-generation cast onstage in Winnipeg

The CJN's own male lead David Sklar talks about taking on the classic part of Mitch Albom.
David Sklar (left) and Harry Nelkin (centre) star in 'Tuesdays at Morrie', a theatre adaptation of the best-selling book by Mitch Albom, directed by Mariam Bernstein (right) for the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. (Photo by Jazz Marcelino)

When Tuesdays with Morrie was first published in 1997, it elevated Jewish author Mitch Albom to a level of literary stardom that reverberated beyond the book world. The story—which detailed Albom’s frequent visits with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, who was dying of ALS—has since been adapted into a TV movie and an off-Broadway production in 2002 before a New York City revival earlier this year.

And now, a new staging is bringing this two-hander play to the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre—starring The CJN’s own arts podcaster, David Sklar. David took a few moments out of rehearsal to sit down with his director, Mariam Bernstein, to talk about the Jewish themes inherent to the story.

But before that, Ilana Zackon catches us up on her busy summer, which included a stop at the KlezKanada retreat in rural Quebec and the Ashkenaz Festival in downtown Toronto, and later offers up some nationwide arts listings, including a couple controversial films about the Middle East debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.

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