by Macey Levin
Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York, is an adventurous company in the area reviewed by Berkshire on Stage. One of their more exciting offerings is SoloFest, a series of performances each weekend in March featuring a different one-person one-act play performed by the author of that play. Last season, which was the first time Solofest was offered, there were four dynamic plays with a range that included a serio-comic story, one about dementia, another of the freedom of bicycling and last, a compilation of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. They were facinating!
This year’s plays, in honor of Women’s History Month, are all written by and about women. The first of the series was presented during the weekend of March 1 – 3. That play, Mirele Lernt Zich Yiddish (Mirele Learns Yiddish) is the creation of Miryam Coppersmith a performance artist who utilizes song, dance, puppetry, improvisation and audience participation. The theatre’s press release says “different stories each show – no two performances are the same.” This led to a somewhat haphazard play.
Then again, it’s not a play. It is a series of scenes, some without transitions, that do not follow the accepted construction of story-telling. There seems to be no structured beginning, middle or end. Coppersmith tells us that at the age of thirty she decided to learn Yiddish; however, she doesn’t tell us why. The press release also says, “Miryam attempts to claim a small bit of her Jewish heritage, struggling to learn a language that persecution and assimilation squeezed out of Ashkenazi Jewry in the first place.” This is not evidenced in her monologue.
She does include several scenes that stand alone… some are shtick, others are touching, i.e. a song about the lynching of Leo Frank in which she cleverly uses a doll as the singer. Some of her improv work feels slight. She occasionally converses with the audience in Yiddish or has the audience join her in Yiddish songs as they do a circle dance around the stage. One wonders if the members are plants. Toward the end of the work she has a prolonged conversation in Yiddish.
The program lists a dramaturg – Elijah J. Jones – but no director. A dramaturg is concerned with the literary qualities of a play; the director with the development of the performance. Improvs, which are part of the construction of Copperman’s performance , are not open to direction as they happen spontaneously; however, there is a great deal of seemingly unnecessary physical movement in this presentation that a director would have contained and not let it dilute the power of a performance.
Bridge Street’s inclusion of this piece pales in comparison to the previous SoloFest and their usual bold and creative approach to theatre. The rest of the series is listed below.
Mirele Lernt Zich Yiddish written and performed by Miryam Coppersmith, part of Bridge Street Theatre’s SoloFest 2024; Dramaturg: Elijah J. Jones; Yiddish Advisosr: Mikhl Yashinsky; Mask Design: Ruth Coppersmith; Sound Design: Perigee Vitz-Wong; Production Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning; Running time: 75 minutes no intermission. Bridge Street Theatre, 44 W Bridge St, Catskill, NY 12414. Phone: (518) 943-3894
SOLOFEST 2024:
Top Drawer
March 8 – 10 TOP DRAWER Stories of Dysfunction and Redemption from Park Avenue to Havana. Written and performed by Adelaide Mestre with Doug Oberhamer at the piano. Directed by Coco Cohn From pre-revolutionary Havana to Manhattan’s Upper East Side and back again, Adelaide Mestre spins an autobiographical tale of family, trauma, and triumph that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even…sing!
The Great Divide
March 15 – 17 THE GREAT DIVIDE Written and performed by Amy Crossman. Directed by Scott Ebersold Everything is fine! No, seriously, no one’s got a drinking problem, and the panic attacks are just, no, they’re – it’s fine, everything’s fine!! A comedic roller coaster ride that explores love, heartbreak, and choosing life in the face of incalculable loss.
Longing Lasts Longer
March 22 – 24 LONGING LASTS LONGER Created and performed by Penny Arcade. Direction and design by Steve Zehentner Presented in collaboration with White Horse Theater Company Kick ass comedy with guts! Longing Lasts Longer is a unique blend of stand-up comedy and memoir set in a riveting rock and roll soundscape.