[Press Release] Why this title for our two productions? Because each play ( Educating Rita by Willy Russell and Collected Stories by Donald Margulies), consists of two characters, a professor and a student confronting each other in a unique professor-student relationship and we are doing the two plays almost concurrently because they have similar themes ; two professors, Frank Bryant and Ruth Steiner, at a vulnerable time in their lives, and two students, Rita White and Lisa Freeman, who want to absorb what they can from their professors, in order to enrich their own lives. Rita and Lisa’s ultimate goals and their pathways to these goals are quite different, but each play finds the professors as much transformed as their students, in their professional as well as their private lives.
So JEST enters the back-to-school season with two back-to-school plays.
Educating Rita
Willy Russell, with a tip of his hat to G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion, features a young woman looking to rise above her working class limitations through higher education, at a local university in the north of England. World- weary professor, Frank Bryant, is chosen to be Rita’s tutor, but he is not like Henry Higgins. Tired of illuminating student lives with the best of English literature, he concentrates instead on E. M. Forster, whose books on Bryant’s shelf, conceal his numerous liquor bottles; in short, Bryant is suffusing himself in a mist of alcohol.
Featuring David Glickman and Nikki Simon, the play presents a verbal duel rich with humor, as both professor and student learn precious life lessons from their different life experiences and from one another.
Collected Stories
Collected Stories takes us across the sea to New York City. Obviously Jewish professor, Ruth Steiner, hesitatingly allows her student, Lisa Morrison, who is part of her academic world, into her barren social life. Professor Steiner has enjoyed success as a short-story writer which brings on adulation from Lisa. Over the four years of their relationship Lisa progresses from fan, to protégé, to colleague and to friend, resulting in an explosive conclusion. The play is also replete with humor, as the relationship between the two develops.
Bakol Ruben Gellar and Ronit Glaser take the roles of Professor Steiner and Lisa Morrison, and with wit and wile, show the evolving, shaky relationship between the two.
The plays will be directed by Leah Stoller, former teacher, and eternal student.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR THESE TWO PLAYS
Tickets will be our usual 80 shekels, but for this special twosome, we are offering a subscription rate of 130 shekels for the two plays – any performances of your choice.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL TO SEE THAT THIS IS A GOOD DEAL
Subscriptions – Send check, made out to JEST, to: JEST- P.O.B. 7666, Jerusalem 91076, with preferred performance dates. Individual ticket orders: JEST – 02- 6420908, or e-mail lstoller@netvision.net.il. Bimot – www.bimot.co.il.
PERFORMANCE DATES
EDUCATING RITA COLLECTED STORIES
Tuesday, August 28 – 6 PM Monday, September 10 – 6 PM
Wednesday, August 29 – 8 PM Tuesday, September 11 – 8 PM
Thursday, September 6 – NETANYA – 8 pm* Wednesday, October 31 – 6 PM
Wednesday, October 24 – 6 PM Thursday, November 1 – 8 PM
Thursday, October 25 – 8 PM
All performances will be at the theatre at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel\, except *
