Theater Reviews

By Ann-Carol Pence

December 14, 2007 4:09 PM | Link to this

How familiar was Mr. Wise with Jewish Theatre of the South’s programming before deciding this well-respected theatre would not receive his stamp of approval? Did he and his family have season tickets? A theatre does not amass 2000 season ticket holders by championing “a narrow mission.” An audience of 2000 subscribers and their guests are regularly attending the Marcus Jewish Community Center – a building some of us would have never even known about otherwise. Jewish Theatre of the South does much more than “produce rarely produced or never produced shows.” It bridges the gap between cultures. Many non-Jewish patrons regularly attend their programming. Many non-Jewish artists are hired as part of their talent pool. Everyone in the cultural community knows that Jewish Theatre of the South does not produce on Friday – in order to honor Shabbat. Perhaps Ms. Wise does not care to bridge any gaps at all. Perhaps Mr. Wise wishes to widen the gap. My holiday wish is that Bernie Marcus will intervene and ask that the community cultural center that bears his name will begin to act in the same enlightened manner Mr. Marcus has upheld throughout his successful career.

By Mark Perloe

December 14, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this

Theatre is not simply a bunch of people getting together to put on a show. Theatre is what happens when a group of dedicated, talented artists change their audience in the process. Good theatre entertains, great theatre engages those fortunate to witness the events that took place upon the stage. Many an evening I left a JTS show and the discussed the play’s issues well into the wee hours and the following days.

JTS has allowed me to share my cultural background with family members whose only opportunity to view my heritage has been Woody Allen or Fiddler on the Roof.

Mira has brought together some of the best talent in Atlanta to tell our stories. It is sad that that voice will be silenced. Hopefully she will find support to continue her work at a more enlightened venue.

I was proud to be a member of the Marcus JCC, but don’t think I will be responding when they send a renewal notice this time around.

By Freddie Ashley

December 14, 2007 5:09 PM | Link to this

This is a huge blow to the cultural landscape of the city, to say nothing of the loss to the Jewish community. The closure of JTS will be felt by theatregoers and artists alike. Mira Hirsch created a wonderful institution that I hate to see disappear. It’s a big loss. I wish my good friend and colleague Mira the very, very best.

By Anthony Rodriguez

December 14, 2007 5:16 PM | Link to this

How sad that Mr. Wise and the Marcus JCC no longer see the value of Jewish Theatre of the South. A professional theatre dedicated to producing a wide range of plays with Jewish themes and content. I have no doubt that Mira Hirsh will rise above this to create a stronger theatre which will continue to engage and enlighten the Jewish and non-Jewish community. Anthony Rodriguez Producing Artistic Director Aurora Theatre

By Elizabeth Wells Berkes

December 14, 2007 5:23 PM | Link to this

A “narrow mission”??? Under Mira’s leadership, JTS managed to stage expensive “brand-name” shows like Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof, while at the same time demonstrating a laudable commitment to producing new work. It is a loss to the entire Atlanta theatre community. How astonishing that MJCC would choose to scuttle their single greatest cultural flagship.

By Sheri Whiteman

December 14, 2007 5:25 PM | Link to this

I was so saddened to hear of Mira’s departure from JTS and its ultimate dissolution. This news is particularly upsetting considering that my daughter Rachel just completed the starring role in JTS’s production of “Hula-Hoopin Hannah and her Hanukkah Adventure.” As this was Rachel’s first professional gig, she had the most incredible experience. Mira and her entire staff were a first-class group devoted to first class theatre and I know Rachel is supremely grateful for the opportunity JTS provided. We wish Mira only the best and we want her to know that she gave Rachel a fantastic start for what she hopes is a real acting career.

By Jennifer Jenkins

December 14, 2007 5:46 PM | Link to this

My memory is fuzzy I guess. Wasn’t JTS performing at 14th St Playhouse before Mira brought her GREAT theatre company to the MJC center in Dunwoody? Is it her company or the center’s? I guess it doesn’t matter now. How very short sited of Mr. Wise and company. What a loss for Dunwoody and all of Atlanta. I’ll follow Mira to wherever she lands next. My next email will be to JTS to have my name removed from their mailing list.

By kfy

December 15, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

Since it’s first production, 13 years ago, I have seen appoximately 33 productions at Jewish Theater of the South. But truly, I have SEEN more than that.

I have watched audiences laugh together, cry together, and hug together. I know of groups who gather three times a year at Mira’s theater (they tell me, in today’s busy world, it’s one thing that has kept their friendships strong). I have witnessed great work by actors, actresses, directors, and playwrights from our city (and from all over the world). I have learned much about my own heritage, as well as many others. I have listened to people (Jewish and not), following a show, praise a performance or share ideas and feelings that typically would never be shared.

Yes, I am saddened that JTS is leaving the center and more so by the decisions that have been made by the leader of the center. The Community Center is losing more than just a great theater. It is losing a place to laugh and cry, a place to develop friendships, and a place to learn, a place to grow and share. Hmmm, aren’t these the types of things a community center should be fostering?

Mira will thrive wherever she lands. Her passion, dedication, and ability will carry her. I for one will be along for the ride….trust me on that!

By Raye Varney

December 15, 2007 10:37 PM | Link to this

I’m baffled by the financials discussed in the article. A $22 million organization cannot continue to host and/or support a professional theater with a budget of less than $400,000 that, presumably is also revenue-generating? JTS was the envy of many of us in the theater world for having a large sponsor organization that helped subsidize shows that needed resources beyond ticket sales. What an extraordinary gift to the Jewish and non-Jewish cultural scene the Center was providing! It does seem short-sighted for the Center to evict one of the metro area’s artistic gems. I wish Mira the very best wherever her new JTS lands.

By Rachel May

December 16, 2007 1:00 AM | Link to this

I am shocked and dismayed.

The way I read this article is this - the Marcus Center is not interested in plays which expand the Jewish diaspora.

As mentioned in other posts, Jewish Theatre of the South has always presented a wide variety of plays - including both new and well-loved plays, children’s plays, etc. Is the leadership of the center concerned that some of these newer (ie: untested) plays might not bring in enough audiences? As Raye pointed out, finances don’t seem to be a concern, so that can’t be the issue. So is it perhaps that these newer plays might contain ideas which might challenge, or expand the thinking of the audience… which perhaps might lead to discussion? Dialogue is always useful, and I’m very disappointed that it appears Mr. Wise and his task force would like to shut down what has been an incredibly vibrant and important community and artistic conversation.

I’m terribly sad about this news and wish Mira all the best. I’m sure she will continue to be a smart, savvy and sensitive leader of any theatre she joins or creates.

By David Silverman

December 16, 2007 10:56 AM | Link to this

As an actor, I am pained by the news of any theatre closing its doors. As a Jewish actor, and admiring friend of Mira Hirsch, it is especially saddening. To replace JTS - with its unique (and by definition, narrow) vision - with just another theatre trying to out-guess its audience in order to achieve financial success, is short-sighted. Such a change in direction comes at great cost to the community. Most of us in the theatre arts are, by nature, less interested in receipts than in what our audience receives. Yes, our priorities are completely out of whack; we think of others first! Theatre can do so much more for the soul than simply entertain. Theatre can enlighten, educate and inspire, higher goals incongruent with modern culture. Theatres like JTS struggle because of these lofty goals. Thank G-d they do, rather than simply abandoning their mission to sell a few more tickets! The MJCC has blessed the Atlanta community by supporting JTS’ mission all these years. Removing that support is unconscionable. Lastly, the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s decision is simply another obstacle to the growth of Jewish culture. How can they not see that? What is the MJCC’s mission that they could allow this to happen? They have unwittingly helped to silence the Jewish voice, new Jewish voices that struggle to be heard in an increasingly hostile, anti-Semitic world. That is a debt a thousand sold-out shows could not begin to repay.

By R. Wright

December 17, 2007 12:09 PM | Link to this

The loss of JTS and Mira Hirsch’s extraordinary team of artists is a shame and a shock. I cannot imagine what the powers that be at the Marcus Center can have been thinking. This is a great loss to the Atlanta theatrical community.

By svb

December 17, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Perhaps most troubling is the MJCC’s stated notion that a commitment to new voices is “at odds with our community-driven mission.” Does a community that hesitates to open its doors to new voices also hesitate to welcome new people?

By Anonymous

December 17, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this

As someone close to the lay leadership of the MJCCA, I have watched as Mr. Wise has passed the buck on to several new “task forces”, “special committees”, and “governance boards” in his first few months. With the negative press and loud community uproar, perhaps he will think twice before acting on his next managerial whim. Welcome to Atlanta Mr. Wise.

By Scott M

December 17, 2007 7:19 PM | Link to this

JTS and Mira will be dearly missed around the JCC, but it seems that Mr. Brock’s consistently poor reviews have forced the community leaders to envision a more inclusive, non-professional dramatis personae.

By Howard Hyman

December 18, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

We at the MJCCA appreciate the outpouring of support of the MJCCA’s Jewish Theatre of the South by both members and subscribers. However, we wanted to take this opportunity to clarify our vision of future MJCCA theatre programming.

In recent years, we have been listening carefully to feedback from you – the community – about the MJCCA’s theatre program, specifically Jewish Theatre of the South. As a result, we have put in place a new lay leadership structure – an Arts & Culture Task Force, which I will chair - to help shape this enhanced and expanded theatre program.

Jewish theatre is not ending in Atlanta, or at the MJCCA. It is transitioning and growing, diversifying and moving into its next phase.

While the specific mission of Jewish Theatre of the South was to be, “a professional theatre committed to presenting seldom-produced plays that originate from a Jewish perspective,” our newly-enhanced theatre program will be broadened, not eliminated, to the more universal mission of “inspiring and engaging the Jewish community through professional and community-based theater, as well as producing teen and children’s theatre.” We will be presenting a wide array of productions including nationally-acclaimed professional musicals, comedies and dramas.

Mira Hirsch, JTS’s Artistic Director since its inception, has chosen to continue with the current mission of the JTS program outside of the MJCCA. We wish Mira well in her future endeavors.

The anticipation for this new initiative is great. And, we invite you - as members and subscribers - to provide input to this Arts & Culture Task Force and help us to shape this next exciting phase of our cultural community. There is great opportunity for theatre artists in Atlanta, both on stage and behind the scenes. With the new vision that we are developing for the theatre, we look forward to attracting theatre-goers not only from Atlanta but from across the entire Southeast. Join us in making this next phase exciting, successful, and one that will keep Atlanta on the map as a Jewish cultural destination.

Sincerely,

Howard Hyman, Chair MJCCA Arts & Culture Task Force

By Sean

December 18, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this

Ah, so Howard, in an attempt to be everything to everyone, will make it bland, uninteresting and uninspired. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up.

By Rochelle Mucha

December 19, 2007 9:34 AM | Link to this

To Howard, and MJCCA leaders, and readers of this note I have read the above notes and want only to add to the already eloquent expressions. But, I write from a unique place. I am not only a patron, but an organizational consultant, with an expert view of ‘how organizations work’. So let’s try being honest here. First…Mira, and her right arm guy, Blake, ran a fantastic operation. I know this intimately, because beyond enjoying theatre in the audience, I had the privilige of working with Mira, Blake, cast and crew last year because Mira was bold enough to allow me to observe and participate as part of my dissertation research. It proved to be the most amazing experience of my professional life. JTS opened their doors and arms, embraced me and my research project, and as a result, that experience is continuing to make inroads in the emerging field of business and the arts. Other artistic directors failed to respond, or did not show the same level of interest. It is this relentless enthusiasm and curiousity that has made JTS what it has achieved over the years. Now for Howard, et al. Let’s get real. This decision was made prior to Wise coming on board. I suspect he was your hired ‘hit man’. Easier for him to absorb the ‘blame’, or sign on the dotted line perhaps. You see, this is how organiztions work, whether is Nardelli at the Home Depot or at Chrysler….decisions at the top brew over time. Howard…you must see how ‘transparent’ your argument and defense are. If you truly wanted to keep the quality of the current JTS, you would have. Instead, the leadership created compelling reasons not to. It is the classic leadership case of pushing away from, rather than towards. And now, what are you proposing? A fragmented and competitive Jewish audience demographic for Jewish theatre? This is Atlanta, if you have not noticed…not Brooklyn. There aren’t that many of us. So as a Jewish patron, I will miss JTS. Having lived in New York and DC, I found JTS to be best of the best in Atlanta. As a business professional, I think I and others see through your rhetoric. As a professional who had an inside view of JTS…I think you made a huge mistake on all levels.

By Brad

December 24, 2007 1:12 AM | Link to this

Wendell, This isn’t news. It appears that you are trying to stir things up and create more controversy than really exists. That is a long shot at best. None of us are board members of that organization and thus have absolutely no say in this - or even educated opinions. I am glad they are gone. It gives rise to new opportunities. Isn’t that what Atlanta is all about?

By Save your money

December 26, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this

Great…we’ll be treated to more boring, tired, overdone crap.