On Monday November 16th, The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company hosted a very special fundraiser to raise money for the organization, which is currently Toronto's only professional theatre company established to celebrate and share Jewish culture. When describing the event, co-artistic director Avery Saltzman said: "Musical theatre has been an integral part of American society since its inception. And it was Jewish composers and lyricists specifically who created and definite America on the musical theatre stage. We have gathered some of the best theatre artists in Canada to celebrate and sing those songs."
It truly was a fantastic night. The sold-out show was a real crowd pleaser, and demonstrated the amazing musical talent that Canada has. The event was hosted by Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and Deb McGrath (Little Mosque on the Prairie), who were fabulously entertaining, telling jokes on many different subjects and carefully poking fun at the fact that they were hosting a Jewish fundraiser while not actually being Jewish. A high point in the evening was when the couple got the crowd involved in a rousing rendition of the theme from Gilligan's Island (by Jewish Composer Sherwood Schwartz). It was a delight to watch the two engage the audience, and there was a lot of back and forth between Colin and Deb and the crowd. One shining example came right before the sing-a-long, when Colin merely mentioned the name Sherwood Schwartz and a few people in the audience immediately shouted out Gilligan's Island. You could tell it surprised the duo that people were familiar with the composer, and it was that kind of fun and light-hearted interaction that set the tone for the entire evening.
The show was approximately two and a half hours long, with all the performers singing selections from various Jewish composers. The one thing that really hit home for me while watching the performances was how incredibly lucky we are in Canada to have such a diverse and talented group of performers willing to give of their time to help a cause like this. Every person who sang (or accompanied) seemed to be having a wonderful time and really did a fantastic job, and I feel that is a true testament to the quality of the performers we have in the city, as well as a testament to co-directors Avery Saltzman and David Eisner, who clearly are well respected amongst their peers.
Before the intermission there was also a brief live auction which was a lot of fun, definitely engaged the audience and provided a lot of comic relief after some sad songs were performed. First up was a dinner for four hosted by Ezra Title, the chef/owner of Chezvous Dining. The dinner would be served in the home of the winner and attended by Colin and Deb. After that Deb McGrath auctioned off a day on the set of Little Mosque on the Prairie, including a small walk-on role. Between the live auction, ticket sales and the silent auction that took place in the lobby following the show, the event raised $40,000 for The Harold Green Jewish Community Theatre.
Some highlights of the night included Michael Burgess's rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Being Alive" (from Company) which was beautifully sung and a special treat given that it has been some time since Mr. Burgess has performed live on stage. Toronto's Jersey Boys (Michael Lomenda, Jeff Madden and Quinn VanAntwerp) performed a spectacular rendition of Ervin Drake's It Was A Very Good Year, alternating verses and then harmonizing together at the end. Afterwards they were joined by Avery Saltzman for a very funny rendition of Bie Mir Bistu Shein. Originally performed by the Andrews Sisters, one could laugh at the little shout out to the popular Jersey Boys Musical, in which Michael Lomenda's Nick Massi utters a line referencing the bands lack of name and uses the Andrews Sisters as an example.
Another personal highlight was witnessing Theresa Tova sing "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" in Yiddish. Personally, I do not speak or understand Yiddish, but it was a beautiful performance and truly remarkable to watch. Another one that really moved the audience was Thom Allison's rendition of "Infinite Joy" from William Finn's Elegies. You could tell that his performance really resonated with the audience, and I even heard people discussing it after the show and wanting to know who he was and where the song was from.
The evening ended with a fantastic performance by Mr. Saltzman himself, who sang Alan Menken's Pink Fish and really got the crowd going. Overall, the evening appeared a huge success, and a wonderful celebration of Canadian Musical Theatre. The next event by The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company will be in May of 2010, and is "The Soul of Gershwin: The Musical Journey of an American Klezmer" If what I witnessed Monday night is any indication, I would imagine this will be a show not to be missed. For more information on the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company and the upcoming show, please visit their website here: http://www.hgjewishtheatre.com/
