Theatrical Production

Our bi-annual Production, a multi-media theatrical performance, provides our students with an opportunity to shine in a non-academic environment. From choir to drama, from ticket sales to costume design and creation, this almost exclusively student-run program is an excellent way of allowing girls to learn from each other and gain valuable experience producing a large scale event.

A Little of This, A Little of That – 2015: Written by Adina (Klein) Korobkin – TBY Graduate 2005 [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/production-2015-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

A world-class chef looking to create the perfect recipe, while taking a hiatus from cooking!?

An award-winning cholent!?

A notorious biblical king concerned about making his mark on history…

A Little of This, A Little of That, the 2015 Tiferes Bais Yaakov multimedia theatrical production, is a study in character balance and a comical retelling of the Purim story through the lens of the Rambam’s Shemonah Perakim. Through its modern-day protagonists as well as those from the Persia of yore, A Little of This, A Little of That illustrates that we must have a sense of propriety and react in the best way possible according to each individual situation we encounter. In this way, a person can strive to attain the perfect recipe – or optimal midos displayed at all times – for his or her character and become the best version of themselves that they can be.

Renowned chef, Gershon Ramssaiss, has an unwarranted outburst in his restaurant’s kitchen. His restaurant’s investors revel in the news of the kitchen drama, with the mindset that anything loud and attention-garnering will bring more customers to the restaurant. Chef Gershon, on the other hand, wants to be known for his top-notch gourmet cooking and his pleasant ambiance, and takes a soul-searching hiatus from his restaurant to figure out why he reacted so harshly in the first place. At the same time, his daughter, Reena, and her fellow uninterested and distracted members of her school’s student council are urged by student council president, Hadassah, to actually engage with their friends and put their energy and enthusiasm into something meaningful, specifically a school event for the upcoming Rosh Chodesh Adar and Purim. Though the girls remain apathetic and skeptical of the merits of organizing such a school program, Hadassah persuades them to work together to simulate the managing of Chef Gershon’s restaurant, which she convinces him – with a little well-placed help – to let her and the girls take over while he re-evaluates his disposition. As the girls peel themselves away from the ever-consuming technology around them and put their combined efforts into the restaurant, they face a little more than what they thought was on the menu for the day.

Concurrently, the audience is re-introduced to the legendary personalities of Megillas Esther. King Achashverosh governs on the Persian throne and concerns himself with extreme carousing and consorting with the knavish Haman. His Royal Record Keeper, acting as the voice of reason, tries to prevail upon the king to act with honour and integrity – in a way that will reflect nobly on him for centuries to come – since all of the king’s actions are accurately recorded for posterity. With some effective encouragement, some unfamiliar and uncharted situations that arise, and some fresh approaches to each situation, King Achashverosh, Chef Gershon, Reena, Hadassah and friends discover when to apply “a little of this” and “a little of that” on their enduring pursuit of the shviel hazahav – the golden mean of character balance.

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In Concert – 2013: Written by Adina (Klein) Korobkin – TBY Graduate 2005 [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/production-2013-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

A young man shows up at a film producer’s office and claims he has a story like no other…

Music students are given the opportunity of a lifetime–a chance to play in front of a scout from a legendary orchestra–but only one student can have the limelight. Who will get it…

Jewish boys joining the circus?!

Who is Ami Fraynd?

In Concert, the latest sold-out Tiferes Bais Yaakov theatrical event, is a multi-plot musical about the powerful impact that people can have on one another. The play illustrates that no man’s speech or actions occur in a vacuum; rather, they have the potential to reverberate for years to come.

In the present day, a young man, Shlomo, pitches an idea for a film to a famous documentarian. He tells the story of a young Holocaust survivor who arrives in America completely alone with a strong distrust for other people, as a result of the pain and suffering he endured in Europe. Through a series of events, the young survivor is taught how to play the violin and becomes a brilliant musician. His only problem is that he must learn to play with other musicians. However, others cannot understand the basis for his distrust and reserve – for he has never told his story to anyone.

At an earlier date, a student, Elana, arrives late to Mrs. Einstein’s high school music class and makes a tactless, hurtful comment to Mrs. Einstein. Mrs. Einstein is shaken by the comment, but continues to teach. She announces to the class that a raffle will be held to determine which girl will play the solo performance at their upcoming recital, which will be attended by a scout from an esteemed orchestra. Another student, Shaindy, implores the rest of the class to only submit her name to the raffle. All of the girls reluctantly agree, except Elana, whose disregard for both Shaindy’s and Mrs. Einstein’s feelings has a lasting effect that resounds throughout the play: Mrs. Einstein’s distress causes her to miss her son’s school debate, which causes him to feel deeply let down and to spiral into a series of bad decisions while spending his time with bad company. Shaindy’s dream is crushed and her career trajectory takes some very unexpected twists.

Shlomo’s narrative, Shaindy’s plight, and Mrs. Einstein’s family concerns take us – amongst other places and events – to the circus, the Yom Kippur War, a police arrest, and back to the circus, yet again, as they interconnect to show how extraordinary one life can be–how it can affect so many other lives–and how we must be careful how we use our actions and speech, since they will inevitably impact others. For we are all In Concert.

 

Strings Attached – 2011: Written by Adina (Klein) Korobkin – TBY Graduate 2005 [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/productions-2011-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

In the year 250 CE, in a village in Eretz Yisrael, during the reign of the Roman Empire, a goldsmith sacrifices everything to save a magnificent ruby-encrusted, gold crown…then loses the crown forever…

A house on a quiet cul-de-sac is robbed; a precious heirloom is stolen…

A woman suffering from a terminal illness is hospital-ridden. She desperately needs experimental treatment…if only her husband could pay the insurance company to cover the costs…

Strings Attached is an intricate, multi-plot story about how the choices people make using our Bechira Chafshis – free will – are weighty and can affect events, unbeknownst to us, for years to come, but, at the same time, it is Hashem who “pulls the strings” and runs the ever complex world in which we live. The story follows the police investigation of a robbery at the Stern’s house, where a special, heirloom doll has been stolen as a result of some ill-advised decisions. At the same time, Mr. Stern, a Sofer – a writer of Torah scrolls – is asked to help replace the Torahs in a shul that has had a terrible fire. Despite the tumult caused by the robbery in his home, Mr. Stern must decide if he can contribute to the shul which is in dire straits. Also in the present day, a terminally ill patient is informed that her only hope is a very expensive, experimental treatment. She and her husband must figure out how to cover the cost of this treatment and are limited in their options. While the police officers try and put the pieces of the case together, the effects of the robbery settle on the Sterns, and the patient and her husband try to get her the medicine that she needs, the audience is taken back thousands of years to the centuries-spanning journey of a golden crown, whose owners affect where it travels over time. As the investigation unfolds and the fate of the crown is gradually revealed, the many plot elements join together to reveal the bigger picture – part of the Almighty’s Master Plan to which the many interrelated events belong. Each character learns – in his or her own way – that their ability to choose is something they must use carefully, and that their every action will yield a consequence.

 

Do You Like My Hat? – 2009: Written by Adina (Klein) Korobkin – TBY Graduate 2005 [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/production-2009-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

In the year 3830, the most strikingly beautiful and awe-inspiring structure that ever stood was destroyed…

Moshe Cohen is just like you…Indeed, he is just like you. True, he cannot see…but he can see…

In 1982, a duffel bag was mistakenly taken in John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, taking its young owner on a revelatory adventure…

Do you like my hat? is a multi-faceted story that spans several decades, centuries, and theatrical genres. Moshe Cohen narrates his experience as a teenager: an accidental luggage swap at a busy airport and the ensuing mission to remedy the bag mix-up. The ordeal enables him to clearly see how our constant judgement of fellow members of Klal Yisrael– based solely on their appearances– is the reason our nation is in its current state; however, Moshe’s visual acuity is in fact a paradox, for Moshe is blind. Meanwhile, in the present day, Moshe’s young daughters are experiencing their own difficulties with superficiality that influences their – and others’ – opinions. One daughter must befriend a very “different-looking” new classmate, while the other daughter has a confusing meeting with a Shadchan, who deems a certain boy unsuitable for her based on inconsequential, non-substantive qualities. In a careful weaving of plots, the missing bag, the new classmate, and the unlikely shidduch come together in a shocking twist to reveal that only judging people’s externals leads to the baseless disdain and hatred of one Jew to another; hatred that caused the destruction of the most beautiful edifice that ever graced this earth – the Bais Hamikdash.

 

A Change of Tune – 2007: Written by Adina (Klein) Korobkin – TBY Graduate 2005 [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/production-2007-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

School…ON SUNDAY!?

Where is that music coming from!?

A Change of Tune is a theatrical adaptation of – or sequel to – Abie Rotenberg’s famous Marvelous Midos Machine childrens’ series in which children learn to work on positive midos. The play incorporates some of Rotenberg’s original musical score and adds new lyrics tailored to the high-school-themed plotline.

V.C., Abby, Ricki, and Tamara are outraged. Their school has just announced it will now be in session on Sundays – a day they were accustomed to having as a break from homework, tests, and teachers. The school has decided to implement a “midos project” into its curriculum that will take place on Sundays. With V.C. as the ringleader, the girls rally the other students to sign a petition to put an end to the project. The uproar at the school causes the girls’ parents and the school board to get involved, but unlike the students, the adults are divided on the merits of the midos project. As the necessity of the midos project is debated, a strange thing starts to happen in the school: music, seemingly coming out of inanimate objects, begins to play whenever a student displays a negative midah. The lyrics of the sudden songs show the girls how they are erring in their behaviour. As the music plays on, students and parents alike learn to improve their midos, understand that everyone can work on making their speech and actions as virtuous as possible, and resolve – and rethink – the contentious Sunday midos project.

Perfectly Imperfect – 2005: Written by: Chana Devorah Urbach [su_button url=”http://tiferesbaisyaakov.com/product/production-2005-dvd/” background=”#570b78″]Purchase DVD[/su_button]

Am I the best mother…father… sister… friend that I could be?

Why does it feel like no one can hear me?

Perfectly Imperfect is a comedy about me and you; about the Cohen family – Batya, Libby, and their parents – whose everyday challenges mirror those of our own: Parents and children trying to relate to each other; teenagers thinking that their parents don’t understand them; a younger sibling who feels that she lives in the shadow of her studious, well-dressed older sister; an overly conscientious child who fears she is underachieving. The play shows how each family member learns to find his voice to stand up for his convictions – whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community. Perfectly Imperfect shows how every person must recognize his/her strengths and use them to the best of his/her ability to do good in the world.

While Mr. Cohen strives to be an upstanding businessman in the face of unscrupulousness at his workplace, Batya, his younger daughter, unsure about where her talents lie, is in the throes of an identity crisis. Batya’s older sister, Libby, has little patience for Batya and her lack of confidence and is overly anxious about doing well at school and looking her best. At the same time, Mrs. Cohen, who yearns to understand what her daughters are going through, attends a mothers’ support group to get advice and chizuk – encouragement –and learns that her fears and concerns are shared amongst the other mothers.The family’s communication skills and deference for each other are further tested when Bubbie – the girls’ elderly grandmother – comes to visit for a week. Through song, dance, and side-splitting dialogue, the family learns to really communicate with the people in their lives and discover the talents that will allow them to work to reach their full potential.