Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Pl.
Tuesday, January 30, $25 (use code SOAP7 for $18 tickets), 7:00
866-811-4111
mjhnyc.org
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which takes place every January 27, an impressive cast is performing seven staged readings of Jeff Cohen’s The Soap Myth in four East Coast states, from January 22 to February 1. The poignant drama was inspired by the true story of concentration camp survivor Morris Spitzer, whose one-man crusade to get Holocaust museums to include exhibits on soap made by Nazis from murdered humans was detailed in a 2000 article in Moment magazine. Reviewing the 2012 National Jewish Theater production at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, I wrote that it “offers an intriguing look into the speculative nature of history and one man’s furious dedication to setting the record straight.” The touring show is directed by Pam Berlin and stars seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner as Milton Saltzman, two-time Tony nominee Johanna Day as Holocaust scholar Esther Feinman and Holocaust denier Brenda Goodsen, Naked Angels cofounder Ned Eisenberg as museum curator Daniel Silver, and Missing Bolts co-artistic director Blair Baker as journalist Annie Blumberg. The production will have two area performances, January 30 ($25) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and February 1 ($36) at Hofstra Hillel at Hofstra University in Hempstead, followed by a talkback with members of the company.