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B'nai Torah Congregation, Bridge & Tunnel, Karen Stephens, Sarah Jones, Shari Upbin, The Theatre Arts Series at B'nai Torah
The Theatre Arts Series at B’nai Torah
Shari Upbin
presents
Carbonell Award-Winner
Karen Stephens
in
March 16th, 2016
February 23, 2016
BOCA RATON, FL: The Theatre Arts Series at B’nai Torah will conclude its season with star power: Carbonell Award-winning actress Karen Stephens will reprise her award-winning performance (Best Actress 2011 – New Times Best of Award) in Sarah Jones’ Tony Award winning Broadway show Bridge & Tunnel.
On March 16th, Stephens will once again inhabit the souls of 14 diverse members of New York City’s melting pot: A Polish-German-Lithuanian-American Jewish grandmother, a boyfriend-hating Australian, a Chinese mother of a lesbian daughter, a Jordanian woman with a fixation on the Beatles, and 10 other inimitable individuals provide their own distinctive, entertaining, and often moving perspectives on the American dream. Hosted by the charming and hilarious “Muhammad Ali” in a night club in Queens, New York, these fascinating characters from the outer boroughs of New York – bridge and tunnellers – will offer their perceptions of the immigrant experience.
Karen Stephens
“Through an annual poetry gathering we are introduced to these people from varying cultures who share their unique experiences,” Stephens explains. “It’s a delightfully entertaining view of the American immigrant story.”
Bridge & Tunnel was originally produced Off-Broadway by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, where it won an Obie Award (Outstanding Performance) and went on to become critically acclaimed, long running hit on Broadway where it won a special Tony Award. It was performed in both Sarasota and Ft. Lauderdale as part of the Women’s Theatre Project. Bridge & Tunnel will be directed Shari Upbin.
Playwright Sarah Jones is the winner of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize. Jones has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and others. Her theater honors include an Obie Award, a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival’s Best One Person Show Award.
Bridge & Tunnel will run for one performance, only – on Wednesday, March 16th, 2016, at 7:30 pm at Congregation B’nai Torah in Boca Raton. Tickets are $36 ($25 for congregational members), and may be purchased by calling 561-392-8566 or on line at www.bnai-torah.org. Group rates are available.
Bridge & Tunnel
by Sarah Jones
March 16, 2016
7:30 pm
Tickets: $36 ($25 for congregational members)
Click HERE to purchase tickets on line
Phone: 561-392-8566
B’nai Torah Congregation
6261 SW 18th Street
Boca Raton, FL 33433
www.bnai-torah.org
Shari Upbin
Shari Upbin:
Shari Upbin (Producer/Director) has been a theatre professional since the age of 13 when she became a member of Actors Equity. (Her father was a writer for Jack Benny). She has been a professional tap dancer and choreographer and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers; she was the president of the League of Professional Theatre Women/New York for seven years, and is currently President of the National Society Of Arts And Letters, Florida East Coast Chapter.
Shari has produced and directed over 50 productions in New York and around the country. Her directing Credits include Vincent, The Passions Of The Artist Van Gogh, Danny And Sylvia at the Forum Theatre in New Jersey. Other credits include Life With Father, Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret, Jacques Brel, and The Roar Of The Greasepaint; she was awarded Best Director for her production of Side By Side By Sondheim. Shari will be producing the national classical ballet competition En Pointe in South Florida in 2017.
Along with Bridge & Tunnel, some of Shari’s Florida directing credits include the recent sold out performance of Women’s Minyan, Broadway Live! and Hollywood Live!, Confessions Of A Jewish Shiksa Dancing On Hitler’s Grave at the Kravis Center, Dames In Divaland, From Door to Door, and In the Voice of Our Mothers (at the Posner JCC).
Shari served as assistant director to the world renowned British Director Michael Langham for the first Black/Hispanic Julius Caesar and Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival with Joe Papp starring Morgan Freeman.
Shari Upbin and Sandi Durell have been long time producing partners in Hollywood Live! and Broadway Live! as well as the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award nominated Timeless Divas! series with hosts Ben Verreen, Tony Randall, Karen Mason, Tovah Feldshuh , Phyllis Newman, and Leslie Uggams.
Carol Kassie 