Igor Golyak reimagines ‘The Dybbuk’ for the 21st Century
Cast of Arlekin Players’ ‘The Dybbuk’ at the Vilna Shul. Photos: Irina Danilova
“The Dybbuk”. Written by Roy Chen. Based on the original play by S. Ansky and adapted by Igor Golyak with Dr. Rachel Merrill Moss. Directed by Igor Golyak. Presented by Arlekin Players Theatre at the Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture, 18 Phillips Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, through June 23rd.
By Michele Markarian
There’s an Old World, otherworldly feeling of the Vilna Shul, one of the oldest immigrant synagogues in the United States, with its high, cracked ceilings, elaborate chandeliers and Hebrew names engraved on the walls. Plastic and scaffolding are in the center of the long rectangular room, with the sound of water dripping. The house manager announces that the show will be one hour and fifty minutes without an intermission. My friend and I look at each other; the dismay and fear on her face mirrors my own. Little did we know that one hour and fifty minutes later, we wouldn’t want “The Dybbuk” to end. It’s a stunning, spiritual production where the worlds of the living and the dead are never far from one another. While this is a world premiere, coincidentally, Ansky’s original version was performed in Yiddish by the Vilna Troupe.
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