|
In January 2005 he directed a combined bombing and shooting attack on an IDF
vehicle patrolling the greenhouses of the community of Morag, in which
one civilian was killed and three soldiers
were injured.
In January 2005 he directed a shooting attack at Kissufim in which an IDF
officer was injured.
Ziyad Rannem was recently involved in directing further attacks against Israeli
civilians and IDF forces.
Ra'ed Fuad Shahker Rannem, a 21 year-old resident of Rafah, was an Islamic Jihad
terror operative involved in terror attacks against Israel since 2005. Ra'ed
Rannem was a weapons production expert and provided weaponry for attacks against
Israeli civilians and IDF forces, constructing Qassam rockets and bombs. He was
also involved in rocket launchings and shooting attacks in Israeli communities.
He was recently preparing weaponry for additional attacks.
Muhammad Anuar Hammis Ra'i, a 21 year-old resident of Rafah, was a senior
Islamic Jihad terror operative who planned and executed attacks against Israeli
civilians and IDF forces, including rocket launchings and attacks near the Gaza
Strip security fence.
The
preceding story was provided by Israel security services via the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
(Return to top)
.
Israelis help Cyprus fight Troodos Mountains fires
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Following an appeal from the Foreign
Ministry of Cyprus to the Israel Embassy in Nicosia, emergency firefighting
assistance was dispatched over the weekend from Israel to extinguish the fires
raging in the Troodos Mountains.
The Israel Foreign Ministry organized the aid, which included a
firefighting aircraft belong to the Chimnir company, an Israel Air Force cargo
jet carrying seven officers and soldiers, including a doctor from the Home Front
Command, a fire extinguishing team and 33 tons of fire extinguishing materials.
The governments of Cyprus cooperated in the mission, and the
United Kingdom permitted the planes to land at a British airfield near the site
of the fire.
The planes returned home early Sunday morning.
The preceding story was provided by Israel's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|
Nancy Harrison of Anderson Travel
presents:
Adventures in Cruising
Watch this ad for a different cruising photo each day. The adventure can
be yours!
My thanks to Abe & Bea Goldberg and Ruth Kropveld for sharing photos of
their family cruise on Holland America's Ryndam.
Call Nancy Harrison at (619) 265-0808 to help you book a cruise from San
Diego or anywhere. Or click this ad to go right to her
email. |
Aboard Holland America Ryndam
San Diego to Mexico cruising
Bea Goldberg,
right, and mother Ruth
Kropveld enjoy a Pacific sunset
aboard the Ryndam
|
Avraham
Hirschon, accused of corruption,
resigns as Israel's finance minister
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this morning, accepted
Minister Avraham Hirchson's letter of resignation in which the latter wrote
that he wishes to devote all of his time and efforts to clearing his name
and proving his innocence.
Minister Hirchson added that even though the law allows him to continue in
office, it would be proper to appoint a Finance Minister that could devote
all his efforts to the Israeli economy.
Prime Minister Olmert subsequently spoke with Minister Hirchson and wished
him success in the struggle to prove his innocence. The Prime Minister
expressed his appreciation over Minister Hirchson's professional
achievements as Finance Minister and on the way in which he navigated the
Israeli economy to impressive success.
Prime Minister Olmert said: "Even the step that Minister Hirchson is taking
today puts the good of the economy ahead of any personal or other concern.
This is worthy of respect and admiration."
The preceding story
was provided by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office
Katzav's troubles
may continue beyond resignation
JERUSALEM--Moshe Katzav, former President of Israel, is no longer accused
officially of rape. Two charges of that crime indicated in preliminary
documents did not appear in the plea bargain arranged by his attorneys and
the Attorney General. Katzav has accepted the terms of resignation, being
charged with committing indecent acts without consent, sexual harassment of
two women, and harassing a witness. While the crimes carry a maximum penalty
of seven years imprisonment, the plea bargain calls for a suspended
sentence, and some compensation to victims.
It's not quite
the case that "all hell is breaking loose," but lots of women and not a few
men are upset. A protest demonstration in Tel Aviv drew a modest crowd. The
reporter on the scene for the public television channel reported that
200,000 people had appeared. When pressed by the newsperson in the studio
that perhaps he meant 20,000, he repeated that people were telling him that
there were 200,000, and continued to speak enthusiastically about the
support for punishing Katzav more severely, and firing the Attorney General.
Next day's
newspaper estimated the crowd at 20,000. The Israeli standard of comparison
is the 400,000, said to have been at a protest in 1982 when Ariel Sharon was
found at least indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in
Beirut.
If anyone out
there wants a good looking, slightly chubby, but not too bright or
professional reporter who might serve as a local weather boy, if he can
report in something other than Hebrew, there may be one available here.
One of the
principal accusers of Katzav held a press conference after the announcement
of the plea bargain. She detailed the sexual behavior of a low life who
worked his way with effort and luck to become the President of Israel. She
also demonstrated why the prosecutors did not include her charges among
those filed against Katzav. Twice she submitted letters of resignation as an
employee of the presidency. When they were rejected, she continued to work
with Katzav. She also accepted a promotion.
It has been a
while since Israeli courts demanded that a victim fight vigorously in order
to establish a charge of rape. But a prosecutor wants something stronger in
the direction of "No" than demonstrated by this victim.
The Attorney
General described Katzav as a serial sexual offender in a news conference,
but admitted to the problems in justifying the strongest charges in court.
He also expressed concern about subjecting the presidency to a long and
gruesome trial. The story of Richard Nixon sheds some light on these
calculations.
The issue is
not over. Several groups are petitioning the Supreme Court to overturn the
plea bargain. The judges of the lower court may demand revision, especially
of the sentence suspension, when the issue comes before them. Commentators
are likely to work on this for some time.
Katzav may
screw himself. Soon after the plea bargain was announced, he and family
members asserted his innocence, and said that he accepted the bargain only
to save his family the pressures of a trial. Then the senior prosecutor
threatened that such behavior would invalidate the bargain, and start the
process again. The almost-former president may yet find himself one of the
least enamored guests of the Prison Authority.
(Return to top)
.
 Jews
in the News
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are
praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy.
Whether
it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in
general media about our fellow Jews.
Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego,
and you. Wherever you are, if you see a story of interest, please send a
summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net
and we'll acknowledge your tip at the end of the column.
To
see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
|
*Irving Berlin, George Gershwin,
Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and other songwriters of the first half of the
20th century are featured in Wilfrid Sheed's The House that George Built,
approvingly
reviewed by Charles McNulty in today's Los Angeles Times.
*Marty Block, president of the San Diego Community College Board, says
the fact that master plans are developed during open meetings gives real estate
speculators some advantage when the district tries to acquire property.
However, he said, doing the public's business in public is important. The
question arose with a San Diego Union-Tribune
report by
Tanya Mannes and Agustin Armendariz
that developers Mike Madigan and Paul
Nieto were able to profit by a half million dollars by purchasing a property
ahead of the college district, and then reselling it.
*U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, summing up the rightward
shift in the current Supreme Court term, said "it's not often in the law that so
few have changed so much." The
story by David G. Savage is in today's Los Angeles Times.
*Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff said he saw "no credible evidence" that the suicide car
bombing of the Glasgow Airport by terrorists indicated any threat to U.S.
airports. A combined wire service
story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
*Actor Kirk Douglas attended the 86th anniversary bash of the
Hollywood Bowl, commenting how much he'd like to be that age again. He is
90. The
story by Jenny Sundel is in today's Los Angeles Times.
*A Copley News Service team looking into potential conflicts of interest on
the part of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) whose
subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee determines what may be spent by the
Pentagon on outside contracts, reported it found no evidence that Feinstein ever
steered a contract to companies in which she and her husband, Richard Blum,
were heavily invested. The
story by
Marcus Stern
and Finlay Lewis is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
*Rockets fired from Gaza prompted three targeted missile attacks by the IDF,
killing seven Palestinian whom Israel said were involved in terrorist activity.
This was seen as a warning to the Hamas government in Gaza that Israel
will not tolerate any attacks from its territory. A combined wire service
story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
*Mexico City's Palacio de Belles Artes has a retrospective on the works of
artist Frida Kahlo, who was twice married to muralist Diego Rivera and
enamored of exiled Soviet leader Leon Trotsky. Maribeth Mellin has a
story on the exhibit in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
*Record producer Hank Medress, whose own singing career as a Token
included The Lion Sleeps Tonight, has died at age 68. The
Associated Press
obituary is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(Return
to top).
CYBER REFERRALS—The American Jewish
Committee website extolled a
piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal by Lucette Lagnado
describing her return to the
Cairo in which she had once lived until Gamel Abdel Nasser made it clear in the
1950s that Jews and Europeans were not welcome in Egypt. ... For those of you
who have visited the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the San Diego Natural History
Museum and are hungering for more exposure to this great religious and
archaeological find, visit the website of the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem,
which has photographed and allows you to see all 54 columns of the Great Isaiah
Scroll. Here is
a link...
Janet Tiger is distressed that popular theatre critic Pat Launer
will no longer be featured on KPBS radio. The background of this
development is on Launer's personal
website.
GROWING,
THANKS TO YOU—The chart below by Webalizer
provides summaries of the daily averages and monthly totals for San Diego
Jewish World for the two months since our online publication was transformed
from jewishsightseeing.com to a site that includes both daily news and archival
material on Jewish places to visit. The daily number of visitors has increased
from 2,308 to 2,898, an increase of more than 500 visits per day. Therefore we
had 86,952 visitors in June (which has only 30 days) compared to 71,566 visitors
in May (which has 31). The number of pages visited are just about double
the number of visitors, meaning that a typical visitor came in on one page,
usually our home page, and left the site on another. The number of sites which
connected to our site declined from 25,605 to 23,615, a disappointment for which
we have no explanation. We can speculate that people who used search
engines like "Google" to find specific topics may have found more of what they
were looking for in May on our site than they did in June. Regardless, it
appears that we have developed a core constituency of over 20,000 readers. We
will work hard to earn your loyalty and to build upon your readership.
Thank you for your support.
|
| Summary by Month |
|
|
Month |
Daily
Avg |
Monthly
Totals |
| Hits |
Files |
Pages |
Visits |
Sites |
KBytes |
Visits |
Pages |
Files |
Hits |
|
|
Jun 2007 |
12654 |
8368 |
5562 |
2898 |
23615 |
21458182 |
86952 |
166889 |
251044 |
379621 |
|
May 2007 |
11898 |
8234 |
4457 |
2308 |
25605 |
21268566 |
71566 |
138168 |
255265 |
368855 |
IN MEMORY—Frieda Goldberg, 85, of
Rancho Bernardo, died Tuesday, July 26. Among her survivors is her son, Jack
Goldberg, of Rancho Penasquitos.
(Return to top)
Copper Scroll from Jordan is a treasure
hinting of locations of more treasures
..jpg)
WHY
IS THIS SCROLL different from all other scrolls at the Dead Sea Scrolls
Exhibition in
San Diego. Curator, Risa Levitt Kohn, (r) provided three reasons this
evening
Dead Sea Scroll from the Department of
Antiquities of Jordan: photographs by Dr. Bruce Zuckerman and Kenneth
Zuckerman, West Semitic Research. Courtesy of the Department of
Antiquities of Jordan and West Semitic Research;
Photo of Risa Levitt Kohn by Donald H. Harrison
By Edward
Zeiden
SAN DIEGO--As you're ending your journey through
the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum, you come
across something that catches your eye. It's another piece in the collection of
scrolls, except this one is different, very different.
This scroll is composed completely of copper! The rest of
the scrolls are leather or parchment, in danger of slowly deteriorating without the
intervention of conservationists. But this copper scroll, although subject to
corrosion, was clearly constructed to last.
That is not the only reason this scroll is different from all other scrolls in
the exhibit. Unlike the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls this one came from Jordan
instead of Israel. Also distinguishing it from the rest is that it holds no
biblical reference. It's actually a treasure list or "golden ticket" if you
will. This scroll lists 64 locations where various items of gold and silver are
said to be hidden.
The problem with the descriptions is that whoever wrote them assumed they would
be read by a contemporary, not by someone 2,000 years after his time. The
writer describes places the way we might give directions to the local store. He
refers to places whose names are no longer known.
For example, one bullet point states: "In the irrigation cistern of the Shaveh,
in the outlet that is in it, buried at eleven cubits: 70 talents of silver.”
But what is the Shaveh? Where is it?
Where did this treasure even come from in the first place? you might ask. Some
think it came from the Qumran community itself, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were
discovered. Others believe it came from the First or Second Temple complex in
Jerusalem. The most widely accepted theory suggests the treasure consisted of
funds accumulated throughout Israel from about 70 to 130 C.E.
Dr. Risa Levitt Kohn, curator of the exhibit, suggested in a press release that
"the Copper Scroll has a story fit to be an Indiana Jones movie." The fact
that the treasure hasn’t been found may mean it doesn’t really exist, its
writers possibly sending readers on a "wild goose chase," as it
were.
Even if there is a treasure, there are major problems for treasure hunters.
First, the scroll was written in an ancient form of Hebrew. Some words are not
known today, Kohn said.
Furthermore, the scroll had corroded over the years, and could not be simply
unrolled. It actually had to be cut into strips to be read.
While this unique copper scroll may unlock vast riches beyond our dreams, the
intriguing treasure list is still shrouded in mystery.
And, according to Kohn, there was a bit of intrigue in getting the Copper Scroll
to San Diego at the same time as the Israeli scrolls came. Although Jordan and
Israel today are at peace, the former enemy nations have never jointly exhibited
their scrolls.
In a lecture tonight to approximately 200 people, mostly drawn from
Congregation Beth El of La Jolla, Kohn said just having the Copper Scroll was
something of a coup for the Natural History Museum. It is the first time it has
been exhibited outside of Jordan since its 1967 war with Israel.
“It was a quite an interesting set of negotiations that needed to take place to
convince both antiquity authorities that it would be wonderful for them to
cooperate on this cultural venture outside of Jordan,” she said.
(Return to top)
 People
of the Books |
Jewish
stories everywhere? This one takes place in Zimbabwe
WHEN A CROCODILE EATS THE SUN by Peter Godwin; Little, Brown and Co.; 341
pages; $24.99.
Reviewed by Norman Manson
For its first 115 pages, this book is as advertised in its subtitle on the
jacket, "A Memoir of Africa."
But on page 116, the reader is thrown a wicked curveball, revealing the stunning
fact that the author's father, who really is the book's main character, is not
the quintessential English gentleman he purports to be, but rather is a Polish
Jew, a son and brother of Holocaust victims, who has totally reinvented himself.
This revelation adds an intriguing twist to a work that is enlightening and
informative, giving the reader an in-depth picture of a continent that is
virtually terra incognita for most Westerners. And it is a dark, gloomy
portrait.
In recent years, the names of Darfur, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and a few other
African places have made it into American newspapers and TV newscasts. Zimbabwe,
however, has somehow stayed under the radar for the most part - and Godwin does
his best to remedy that.
The former British colony of Rhodesia gained its independence after a bloody
civil war in 1980,and since then has been ruled by a dictator named Robert
Mugabe. Over the years, he has managed to keep a lid on his subjects, both black
and white, but the nation - such as it is - has been slowly but surely sliding
into chaos.
Godwin focuses on the years of his father's decline, from 1996 until his death
in 2004, but these also were years of worsening strife in Zimbabwe, where his
parents have lived since the 1950s and from where they refuse to leave.
Farmlands and other property were seized from their rightful owners - who
included both whites and blacks opposed to Mugabe - and given to the dictator's
close associates, who were thus able to enrich themselves. Meanwhile, the
economy was coming apart, with the inflation rate soaring to the point where
Zimbabwean currency was (and still is) virtually worthless.
Godwin now lives in New York and writes for various publications including
The New York Times
and
National Geographic.
He manages to obtain writing assignments regularly that take him to southern
Africa, enabling him to visit his ailing father and see for himself the
deterioration of his homeland.
And at the same time, he finally learns of his father's past and delves into
Holocaust records in an effort to learn the fate of his father's mother and
sister.
The personal story is tied in deftly with the tragic story of a nation in deep
trouble, and the result is an eye-opening account a of a tragic time for both
the family and the country. And it also depicts the life of a man who, having
denied his Jewishness and taken on a totally new identity, now in his dying
years is finally able to come to terms with his past - how he went from Poland
to England to attend school just before the Nazi invasion of his homeland,
served in a Polish army-in-exile unit during the war, and with the Communist
postwar takeover of Poland, could not return home. So he became an Englishman,
eventually changing his name from Goldfarb to Godwin and going to colonial
Africa as an engineer. And, along the way he met and married a red-haired
Scottish young lady over her mother's vehement objections.
The story holds the reader's interest throughout, and provides an excellent
learning experience about one part of the deeply troubled African continent.
One final note: The book's title derives from a village superstition
(Return to top)
True
West
a treat for true theater lovers
CARLSBAD, Calif—While some might not like the subject matter of Sam Shepard’s
True West and might find it uncomfortable watching the events of this play
unfold, they would be hard pressed not to be impressed by the current production
of it in the new facility of The New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. (More on
the facility later.)
Shepard’s play, the ‘third of his family plays’, hits all the raw nerves in
dealing with family relationships; love, hate, revenge, jealousy, rage, sibling
rivalry, you name the emotion. And when the dysfunction in the home is propelled
by alcohol, well, that’s another story altogether. The father, the unseen person
spoken of in every emotional tone, the mysterious drunk hidden away in some
institution, is really the third leg in this family troika.
Lee (Francis Gercke) puts his had on
shoulder of agent Sam (Jack Missett)
as Austin (Joshua Everett Johnson) looks on in scene from
True West
Adam Brick photo
Shepard’s play centers around two brothers. Austin, (Joshua Everett Johnson)
and Lee (Francis Gercke). Austin is the clean cut, Ivy League graduate, soon
to be big time writer with a wife and two kids back East. When the play
opens, he is pecking away at his typewriter on the table in the patio area
of his mother’s house in suburban Los Angeles. Nick Fouch designed the
realistic and useable patio and kitchen area with a true 60’s/70’s, So
Cal. look (at the edge of the desert)with running water and a full supply
of food in the fridge. His mom is on a trip to Alaska and Austin is taking
care of her plants while editing the screenplay he hopes to be bought as a
movie sooner rather than later.
Lee, on the other hand is a scruffy, out of control petty thief who never
graduated high school and who took off into the Mojave desert living off the
fruits of the land because he couldn’t seem to make it any place else. His role
in life was to taunt and terrorize his younger brother just for the heck of it.
He surprises Austin when he shows up at the family home.
He has come back, unexpectedly, with his several Bud six packs because he needs
a place to hide, do a little R&R and a little small time thieving, TV sets are
his specialty, for some extra thrills. They hadn’t seen each other in a long
time and old habits don’t change because one or the other is out of sight.
Austin doesn’t trust Lee and Lee picks up his bullying where they left off the
last time.
Both brothers spar in the beginning with Lee pushing, batting, poking and
badgering Austin while constantly tugging at his pants, hiking them up tucking
in his soiled shirt, wiping his lips and pacing back and fourth. Austin, his
white V necked sweater evenly smooth over his clean jeans continues typing while
staving off his brother’s advances, cleaning up the beer he has so carelessly
dribbled over the floor.
Suddenly, Lee comes up with an idea for a screenplay about the West, and in an
attempt to appease his brother, Austin agrees to type it out and show it to his
agent, whom he is expecting momentarily. The story is about a chase through the
desert, one guy chasing another, that becomes eerily, their story.
Austin wants Lee out of the house when his agent, Saul, a stereotypical
looking/acting Jewish wheeler dealer (Jack Missett) arrives. So over his better
judgment, Austin gives Lee the keys to his car, but Lee decides to stay after he
gets the keys. When Saul does arrive he is in shorts, dripping with a thick
gold bracelet, pukka beads around his neck and a flashy pinky ring. Lee
convinces Saul to take his story, a true Modern Western, over Austin’s love
story. They deal, making a golfing date to solidify the details. Lee is off and
running, smacking his lips, rubbing his hands together and smelling fame,
leaving Austin bewildered, to pick up the pieces and wonder about his future.
(Jump to continuation)
Unless otherwise indicated,
source for these stories is today's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully
provide the links below.
 
Youkilis
Green
Schoeneweis
BASEBALL—The Boston Red Sox dropped a game 5-4 to the Texas Rangers, but no
one would blame
Kevin Youkilis.
In five plate appearances, he walked three times and homered once, bringing
his season RBI total to 43 and his batting average to .326. ...
Shawn Green singled and received a walk to get on base twice, but he
never got to score any of the New York Mets runs as his team coasted to a
8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Mets reliever
Scott Schoeneweis
pitched an
inning in relief, giving up one hit but no runs, while striking out two
batters. That brought his ERA down to 5.65. ...
(Return to top)
Gaza ...
(Continued from above)
In May 2004, Ra'i placed the roadside bomb detonated against an IDF APC
operating in the Philadelphi corridor, and also fired an RPG at it during the
attack. Five soldiers were killed in the attack and five others were injured.
Ra'i was recently involved with Ziyad Rannem in planning suicide bombings
against Israeli communities and IDF forces in the Gaza area.
The Al Mughazi cell
Salah Abed Al Hafez Ahmad Kofa, a 45 year-old resident of Al Mughazi, was a
senior Islamic Jihad terror operative involved in many attacks since 2001 and
was a major force in the organization's weapon production efforts.
Salah was involved in the attack at the Kissufim crossing on June 9th 2007, in
which a vehicle emblazoned with the "TV" and "Press" signs was used to
infiltrate Israel and gunmen exchanged fire with IDF forces for several hours
before one of them was killed.
In March 2004 he was involved in a terror attack at the Erez crossing in which
gunmen in two cars camouflaged as IDF vehicles arrived at the Erez crossing and
opened fire at Israeli forces. Two Palestinians were killed in the attack and
eight were injured. Salah Kofa prepared the vehicles used in the attack.
Kofa was recently involved in attacks against IDF forces in the Gaza Strip
security fence area.
The preceding story was provided by Israeli security sources via Israel's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
True West...
(Continued from above)
By the second act Lee, in a turn about , is dictating HIS ideas for Austin
to type. He wants Saul to see the finished product so he can get financing
from his money men as soon as possible. Lee who is becoming Austin, has the
upper hand in the fiction department and Austin, under pressure to
accommodate his brother, bangs away at the typewriter all the while hoping
Saul will change his mind.
But something happens along the way, and Austin decides he’ll try some
neighborhood heists just to show Lee he can do it. Of course there is a dare by
Lee. He always wanted to be like Lee, he confesses, to live on the edge, to stop
being the goody two shoes, to live the unconventional life.
Things go from bad to worse as their drinking increases, and the seven or eight
toasters Austin steals from the neighbors houses to prove he could, are now
popping with toast that land all over the floor, and by the time their mother,
(Dana Case) who is a little loopy, comes home, they are both as drunk as hell,
the house is topsy turvy and Austin is, well, becoming Lee.
There is one thing that NVA cannot be denied and that is the ability to breathe
life into a production no matter how distasteful, gut wrenching or tense the
subject matter. They do it so well. And what two better actors to bring these
characters to their prime than Johnson and Gercke? The roles are perfectly
matched for these two men who so chillingly play drop dead opposites of the same
person. It’s as if they turned each other inside out, or just vanished into the
other’s self.
Director Kristainne Kurner has her actors nailed just right. With a measured
pace and a thoughtful, almost menacing look, Gercke begins his disarming slowly.
His slicked back pompadour hair, mustache and lisp (which is the frosting on the
cake) make him a person to be reckoned with. He’s scary, sneaky, intense and
will pounce at any given moment. Gercke IS Lee.
Johnson, as Austin, has the clean cut look one would never suspect of having a
violent bone in his body. It’s amazing, however, to see the transformation of
the two brother’s in a role reversal and to watch the physical violence that
must be played out amidst their jealously, hatred and history. That, combined
with the dark, sadistic humor of Shepard that rides the tale of this tiger and
becomes another rite of passage for the two, is a fitting conclusion to Lee’s
outrageous story and their survival. Austin, the gentler of the two does get his
day, but at a high price.
Shepard is often compared to Harold Pinter with his long silent pauses and dark
humor. True West starts off with long pauses and stop go dialogue that
may or may not be Pinteresque, but it is now Shepard’s trademark. See any of his
plays and they have that same slow, stop, pause give and take that gives a more
dramatic pitch to an already heavy story.
Missett gets Saul down to a tee and Case has her moment as the distant mother
who will never understand her sons. The whole family needs therapy but we all
know that will never happen, so we just try to work it out in our own minds and
wonder what we would do given the situation.
True West is a sure winner and NVA continues to produce quality theatre
with high marks in every category. It continues through July 15th. For more
information call: 760-433-3245 or NewVillageArts.org.
POSTSCRIPTS:
New Village Arts Theater, established in 2001 by Kristianne Kurner and Francis
Gercke (real husband and wife) has finally moved into its new space at 2787-B
State Street in Carlsbad. Over the years the theatre group had been using the
Jazzercise studio also in Carlsbad, which has graciously hosted this up and
coming theatre company.
The new space is close to the ocean and the Carlsbad train station; expect to
hear a train whistle or two during a performance. It was formally home to the
Children’s Discovery Museum, North San Diego County.
The city of Carlsbad, with the nudging of economic development manager, Cynthia
Haas, worked out a deal that the theatre couldn’t resist. It’s a 6,000 square
foot space with a seating capacity of 99. Small and intimate with dressing
rooms, an art gallery in the lobby and air conditioning that is truly functional
thanks to a generous gift by June and Jerry Gottleib, this space is a work in
progress.
The beautiful wooden cathedral ceilings give the entry a spacious and warm and
welcoming look. It’s home to the talented ensemble that is proud to be a part of
NVA.
See you at the theatre.
(Return to top)
|
