TimeLine Theatre Extends A SHAYNA MAIDEL Through 12/2

Due to popular demand, TimeLine Theatre Company announces a four-week extension of its current revival of A Shayna Maidel, Barbara Lebow's moving family drama about two sisters reunited after years of separation caused by the rise of the Nazis.

Originally scheduled to close on November 4, A Shayna Maidel will now run through December 2, 2018 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Only TimeLine FlexPass Subscribers have immediate access to the new block of performances; 4- and 3-Admission FlexPasses valid for TimeLine's entire 2018-19 season are now on sale for $66 - $204.

Tickets to the new block of performances go on sale to the general public Thursday, October 4 at noon. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6.

A Shayna Maidel marks the TimeLine debut of acclaimed director Vanessa Stalling, and has played to full houses and universal acclaim since opening in late August. (left, from left) Charles Stransky as Mordechai, Emily Berman as Lusia and Bri Sudia as Rose. (right) Emily Berman as Lusia.

A powerful and poignant drama, A Shayna Maidel begins with the story of a daughter and her father, Rose and Mordechai Weiss, who escaped Poland shortly before World War II and have adapted to life as new Americans in New York City.

In their escape, they were forced to leave behind Rose's sister Lusia and her mother. When Rose and Lusia are reunited, Rose struggles to engage with an older sister who, having survived the horrors of war overseas, now seems a stranger. And Lusia-haunted by vivid memories of her past-is uncertain about connecting with a family she's never known.

Portraying the sisters in A Shayna Maidel are Emily Berman (she/her) as Lusia and Bri Sudia (she/her) as Rose. Starting October 24, Emily Glick (she/her) takes over the role of Rose. The cast also includes Carin Schapiro Silkaitis as Mama (she/her), Alex Stein as Duvid (he/him), Charles Stransky as Mordechai (he/him) and Sarah Wisterman as Hanna (she/her).

The A Shayna Maidel production team includes TimeLine Associate Artist Collette Pollard (Scenic Designer, she/her); Samantha C. Jones (Costume Designer, she/her); Rachel K. Levy (Lighting Designer, she/her); Jeffrey Levin (Sound Designer and Composer, he/him); Elise Kauzlaric (Dialect Designer, she/her); and Deborah Blumenthal (Dramaturg, she/her).

Written in 1984, A Shayna Maidel was widely produced by America's leading regional theaters and became a long-running success Off Broadway from 1987 to 1989. Fast forward to this April, when The New York Times reported that 41 percent of Americans, as well as 66 percent of Millennials, "cannot say what Auschwitz was," and lack "basic knowledge" about the Holocaust.

"Don't we know our own history?" responded Stalling. "It's disturbing to recognize our country's current ignorance about the Holocaust while at the same time witnessing rising anti-Semitism and white nationalism. Rather than shaping a world informed by the mistakes and traumas of our past, our lack of historical knowledge is shaping a country that feels like it's regressing. Simply put, our ignorance is dangerous."

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