“Sonia”, a musical about the couple Sonia and Shimon Peres, may be the big surprise of the Israel Theaters repertoire for the 2022/2023 season, according to a press conference by the Haifa Theater, where its repertoire for the upcoming season was revealed, including two more musicals, theater classics And touching on current events such as the Elor Azaria affair, an improvisation cabaret and a reading festival of original plays.
The opening shot for the upcoming season is given this month in “The Good, the Bad and the Girl”, an improvisation cabaret in which the Keren Tzur booklet for Ron Richter and Noam Rubinstein in a theatrical-musical show that is entirely improvised according to the audience’s intentions.
In September, the musical “The Beautiful Year of My Life” by Ehad Hitman, creator of the hit musical “Billy Schwartz”, starring Mickey Kam, one of its two stars and Roni Dalumi, is scheduled to appear in collaboration with the Habima Theater. The musical, centered on a young couple dealing with parenting, will be directed by Moshe Kaftan, Habima’s artistic director.
Immediately after that, another musical, “Swing”, will be performed by and directed by Zivia Huberman, whose theatrical work has so far been aimed at children and youth. The plot, an affair between a refugee from the Holocaust and one of the pro-Nazi Templars, takes place in a Tel Aviv dance club during the Mandate.
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After 15 years, Shlomo Braba will return to the juicy character of plumber Elimelech Borozovsky in the “written” comedy, by Ephraim Kishon (starring Meir Margalit at the Ohel Theater), with the same director, Moshe Naor, the artistic director of the Haifa Theater, in a new adaptation, including songs from the beginning.
After directing the play “Everyone Was My Son”, Naor will return to his author, Arthur Miller, the theater grants of the 20th century, in the play of the family drama “The Price”, starring Yaakov Cohen and Assi Levy.
Shortly before that, the Haifa Theater will premiere in Israel, directed by actress Sharon Stark and adapted by Avishai Milstein, the comedy “Shaken” by the contemporary German playwright Marius von Mainburg.
And as for Azaria? – The outrageous story of the play “Shirat Alor” that Oded Lifshitz wrote in the style of a Greek tragedy and will be staged as part of the “Makor Festival”, as it is called the Haifa Theater Reading Festival. The play follows the evidence that accompanied the affair in court. Among the characters in the play – Azaria, who claimed that “I shot the terrorist because he deserved to die”; The commander, who questioned Azaria immediately after the incident and decided to roll him over; The battalion commander, who raises the ethical doubts about the motives for the shooting; Azaria’s mother, who bursts into a discussion on behalf of the mothers, who send their son to the army and more.
Now, to the musical Sonia and its creators, musicians Guy Private and Shachar Shamai, who from his place of residence in London, where he conducts a Jewish cabaret, has harnessed his friend for an intriguing adventure.
Why Sonia?
“Because with all the mystery that accompanies it there was in my eyes a fascinating figure, representing a generation that no longer exists with values that are disappearing.”
Private: “As a musician, the idea that Shahar came up with for this musical piqued my curiosity with the whole riddle surrounding this woman, who so wanted to stay out of the spotlight. I gave Shahar’s inspirational lyrics life through music.”
What music?
“Music that I was influenced by, including songs from Eretz Israel that I heard at home and the piano playing of Chopin’s and Rachmaninov’s works.”
Shamai clarifies: “Because not much is known about Sonia, there is no biographical story here, completely true to reality, but the story of the Peres couple is combined with the story of the State of Israel, with the launch between public life and private life. The plot begins with Ben-Shemen Of Sonia to go with Peres to the Presidential residence in Jerusalem, as someone who used to say – “I married a farmer and not a politician.”
How do you create a musical, when you’re in London and Guy in the country, after returning from it a long time ago?
“By today’s means there is no problem, despite the distance and circumstances of the corona that accompanied us at the time of writing.”
Peres family in the picture?
“We tried to involve her throughout the process, but we responded with a kind of thunderous silence, which encouraged us to bring Sonia’s character as we imagined her.”
Shachar Shamai, a Jerusalemite born in Rishon Lezion, and Guy Private are a pair of composers, graduates of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where they met and have master’s degrees in musicals from their studies in London, where he served as private music director at the Jewish Cabaret Theater. Noting that “the friendships between us helped us during the creation to overcome the difficulties of distance.” Private, 34, is originally from Ashkelon, who played the violin alongside the piano and spent his military service in the Home Front Command. “Over time writing has become something more significant in my professional life,” says Private, who among other things played the piano at the Repertory Theater.
What brought you from your diverse work to put the emphasis on the field of musicals?
“I’ve touched on this area since I was a child, but at the time I did not know it was my great love of music.”