Thursday, October 7 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 9 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 10 at 2:00 PM
Online via Zoom (all times EST)
You are invited to the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington's latest virtual production! Join us via Zoom for "Halpern and Johnson," by Lionel Goldstein. This is a two-person drama featuring Joseph Halpern, an elderly working class Jewish widower and Dennis Johnson, a retired accountant. At the funeral of his wife, Florence, Mr. Halpern meets Mr. Johnson, who surprises him with the disclosure that he and Florence had maintained a close friendship for the last 40+ years. RSVP below to attend!
Remaining Show Dates (EST):
Thursday, October 7 and Saturday October 9 at 7:30pm & Sunday, October 10 at 2pm
Where: Online via Zoom. You will receive an email with the Zoom link a few hours before the reading.
Suggested donation: $25
After submitting the RSVP form, consider making a donation to help us offset losses from the cancellation of multiple live onstage shows due to the pandemic. To make a tax-deductible donation online via Paypal or for more information on how to donate via mail, click the button below.
Suggested donation: $25
Questions? Email jewishtheatrebtown@gmail.com
Overview
A poignant comedy drama, Halpern and Johnson features two men in their 70s, Mr. Joseph
Halpern, a Jewish factory owner and Mr. Dennis Johnson, a retired Catholic accountant. At
the funeral of Halpern’s wife, Florence, Mr. Halpern meets Mr. Johnson, who shocks him
with the disclosure that he and Florence had maintained a close friendship for the past 40+
years. Eight weeks later, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson meet again. Their interactions make
way for plenty of comedic moments as they each learn information about their lives and
about Florence that ultimately changes them. Halpern and Johnson will take you on a roller
coaster of emotions ranging from love, faithfulness, and honesty, to disbelief, betrayal, and
finally, conciliation.
Talkbacks
There will be a talkback following the show on Saturday October 9 with the Director, Dale McFadden, and both actors, Ken Farrell and Gerard Pauwels.
There will be a talkback after the matinee on Sunday, October 10 with playwright Lionel Goldstein, who will be joining us for the show and talkback from the UK! Join us for this special event facilitated by Darrell Stone.
Artistic Director: Audrey Heller
Managing Director: Amalia Shifriss
Artist Headshots and Bios
Director
Dale McFadden
Dale is pleased to be directing his fourth production for JTB. Past productions are The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Coming to See Aunt Sophie and Oh God. He is Professor Emeritus in Theatre and Drama at Indiana University where he had a long teaching and directing career in addition to serving as Associate Chair and Head of the Acting and Directing Program. His theatrical productions spanned a range of material from new plays to Shakespeare. Dale also maintained an active professional career with work in Chicago, New York, Germany, and Poland. He has also been a theatre grants panelist for The Illinois Arts Council and The Indiana Arts Commission.
Actors
Ken Farrell (Halpern)
Ken is excited to be a part of this production, his fourth for JTB. He was last seen in Halpern and Johnson (2016), Brooklyn Boy and Oh God. Other local theatre credits include Kalamazoo for BPP, Little Women for IU Summer Theatre, August Osage County for The Phoenix, Two Views for BPP, All My Sons, The Drawer Boy, Annie, and Diary of Anne Frank for Cardinal Stage. He studied theatre at Emerson College with Tom Haas and was a member of the PROPOSITION, a typical musical improv revue in Cambridge MA in 1970. He dedicates his performance to TC, his spiritual adviser and wife.
Gerard Pauwels (Johnson)
Gerry is back again for his sixth JTB production. This is his second venture into the world of virtual theatre having appeared last year in The Grandkid. He has previously appeared in Visions of Right, Coming to See Aunt Sophie, and in a live production of Halpern and Johnson in 2016. He has also appeared in a dozen productions with Cardinal Stage including, King Charles III, Big River, and Diary of Anne Frank, and in Bloomington Playwrights Project productions including, Cadillac and Ampersand. He is glad to be back–virtually at least.
Playwright
Lionel Goldstein
Born in London, England, Lionel left school before his fifteenth birthday and had a variety of jobs. He had his big break when introduced, by filmmaker Robert Kitts, in 1979, to a BBC producer, Innes Lloyd, who commissioned his first TV drama, The Executioner. This was followed by Ann & Debbie for Granada Television, two episodes of Crown Court for Granada Television, two episodes of The Bill for Thames television, four episodes of Howard's Way for the BBC and Castle of Adventure for TVS. Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (1983) won best TV play for 1984 (U.K.) and best play on Cable TV (U.S.A.), also for 1984.
In his own words: “I became a playwright not only by accident but very much against my will and desire. The crucial event happened when I was 44 by which time I had tried my hand at an impressively bewildering collection of jobs and trades including, more or less chronologically, a furrier, a short-lived stab as a pattern cutter, (I don’t think I ever found out what that entailed), a ladies hairdresser, (plus that and a gents barber in the British Merchant Navy), a cab driver, a silver antiques dealer, a builder and decorator, a property developer, (I should have kept at that, I’d be rich by now) and an unqualified electrician. But then, I’m not qualified to be a Writer, either…”
