REMEMBER THIS TRICK
directed by David Herskovits
February 17 – March 17, 2024 @ Target Margin Theater
Featuring Danny Bryck, Zoë Geltman, Yehuda L. Hyman, Sarah Suzuki, and Mari Vial-Golden
David Herskovits, Director & Sound Design
Barbara Samuels, Lighting & Scenic Design
Beth Goldenberg, Costume Design
Jesse Freedman, Sound Demon
Tala Munsterman, Production Stage Manager
Allison Hohman, Assistant Stage Manager
David Rosenmeyer, Music Director
Jonathan Cottle, Production Manager
Leo Egger, Assistant Director
Zaïna Yalioua, Production Assistant
Remember This Trick explores American antisemitism, stories of Jewish survival, troubling conspiracy theories, and the trickster spirit that will save us all. Created by Founding Artistic Director David Herskovits alongside a cohort of artists, this new play weaves together tales of a young queen, a magician, and the 36 wise folk hidden in plain sight to heal the world.
In a sense, Remember This Trick is no more or less than an artistically adventurous Purimshpil –the traditional Jewish retelling of the story of Esther. At the time of Purim, we remember how when forces gathered to exterminate the Jews, a savvy and courageous woman saved them.
“Remember This Trick is an expression of personal history – one that I hope is meaningful to everyone,” says Herskovits. “My father escaped Slovakia in 1940 with his mother and grandmother when he was ten. No one else in the family got out. His story is one of thousands of inspiring stories of Jewish survival and strength in adversity. With Remember This Trick, I want to add my own voice to that literature, without sentimentality and with the richest complexity I can bring to bear.”
Herskovits began work on Remember This Trick in 2022. Although the play deals with antisemitism, it is centered on the situation in America. Today, we must acknowledge the context of events in Israel/Palestine, the suffering and horror of that conflict. Despite the overlap of some subject material, Remember This Trick intentionally does not attempt to address the current and historical situation in the state of Israel. That is a tragedy that commands its own focus and deep conversation in the world and in the arts.
Press
Time Out
Photo by Justin J. Wee