The Westerbork Serenade

You can now order a DVD of The Westerbork Serenade <--hit this title

2011-12-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

You can now get an amazing recording of The Westerbork Serenade.
This dynamic three camera perspective of one of my performances in The Netherlands is edited by the award winning film-makers Erga Netz and Izzy Abrahami.
Also available is Swing Me to the End of Life Echos of Johnny and Jones
A documentary in which I am featured.
Hit the title of this entry or cut and paste the link below

http://www.swingmejohnnyandjones.com/

Lecture on The Westerbork Serenade wth JFS Seattle

2011-10-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

David Natale will be discussing Westerbork and the evolution of his one-man show: The Westerbork Serenade as part of Jewish Family Service Seattle's ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES lecture series.

Tuesday, December 13
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
at
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
3850 156th Ave SE, Bellevue
*Free*

you can hit the entry tile for details and directions

Henk van Gelder, NRC, on 'Swing Me to the End of Life, Echoes of Johnny and Jones'

2011-08-08T08:33:00.001-07:00

Well the Johnny and Jones documentary (Dutch version) is out and running in the Netherlands. Here's a review:

Son of Cabaret Ping Pong star in Puget Sound

2011-05-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

The other day, I had the chance to have dinner with Efram Wolff and his wife Annie.
Wolff is the son of Kurt Egon Wolff (photo right) who was the conferencier of Cabaret Ping Pong (left), the earliest exile cabaret in Holland.
Ping Pong opened in Amsterdam in 1933. It included many performers from Berlin's Catacombs cabaret. Prominent members included chanteuse Dora Gerson and dancers Chaya Goldstein (see blog entry Nov 22, 2008) and Julia Marcus. Composer and singer Curt Bry also joined the troupe.
The Ping Pong shows were decidedly anti militarist and political, including texts by Brecht, Holaender, Kastner and Tucholsky. Because of problems renewing their permit, Ping Pong moved to Switzerland for a year. They returned to Holland with the agreement to add Dutch performers to the bill. With the major stars developing solo careers, the troupe eventually broke up.
Wolff survived the war by moving to England and eventually to Los Angeles where had a career with the music department of Warner Brothers.
Chaja Goldstein was in Kamp Westerbork but survived the war. Marcus made it to Paris and continued to perform and help other dancers escape the Nazis. Bry also escaped and made it to America. Dora Gerson was about to cross the border to safety with her children. She refused the suggestion to give a sedative to her children to keep them quiet. One of them coughed, exposing them to the Nazis. They all died in Auschwitz.
Efrom Wolff is a print maker and sculptor on Vashon Island ( http://eframwolff.net/index.html ). His wife is also an artist working with found-objects and collage.

Source: Berlin Cabaret by Peter Jelavich, Harvard University Press 1993

"Westerbork Serenade - the stage play" The DVD of David Natale's performance in The Netherlands, 2010

2011-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

^
^
^
^HIT THE TITILE TO GO TO INDI GOGO

Now you can actually see the whole show
as if you were there!

Donate now and get a DVD of the premiere performance of our
2010 Netherlands Tour!

This electrifying performance at the New Liberal Jewish Center on November 13 2010 was to an audience full of relatives and survivors from Westerbork.
The atmosphere was intense. People had come from around the country and Europe: Switzerland, Germany, one all the way from Wales. even friends from the US were there. We were met with three standing ovations...

I hope you enjoy this important theatrical event.

Peace,

David Natale

Westerbork listing: All About Jewish Theatre

2011-01-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

We are listed at this very cool site all about Jewish theatre and culture
(Hit title above or cua and paste below link)
http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=3540

Call me crazy but...

2011-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/isra-d14.shtml
(hit title for article link)
Isn't building a camp in the boonies for refugees something we've seen?

Otherness=racism
But I want to wear and be whatever I want!
people must choose
not a chosen people
Arizona=Israel
Land of the fee
Home of depraved.
Let's hear it for a night in Tunisia!
May Allah protect the workers.

-dn

Where Stood the Netherlands?

2010-12-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

ANTIPHOLUS of S: Where stood Belgia,The Netherlands?
DROMIO of S: O sir, I did not look so low.

Comedy of Errors; III, ii

Where Stood the Netherlands ? by westerborkserenade-1

THE FINAL SHOWS 11-20 and 11-30

2010-12-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Pictures: Top: From the stage at the Pepijn Theatre (The Hague)
Middle: Outside the VanOstade Theatre (Amsterdam)
Bottom R: Performing at the VanO.

The Final Performances 11-28 and 29 2010 by westerborkserenade-1

Visits 11-23 to 26-10

2010-12-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Visits 11-23 to 26-10 by westerborkserenade-1

From Uden to de Pijp

2010-12-02T14:25:00.001-08:00

Photos: top: our tour guide for "The Diamond of the Pijp"
botton L: tram in De pijp
Botton r: Uden Post-card

From uden to the pijp 11-27-10 by westerborkserenade-1

From Freakies to The Resistance Museum

2010-12-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

From freakies to the resistance museum by westerborkserenade-1

From Hollandsche Shouwburg to Westerbork 11-23-10

2010-11-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

PICS: (top) Theatre at Apollo 1st, (mid)Rik and Dave at Hollandsche Shou.,(bottom) H.S.

From hollandsche schouwbourg to westerbork 11-23-10 by westerborkserenade-1

From Boom Chicago to Sint

2010-11-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

From Boom Chicago to Sint 11-23 by westerborkserenade-1

Schreeuwt om Cultuur

2010-11-22T03:58:00.001-08:00

http://www.nederlandschreeuwtomcultuur.nl/

Schreeuwt om Cultuur by westerborkserenade-1

Amsterdam Nov 13-17

2010-11-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

PICTURES: top: performing at "Salon Luniere" 11-15
bottom: Joods Historisch Museum

Nov 13 to 17 2010 by westerborkserenade-1

Kamp Westerbork

2010-11-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

PHOTOS (Top) David at a guard tower
(Middle) Commandant Gemmeker's house
(Bottom) On the grounds of Kamp Westerbork
see the radio telescopes?

11-12 by westerborkserenade-1

Drenthe TV interview

2010-11-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Check out this interview we had today on Drenthe TV, after an emotional visit to Kamp Westerbork.

http://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/tv/ps

or just hit the title

Hit the episode 12-11-10
go to 14'30"

11-11-10

2010-11-11T14:09:00.001-08:00

11-11 by westerborkserenade-1

Our first walk through Amsterdam

2010-11-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

A 11-10 walking to af house by westerborkserenade-1

Our pod-cast introductions

2010-11-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Please tune in to our pob-casts covering out tour of the Netherlands with "The Westerbork Serenade"

Rik and Dave 11-5-10 by westerborkserenade-1

Total verückt

2010-11-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple shows that are going on in the Netherlands while we are there:

(Pictured left: Abke Bruins as Anne Frank (ANP), Right: the add for "Shoah" a musical)

01-11-10 06:33 uur HOORN - In theater het Park in Hoorn gaat maandagavond de Nederlandse versie van de musical Je Anne in première. De muzikale theatervoorstelling is gebaseerd op het Dagboek van Anne Frank. Abke Bruins (24) speelt de hoofdrol. Ze is pas afgestudeerd aan de Fontys Academie in Tilburg en maakt hiermee haar debuut.

Thom Hoffman speelt Otto Frank en Levi van Kempen kruipt in de huid van Peter van Pels. De regie is in handen van de Vlaming Frank van Laecke (Rembrandt, Anatevka), die in 1994 al tekende voor een eerdere bewerking van Je Anne.

De van oorsprong Amerikaanse muzikale voorstelling speelt zich af in het Achterhuis in de periode 1942-1944. De voorstelling onderscheidt zich volgens producent Mark Vijn van andere toneelproducties en films over Anne Frank door het verhaal van de onderduikers nergens te dramatiseren en vast te houden aan de dagboekfragmenten

Je Anne reist langs tachtig Nederlandse theaters. Met de voorstelling reist een tentoonstelling mee die te zien zal zijn in de theaterfoyers. (ANP)

***

11/01/1910 6:33 hours HORN - In the Park Theatre on Monday evening in Hoorn is the Dutch version of the musical premiered Yours, Anne. The musical theater is based on the diary of Anne Frank. Abke Bruins (24) plays the lead role. She just graduated from the Fontys Academy in Tilburg and this makes her debut.

Thom Hoffman plays Otto Frank and Levi van Kempen step into the shoes of Peter van Pels. Governance is owned by the Fleming Frank Laecke (Rembrandt, Anatevka) in 1994 already signed for an earlier treatment of Yours, Anne.

The origins of American musical performance takes place in the Secret in the period 1942-1944. The presentation differs according to producer Mark Vijn other stage productions and films about Anne Frank by the story of the hiding nowhere to dramatize and to maintain the diary

Yours, Anne travels to eighty Dutch theaters. The show travels with an exhibition that will be shown in the theater lobbies. (Reuters)

***
And then there is this one: Life interrupted: Shoah a Musical

I think Xaviera is taking me to this one.
check out the trailer: (cut and paste the link below)

http://www.janroyceproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/WATCH-THE-TRAILER.mov

At the moment, I am thinking of a book called After Dachau by Daniel Quinn (2001). The story is set in 4000 AD (AD being the time After the pivotal battle in the Dachau concentration camp where the evil Jews were finally defeated thus opening the new era of an all Arian world ) The hero who studies reincarnation meets a person who was once born as a black artist centuries ago. She points him to some relics of ancient "modern" art,made by Jews; as well as a strange old diary, written in that dead language, Dutch. the diary tells of a Jewish girl's time in hiding.
History-who writes it? What is left when all the players are gone?
Are we cheapening it?
should I wear a yamika?
I wonder what Native Americans feel when tourists point out their regalia? "Oh look Jr. a real live Indian chief"

Time Out Amsterdam

2010-11-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

We are listed in the November issue. Hit the title to go there.

Sources for the Westerbork Serenade

2010-11-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Books: Boulevard Des Miseres by Jacob Boas,
An Interrupted Life, the Diaries of Etty Hillesum, Letters From Westerbork by Etty Hillesum,
Berlin Cabaret by Peter Jelavich,
Year of Fear, A Jewish Prisoner Waits For Auschwitz by Philip Mechanicus,
Cabaret Performance Volume Two, Europe 1920-1940by Laurence Senelick, Special thanks to Prof. Senelick of Tufts University for permission to use his translations.

Interviews with Westerbork survivors: Louis Dewijze, Jack Polak, Hans Margules and Hannelore Cahn,

Other sources: A’Dam Berlijn, Denk Vandaag Niet Aan Morgen
Recording from the Neederlands Theater Instituut,

Johnny and Jones, Maak Het Donker In Het Donker, Opnamen uit de period 1938-’44, Nederlands Jazz Archief, recording. And Two Kids and a Guitar, Panachord DH2051

Willy Rosen, Text und Musik Von Mir! And Wenn Ich Den Text Nicht Weiter Kann, Musik Antik am Weidenstieg, recording

Prisoner of Paradise, (A documentary about Kurt Gerron), by Malcom Clarke and Stuart Sender

The United States Memorial Holocaust Museum Picture Archive
The Internet

The Songs of Westerbork

2010-11-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hello folks, as I promised in the program, here are the songs in "The Westerbork Serenade" with their translations and some historical info:

1) Die Westerbork Serenade, by Johnny and Jones (1944), Translated by Meiti Opie, adapted by David Natale
Johnny & Jones 1944

Hallo We zijn niet helemaal in orde,
Ben met mijn gedachten er niet bij,
Opeens ben ik ‘n ander mens geworden,
M’n hart klopt als de vliegtuigsloperij.
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade,
Langs‘t sporebaantje schijnt‘t zilvermaantje
Op de heide.
Ik sing mijn Westerbork serenade,
Mit einer shone dame wandelend tezamen
Zij aan zijde.
En m’n hart brandt als de ketel in’t ketelhuis,
Zo had Ik ‘t nooit te pakken bij m’n moeder thuis.
Ik zing mijn Westerbork serenade,
Tussen de barakken kreeg Ik haar te pakken
Op de hei
Diese Westerbork liebelei.
Daar ging ik naar se Sanitaten,
Die vent zei:”Der is heus niets aan te doen;
Maar je voelt je heel wat stukken beter
Na ‘t geven van de allereerste zoen.
(endat moet je niet doen…)
***
Westerbork Serenade
Hello we feel a little out of order,
To pull myself together is quite hard,
Suddenly I’m a different person,
My heart beats like the airplane wrecking yard.

I sing my Westerbork serenade,
Along the little rail-way the tiny silver moon shines
On the heath.
I sing my Westerbork serenade
With a pretty lady walking there together,
Cheek to cheek.
And my heart burns like the boiler in the boiler house,
Oh it never hit me quite like this at Mother’s place
I sing my Westerbork serenade,
In between the barracks I threw my arms around her
Over there
This Westerbork love affair.
And so I went over to the medic,
The guy says: “there is nothing you can do;
Oh but you will feel a whole lot better
After you give her a kiss or two
(But that you mustn’t do…)

This is it! The song that hooked me into the whole story. You can find it on Maak Het Donker In Het Donker, Opnamen uit de period 1938-’44, Nederlands Jazz Archief, recording (track 21). In August of '44 Johnny and Jones went to Amsterdam and ,either secretly or with the tacit approval of Commandant Gemmiker, they recorded a series of songs they had writen and/or performed in Westerbork. This was not as unusual as it seems. J&J had connections all over the Netherlands and, according to Louis Dewijze, they had been sent out on several occasions to buy props,canvas, paints and costumes for the shows. Their wives were hostages in camp, and they know from other incidents that if they didn't come back, others would suffer. they were transported to Auschwitz only a few weeks later in early September'44.

2)Man without a Passport /Mensch ohne Pass,

In the play, this is a cut-and-paste/mix I put together. The words are by Max Werner Lenz (1935).The poem can be found in: Cabaret Performance Volume Two, Europe 1920-1940 by Laurence Senelick.
The music is from: Was nützen mir die schönsten Nelken (1928); track 17 on Text und Musik Von Mir, Musik Antik am Weidenstieg, recording.

3)Oyfn Pripetshik /At the Fireplace,by Mark M. Warshawsky (1901)

Oyfn pripetchik brent a fayerl
Un in shtub is heys.
Un der rebbe lernt kleyne kinderlekh
Dem alef-beyz.
Gedenkt'zhe, kinderlekh,
Gedenkt'zhe, tayere,
Vos ir lernt do.
Zogt'zhe nokhamol un take nokhamol,
Komets alef-o.
Lernt, kinderlekh, hot nit moyre.
Yeder onheyb iz shver.
Gliklekh iz der yid vos lernt toyre,
Vos darfn mir nokh mer?
Az ir vet, kinderlekh, elter vern,
Vet ir aleyn farshteyn,
Vifil in di oysyes lign trern
Un vifil geveyn.
Lernt, kinderlekh, mit groys kheyshik,
Azoy zog ikh aykh on.
Ver s'vet beser vun aykh kenen ivri,
Der bakumt a fon.
***
A fire burns on the hearth
And it is warm in the little house.
And the rabbi is teaching little children
The alphabet.
Remember, children,
Remember, dear ones,
What you learn here.
Repeat and repeat yet again,
Komets alef-o.
Learn, children, don't be afraid.
Every beginning is hard.
Lucky is the Jew who studies Torah.
What more do we need?
When, children, you will grow older
You will understand,
How many tears lie in these letters
And how much crying.
Learn, children, with enthusiasm,
As I instruct you.
The one who learns Hebrew better
Will receive a flag.

I includded this Yiddish classic because I wanted to have a taste of the culture that was mostly wiped out by the Holocaust. I have Willy Rosen sing an excerpt of it to Kids in a Westerbork school after he realizes that they do not know him as an entertainer, and that his songs-now banned as "Degenerate" may very well dissapear from the world as well.
Mark M. Warshawsky (1840-1907) is known as the Yiddish Robert Burns or Woody Guthrie. He is considered a true folk poet. Warshawsky was first an unsuccessful lawyer in Kiev. He originally called this song, ‘Der Alef-Beyz”. Warshawsky was discovered by the great Yiddish writer, Sholom Aleichem who helped publish his works, most notably; Yidishe Folkslider /Yiddish folk songs (1900). They also frequently performed together.
During the Holocaust it was used as a ghetto song: “At the ghetto wall, a fire burns, the surveillance is keen.” In the Soviet Union in the early 1960’s a clandestine version went as follows: “Even should they beat you or throw you on the pyre, repeat komets-alef-o."

4) Magdeline/Little girl, by Willy Rosen (1943)
translation: Louis Dewijze & Annatina Luck; adaptation: Natale
click the link to hear an interview with Louis Dewijze. Louis sings this song.He also sings; Eine Walze (see picture top), the V and the OD (see pictures for July 10 2008 entry). Dewijze also mentions Chaja Goldstein (see entry Nov 22 2008).

louisdewijzeinterview by westerborkserenade-1

5) Wenn Ein Paketchen Kommt /When a Small Package Comes by Willy Rosen (1943), translation: Dewijze & Jerry Silverman; adaptation: Natale

Wenn ein paketchem kommt, Dann freut sich gross und klein.
Wenn ein paketchen kommt, ist auch beim Regen Sonnenschein.
Ein Pakchen gut verschnurt, Ganz ohne Spesen,
Mann kann nicht schnell genug den knoten losen
Wenn ein paketchen kommt ist auch der kranke nicht mir krank
Und mann schreipt sofort ein kartchen “Besten Dank!”
***
When a small package comes, there’s joy for old and young.
When a small package comes, a rainy day is bright with sun.
And if it is well stocked, and you keep all you got,
Then you can hardly wait as you untie the knot.
When a small package comes, the sick are healed on the spot
And you send a little card says, “Thanks a lot.”

(See bottom picture) Camilla Spira lead this song with the Westerbork Girlsin the revue: Humor und Melodie, September 1943( see: http://www.max-ehrlich.org/humorund.htm ). They thank the commandant for allowing food, packages and letters to be sent into the camp. The writing under the picture tells of Spira's almost Aryan status. She was eventually "Arianized" and released.

6)Scrappin to Music /Wij Sloopen Met Muziek, by Johnny and Jones (1944), translated by Else Cobb, adaptation: Natale.

Mijn baas heet Bayer en ik werk me naar
Wij halen stukken vliegtuig uit elkaar
Maar wij zijn heel gauw met het werken klaar
Want we slopen met muziek, begrijp je?

M’n Gruppenliter Katz die vindt het fijn
Om Gruppenleiter over ons te zijn.
De productie gaat in stijgende lijn
Want we slopen met muziek

Beyer, Brauner, Hoffman en Tas
Zitten heel vaak in de rats
Met moeilijke mechaniek.
Maar wij slopen met muziek
Stuk geroest of vast gesoldeerd
Wordt door ons gedemonteerd.
Wij beheersen de techniek
Want wij slopen met muziek!
Als wij beginnen te zingen

Gaan de schroeven en bouten swingen
De propellers en de motoren vallen zomaar uit elkaar
Als zij ons horen,
Bayer Hoffman Brauner en Tas
Zitten nu niet meer in de rats
Want wij slopen reuze sjiek
Met muziek, met muziek, met muziek

‘nKehrsvertrauner es geht furchbar schnell
“Jawohl” zei Hoffman, “heus dat weet ik wel.”
Dat komt alleen maar door dat gekke stel
Sie zerlegen mit Muzik, versteht sie

Maar op een keer deden ze niet zoveel
Van honderd kilo slechts het tiende deel
Die dag hadden we pijn in onze keel,
Want we slopen met muziek!

En de hamers en de tangen
Wisten wij mooi te vervangen
Door muziek, door muziek, door muziek
***

Bayer my boss works me ‘til I’m insane,
scrapping the pieces of the aeroplanes.
We do our work and we sure do it quick,
‘cause we’re scrapping to music-you get me?

Group leader Katz he doesn’t give no fuss.
He’s really happy being boss of us.
Production’s up and he knows that’s because
We are scrapping to music.

Bayer, Brauner, Hoffman and Tats
Problems they got lots and lots
With mediocre mechanics
But we’re scrapping to music.
Welded stuck encrusted with rust
Easy stuff for us to bust
‘Cause we’ve mastered the technique
We’re scrapping to music.

When we start our singing
Nuts and bolts start swinging
Propellers and the motors start
To crumble to pieces and fall apart.
Bayer, Brauner Hoffman and Tats
Aint got any problems with us
‘Cause we’re scrapping oh so chic
To music, to music, to music

Said Kehrsvertrauner,“ fastest that I’ve seen.”
“Jawohl” said Hoffman, “I know what you mean.”
“It’s all because we got that crazy team
Who are scrapping to music-you get me”?

But then one day we didn’t make the quote.
One hundred kilos only tenth the load.
I couldn’t sing that day I had a sore throat
‘Cause we’re scrapping to music.
And the hammers and the cutters
We turn one thing and the others
To music, to music, to music

This great little number can be found on track 24 on Maak Het Donker In Het Donker, Opnamen uit de period 1938-’44, Nederlands Jazz Archief, recording.
it starts with a standard blues riff moving into swing on the chorus. J&J manage to describe their work and name their German Jewish supervisors. Many of them are referred to in Year of Fear, A Jewish Prisoner Waits For Auschwitz by Philip Mechanicus. Brauner was considered a particularly nasty customer.

7)The Best Bloom In the LAWA /De Mooiste Bloem Uit De LAWA, (1944 )by Johnny and Jones, translation: Else Cobb, adaptation: Natale

kHad vroeger en tuintje
Gewoonweg een droom
Met gras en met wurmen,
En een appelen boom.
De sla en andijvie, die deden het best,
Dat heb ik hier weer aan mijn groenten attest.
Ook op bloemen ben ik dol,
En had steeds mijn kamer vol.

Maar ik houd van hyacinthen,
Ook met rozen ben ik blij,
Maar de beste bloem uit de Lawa daar ben jij.
Ik houd van mooie planten, ik heb been hele rij,
Maar de mooiste plant uit de Lawa, daar ben jij

Er komen heel veel klanten, die dringen om je heen,
Ze komen voor de bloemen,
Maar ik voor jou alleen.
Maar dat zijn.mooie bloemen daar op de Drentse hei
Maar de beste bloem op de Lawa daar ben jij,
Maar de beste bloem op de Lawa daar ben jij.

Ik heb hier op het kamp ook een tuintje gemaakt.
Daarvan is iedereen in extase geraakt.
Plots kwam er zandstorm toen kwam ik weer tec
Na een half uur waaien m’n tuintje was weg.
Het gaat boven mijn verstand,
Waar vandaan komt al dat zand?

Ik vis soms olijven, zet de pitten tezij (aan mij?)
,Die zaai k dan uit in mijn tuin op de hei.
En gaan ze dan bloeien
Nou dat kan toch bestaan,
Misschien komen er dan “gesuise mallane”.
Ik hou veel van de natuur, daarom zing ik nu vol vuur:

***
I once had a garden,
‘twas a dream to see,
with grass and worms and an apple tree.
The endives or lettuce now which was the best? I had lots of veggies they all passed the test.
I love flowers all in bloom, and with them I filled my room.
Though I love the hyacinths and I like the roses too, But the best bloom in the LAWA oh it’s you. How I love the pretty plants and in a row I grow them too. But the greenest plant in the LAWA oh it’s you.
Well there are lots of shoppers, they’re crowding all around.
They come to pick the flowers, but I come for you alone.
Out on the heath at Drenthe the blooms are pretty too.
But the best bloom in the LAWA oh it’s you
But the best bloom in the LAWA oh it’s you

In camp here I just dug a small garden out, which everyone else is ecstatic about.
Along came a sand-storm, so I hit the deck, and when I looked up my poor garden was wrecked.
I just cannot understand from where comes all that sand?

I plant all the pits from the olives I eat in the plot of the garden I have on the heath.
And then when they bloom; it can happen you know; a (beautiful olive tree) surely will grow.
I love nature there’s no doubt, so I sing it now full out.

What a sweet song. So Dutch,so ascerbic, so sad. The LAWA is short for Lager Warrenhaus, where goods previously looted from Jews in Amsterdam were distributed amongst the Westerbork inmates. It is track 22 on Maak Het Donker In Het Donker, Opnamen uit de period 1938-’44, Nederlands Jazz Archief, recording

8)Die Dammenschue Von Zimmer No. 20 /The Ladies shoes from room #20, by Herbert and Rudolf Nelson (1939), translated by A.Luck, adaptation: Natale

When I awake each night, all other’s eyes shut tight.
Into the hall I flit with my shoe shining kit.
I stand before each door. Shoes lined along the floor.
And all the shoes I see I take along with me.

And then I start to polish and to rub them,
The men’s and ladies shoes from off the floor.
The men’s shoes, well now, I don’t care to scrub them.
But shinning women’s shoes is something I adore.

And then tonight I saw beside a bedroom door,
A pair of pumps apart that went straight to my heart.

I love the scintillating, titillating, succulent and captivating
Lady’s shoes from chamber Number twenty.
I think I have a thing for them. I simply have to sing for them
The lady’s shoes from chamber Number twenty.

It’s them I shine with ardor. I put them back in order.
The climax of it is when I hug them and I kiss them.
The scintillating, titillating succulent and sweet I’m into
Lady’s shoes from chamber number twenty.

And so when I alight, I can’t wait for the night.
Room 20’s shows I prize, the ones I idolize.
I clean the other shoes once over with a brush
So I have time to dream, and there’s no need to rush.

And then I spend the evening fantasizing
Imagine how our life could be one day.
Going out and coming home together,
After we have danced the night away.
We stand before the door, her body next to mine.
“Shall we take off our shoes?”
Oh boy, that would be fine!
(chorus)
But then, my God, this evening, I simply have to curse,
By chamber No. 20, a man's shoes next to hers.
These shoes that were my bride-to be are dead
As far as I can see, i'll never shine those shoes in front of 20!

I found this song on: A’Dam Berlijn, Denk Vandaag Niet Aan Morgen
Recording from the Neederlands Theater Instituut(Discola-nelson productie-coll.kloters, Amsterdam). It wasn't done at Westerbork, but it so fits with the Commandant's shoe tirade (which is historically documented) that I had to put it in. On the recording we hear the character-baritone of Auto Aurich, who was in the Westerbork revues (see http://www.max-ehrlich.org/theater.htm ). He and Lisl Frank were a popular song and dance team (see link: http://www.aufrichtigs.com/01-Holocaust/Otto_Aurich/otto_+_lisl_at_kamp_westerbork.htm )

9)The Snag /Sek, by Conrad Tom (1931), translated by Senelick, adapted by Natale
you can find it in: Cabaret Performance Volume Two, Europe 1920-1940 by Laurence Senelick,

10) Das Bist Du /It is you, by Willy Rosen (1944), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale

Ich hab es heut Nacht den Sternen erzahlt,Ich liebe Dich.
Ich hab es heut fruh den blumen erzahlt,Ich liebe Dich.
Ich sing es hinaus in die Welt,
Dass eine mir nur nocht gefullt;
Das bist Du, das bist Du, nur Du.
Und hor ich Musik, dann singt jeder Ton,Ich liebe Dich.
Ich scwatze beim Tag, Ich pheiffe ja schon,Ich liebe Dich.
Mein Herz ist von sehnsucht erfullt,
Im Traume erscheint mir Dein bild,
Das bist Du, das bist Du, nur du.
***
I tell it at night to the stars in the sky, I love you
Today to the flowers I say with a sigh, I love you.
I said to the world how I’ve felt
There’s just one who makes my heart melt,
It is you, it is you, only you.
When I hear a song, each chord seems to ring, I love you.
As I fly along to the birdies I sing, I love you.
My heart overflows like a stream,
your picture appears in my dream.
It is you it is you-only you.

This song appeared in "Bunter Abend" a Westerbork review from March 1944. Jetty Cantor sang it there. It is listed as "Ich hab es heut nacht den sternen erzahlt"

11) Oh Boom by Johnny and Jones 1938
it is track #3 on Maak Het Donker In Het Donker, Opnamen uit de period 1938-’44, Nederlands Jazz Archief, recording. The song is in English and full of contemporary song references of which "Bei Mir bis du Shoen" is the only one I recognise.

12) Wenn Man Konnte Was Man Heimlich Wollte, If One Could Do What One Wanted, by Willy Rosen (1944), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale

Willy Rosen, 1944 (Trans. Annatina Luck, Adapt, D.N.)
Wenn man konnte, was man Heimlich wollte
Das verbotene dass man nicht denken sollte.
Wenn man konnte was man sich ertraumte
Und das man das einst bisher versaumte.
Vielleicht war dann das Tolle erstrebenswert.
Die Gedanken scheuen das Tageslicht,
Doch ich glaube oft ihr kennt guch selber nicht
***
If only you could do what you secretly wanted to
The nameless thing that is forbidden.
If only you could do just what you dream you could do,
The things now lost for which you’ve striven.
Perhaps then life might be worth living.
Maybe then those crazy things would be worth achieving.
But my thoughts, they cower from the light.
Poor things, I think they don’t know day from night.

This song was in the sketch "Opium" in the Humor und Melodie revue of September '43. you can look at the programs on www.westerborkserenade.con on the History page. (also third photo)

13) Ich Liebe Nur Die Heide/ I Love only the Heath, by Willy Rosen (1943 or 44)

Ich liebe nur die Heide.
Auf die Heide allein kann Ich gluklich sein.
Ja das ist meine wonne.
Meine seele erwacht wenn die sonne lacht
***
I only love the heath
Only on the heath can I be happy
Yes that is my delight,
My soul awakes when the sun laughs

Also from Humor und Melodie.(see second photo)

14) Immer Langsam /Take it slowly, by Willy Rosen (1943), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale

Immer langsam, immer langsam,Immer mit Gemtulichkeit
Wir haben noch lange zeit es ist noch nicht soweit...

Take it slowly, ever slowly, there is plenty of time
So take it all in stride, the journey’s not so wide
Take it slowly, ever slowly, make lots of time for rest
There is no need for haste, it’s over much to fast
What is the meaning of our life? It’s a carousel of fate
And once the ride is finished, then too soon it is too late.

See photo second from bottom, also from Humor und Melodie: Max Ehrlich as coachman, Gunter Witepsky and Mara Rosen (I think) as the couple. This was a scene nostalgic of better days during the Biedermeier period (mid 1800's)

Xaviera Hollander's post for the Westerbork Serenade

2010-08-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.xavierahollander.com/westerbork

Be sure to see our web-site: WWW.WESTERBORKSERENADE.COM

2010-07-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

"AUF DER HEIDE" ("on the heath")from Humor und Melodie at Westerbork 1943

Westerbork Serenade Netherlands 2010: The Inside Scoop...

2010-07-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

(Left)Film-makers: Erga Netz & Izzy Abrahami,
(Center)Producer: Xaviera Hollander,
Actor/Writer: David Natale (right)

David Natale collaborates with Happy Hooker and radical film-makers to bring show to Holland
-and we need your help!

That's right Westerbork Serenade will be in the Netherlands Nov 19th-29th! (see previous blog)

Nu,so how did this come about?

I look back on all the twists and turns this project has taken me along over the past years:

First it was my MFA thesis project at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego back in 1996. Then I did the show at the first New York City Fringe Fest in 1998. In '99 we did a version at my friends' theatre in Williansburgh Brooklyn. For the rest of the decade I continued to perform the piece at various venues throughout New York City and the East Coast.

At every performance and with every version, I have met survivors and historians. Each time I have learned a little bit more about Westerbork and have explored more deeply the vile subtlties of this particular story of the Shoah.

In 2006 I produced a reading of the piece with a full cast of actors in Seattle. In 2008, under the direction of Gin Hammond, we returned to the solo style and re-worked the show to eliminate props and costume changes.

The 2008 show, a co-production with Rik Deskin and the Eclectic Theatre Company in Seattle, won a Seattle Times Foot-Light Award (see 12/29/08 entry)

My web-site and blog were set up and I began to receive inquiries from relatives and descendants of performers from Westerbork. I also got a variety of queries from historians, film-makers, art dealers and con artists.

Sarah Waisvitz (see 11/12/08 entry)inquired about her Grandmother's husband, Max Kannewaser, who was Jones in the Dutch singing duo: Johnny and Jones.

Last fall Gin Hammond saw a Theatre Communications Guild grant emphasizing international collaboration.

Soon after, documentary film makers: Erga Netz and Izzy Abrahami ( http://www.antv.nl/ ), who live in the Netherlands, contacted me because they are working on a film about Johnny and Jones and were coming to the U.S. to interview Ms. Waisvitz's Grandmother.

I agreed to join them in San Fransisco to help with their interview if they could help me with the TCG collaboration grant (see 10/15/09 entry).

In February. I went to SF and was interviewed by Netz and Abrahami. We also visited the assisted living facility where Jones' widow lives. There I performed the song, "The Westerbork Serenade," for Mrs. Waisvitz, her son and granddaughter, as well as other residents.

Abrahami and Netz had connected me to the famous Dutch writer and former madam: Xaviera Hollander. Some of you might remember her from your school days (or behind the school) when you read her 1971 best seller: The Happy Hooker.

Xaviera is still writing. She also runs bed and breakfasts in Amsterdam and Mirabella Spain and she produces small theatrical productions, often with Jewish themes ( http://www.xavierahollander.com/booker ).
Xaviera agreed to produce my show.

Long story short: I did not get the TCG grant. But with the help of Fans and Angels in the Seattle area, the Netherlands shows will happen.

Xaviera has booked dates in Amsterdam and The Hague. Netz and Abrahammi will film the performances as well as a trip to the actual camp Westerbork. I will also appear on a talk show in Drenthe, a town near where Westerbork is located.

We still could use help.

There will be a benefit performance on October 13Th at the Odd Duck Studio in Seattle.

In the meantime feel free to donate at www.westerborkserenade.com. Just hit the "donate" tab which leads you to Pay-Pal where you can donate to westerborkserenade@gmail.com .

We could also use technical support:
someone to help with sound and or lights in the Netherlands-as well as running interference for me.

I don't have much money, but you can stay with me there and there is a possibility of some help with a plane ticket.

Hey if you will be over there anyway, let me know.

Westerbork Serenade is going to Holland! Nov 19th-29th 2010

2010-07-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

A ONE-MAN SHOW WITH A CAST OF THOUSANDS / EEN ONE-MAN SHOW MET DUIZENDEN MEDESPELERS
American actor and playwright, David Natale brings home a seldom remembered story of the Holocaust in Holland with his award winning one-man show: The Westerbork Serenade.

Because of anxiety over increased immigration, in 1939 the Dutch government set up a camp near the town of Westerbork to hold the stream of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. After 1940, the Nazis turned Lager Westerbork into a transit camp which funneled more than 100,000 Jews to their doom in the eastern camps.

Westerbork was not a death camp.
It was crowded and food scarce, but one could survive there. Westerbork even had a hospital, schools and a shop offering goods previously looted from the Jews. Administration of the camp was run by the German speaking Jewish inmates.

The SS commandant’s pet project was a weekly cabaret show at Westerbork. It featured top Jewish entertainers from Germany and Holland. If one was in the show, one was “exempt” from transport-temporarily. By the end of the war, however, most of the performers from Westerbork were also sent to their deaths in eastern camps, joining the eventual six million who died.

Mr. Natale seamlessly portrays more than 15 characters; including German director, Max Ehrlich, actress Camilla Spira, Commandant Gemmeker and the beloved Dutch singing duo, Johnny and Jones.

Natale developed The Westerbork Serenade after much research as well as interviews with survivors. In English, he dynamically incorporates period sketches, songs and accounts to make the audience acutely feel what it is to perform for one’s life.

* * *

Amerikaanse acteur en toneel schrijver, David Natale, laat een voorstelling zien van een bijna vergeten gebeuren uit de oorlogstijd in Nederland met zijn bekroonde one-man toneelstuk : “The Westerbork Serenade”.

Zoals wellicht bekend, besloot de Nederlandse regering vanwege het snel toenemend aantal Joodse vluchtelingen uit Duitsland, in 1939 een opvang kamp voor hen te bouwen in de buurt van Westerbork.
Na de invasie in 1940 veranderden de Nazis “Lager Westerbork” tot een z.g. doorvoer kamp, van waar uit meer dan 100.000 Joden afgevoerd werden naar hun noodlottige bestemming in de Duitse vernietigings kampen.
Kamp Westerbork was geen concentratie kamp, het bleef een doorvoer kamp.
Het was er overvol, het eten was schaars, maar men kon er overleven.
Westerbork had zelfs een ziekenhuis, scholen en een winkel, met “koopwaar” (van eerder gestolen Joodse goederen). De administratie van het kamp was in de handen van Duits sprekende Joodse medegevangenen.

Het favoriete project van de SS commandant was het wekelijkse cabaret in kamp Westerbork met Joodse top artiesten, uit Duitsland zowel als Nederland, als cabaretiers. Zolang zij optraden in de show waren zij (tijdelijk) vrijgesteld van transport.
Tegen het einde van de oorlog werden echter de meesten van deze Westerbork artiesten toch ook nog de dood ingestuurd in de concentratie kampen in Oost Europa en deelden het lot met wat later zou blijken, 6 miljoen andere slachtoffers.

Mr Natale geeft een naadloze uitbeelding van meer dan 15 personen in Westerbork, zoals o.a. de Duitse regisseur Max Ehrlich, actrice Camilla Spira, Commandant Gemmeker en het populaire Nederlandse zang duo “Johnny and Jones”.
Natale baseerde “the Westerbork Serenade” op jaren van diepgaand onderzoek alsmede interviews met overlevenden.
Hoewel in het Engels, combineert hij de liedjes, sketches en beschrijvingen uit die tijd zo boeiend, dat ongetwijfeld ook het Nederlandse publiek zich direct zeer bewust wordt van wat het betekent om letterlijk te moeten spelen kiezen voor je leven.

Dates:

Nov 13: New Liberal Jewish Center
Amsterdam, for tickets: secretariaat@ljg.nl
020-5400120

Nov 19th and 20th: Apollofirst Hotel theatre
Apollolaan 123-127
1077 AP Amsterdam

Nov 21st: Van Ostade Theater
Van Ostadestraat 233D
1073 TN Amsterdam

Nov 28th and 29th: Theater PePijn
Nieuwe Schoolstraat 21-23
2514 HT 's-Gravenhage

New documentary will feature a play about Johnny and Jones

2009-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

I was contacted a few weeks ago from Holland by TV producer,Erga Netz.
Abrahami-Netz TV Productions
( http://www.antv.nl/index.php )
is putting together a documentary about the play: Meneer Dinges (Mistar What's-His-Name)
The piece is titled: Dream Swings, echoes of Johnny and Jones.
(see excerpt at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rIm6UiyYvg )
Ms. Netz was looking to interview Sarah Gabriella Waisvisz, the step granddaughter to the widow of Max Kannewaser, aka Jones (see blog entry from Nov 12 2008).
I was very pleased to connect Netz and Waisvisz who will be meeting in Holland in December. I am also extremely intrigued to hear of an other play about some of the performers in Lager Westerbork.
It is my hope also that we can perhaps run our shows in repertory both in the Netherlands and the US. Keep your fingers crossed.

WESTERBORK SERENADE at EZRA BESSAROTH in Seattle

2009-04-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

WESTERBORK SERENADE
JUNE 28TH
at EZRA BESSAROTH in Seattle

When: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, 5217 S. Brandon Street, Seattle
Cost: $22.00 each (or $30 each at the door), Check, Credit Card or Cash
Tickets: Call Susan Jensen @ Congregation Ezra Bessaroth office, 206-722-5500, for reservations and payment. Deadline for all reservations is June 24, 2009
No host bar and appetizers prior to the performance: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Proudly presented by the Adult Programming Committee
Congregation Ezra Bessaroth

WESTERBORK SERENADE WINS 2008 "FOOTLIGHT AWARD"

2008-12-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

"The Westerbork Serenade" gets a 2008 Footlight Award from the Seattle Times for
Swell Solo Shows!
Check it out at:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2008557718_footlights28.html

Chaja Goldstein: Westerbork Performer, Yiddish Mime,The Original Beatnik

2008-11-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Chaja Goldstein performing as Yeshiva boy in 1933 ->

"Chaja" by Paul Citroen

June and Paul Lowenberg contacted me last week because they recently found out that June's late aunt, Chaja Goldstein had been in Westerbork.
Goldstein is listed in the program for the first official Westerbork revue: Bunter Abend/Colorful Evening (July 1943)

http://www.max-ehrlich.org/bunter.htm

Goldstein was an all around performance artist who specialized in Yiddish songs and dances that were familiar to her childhood in Poland. One of her signature pieces was dressing as a Yeshiva boy to perform her numbers. In 1998 I interviewed Louis Dewijze,an other survivor who was in the Westerbork revues. He remembers Chaja as being famous to Jews throughout Europe for her Yiddish ditties.

Goldstein is also mentioned in some Westerbork accounts: Year of Fear by Phillip Mechanicus and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum. Both accounts recall Chaja performing in the revues and being invited to the Commandant's place for drinks with other celebs such as Camilla Spira.

She was not religious. June Lowenberg says that to her Orthodox family, Chaja's choice to become a dancer was initially met with shock and dismay.

"She was the original Beatnik" says Paul Lowenberg.

Chaja, who survived the war, spent most of her early life in Berlin. She moved to Holland and appeared in one of the first exile cabarets there, Cabaret Ping Pong, in 1933. According to Berlin Cabaret by Peter Jelavich, Ping Pong was closed down by the Dutch authorities for being too political so Chaja moved to Switzerland with other prominent Ping Pong performers like: Julia Marcus, Dora Gerson and Kurt Egon Wolff. They returned to Amsterdam the following year with a less political show that also included Dutch performers.

Chaja Performed around the world in the 30's. She was friends with and posed several times for the master portraitist, Paul Citroen as well as for Marc Chagall. June Lowenberg recalls that she was dancing in Bali and received a telegram not to return to Holland because the Nazis were going to invade. But assurances from her husband to the contrary convinced her to go back.
Chaja returned to Holland and eventually went into hiding.

"She got claustrophobic in hiding with all the people" says June, "And she went out."

Goldstein ended up in Westerbork where it is believed she stayed for the rest of the war.
Chaja's Husband, Theo Gusten, was a non-Jew and prominent German film maker.
Probably Goldstein's mixed marriage along with her celebrity status allowed her to survive. However it was required that she be sterilized.
Gusten also survived the war, but he was placed in several prisons by the Gestapo because he produced anti Nazi films. Gusten wrote a short account of his horrific experiences which the Lowenbergs are just starting to have translated. It tells of harrowing acts of defiance such as sharing news with other Inmates (punishable by death) and humming the "International."

After the war Chaja and her husband eventually moved to New York where they ran the International Graphics Art Society for many years. Eventually,they retired to Amsterdam.
Finally Chaja went to Israel to be near a surviving relative. But her yearly visits to her niece were very special.
June remembers that Chaja "exposed me to so much culture. We would go to museums and concerts. Once they went to see Marcel Marceau. Chaja was sometimes known as the Yiddish Mime.
"Every move she made, every gesture was always so theatrical."

June says that Chaja never talked about here experiences during the war. And she never performed again.

"Three weeks ago we didn't know any of this." says June.

Contact from Granddaughter of Westerbork Singer

2008-11-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

Sarah Gabriella Waisvisz is a directing student in the fine arts program at the University of Ottawa. She is also the granddaughter of the widow of Max Kannewaser aka. Jones (right in picture) of the Dutch singing duo Johnny and Jones.
Johnny and Jones were in some revues at Lager Westerbork and they are characters in The Westerbork Serenade.

"Of course he never knew me" says Waisviz."
Kannewaser's wife Suzanne (nee Koster) survived the war. They did not have children together. After the war Suzanne married Sarah's grandfather, her childhood friend, Gabriel Waisvisz, and helped raise Gabriel's son, Sarah's father Jacques Waisvisz.

"My family's history has always been one of my major preoccupations," says Waisvisz. "Especially for my writing and for the theatre I make.

Sarah is currently directing selections from Waiting for Godot and she decided to contextualize the scenes so that Vladimir and Estragon are Yiddish actors fleeing persecution in WWII. She found www.westerborkserenade.com while researching Johnny and Jones music to use in her scenes.

Sarah laments that her grandmother was not more open about her time in captivity.

"But she has completely blocked it. Once she immigrated to San Francisco she and my grandfather (who had been in hiding) claimed that they were Christian and not Jewish, etc etc. After Westerbork she was sent to Auschwitz and she suffered terribly there. Just how much she suffered was never explained, but I know of a few atrocities. Everything is more or less a secret, other than a few things that have slipped out here and there."

Her grandmother lived through Auschwitz, came back to Holland, looked up old friends to see who was still alive, found my grandfather, and stayed.

"That is what we know," says Sarah.

"She has held onto things that belonged to her first husband, and she has original records of their music, I think, and I think she probably loved him very much...that was her youth and her first love and it was all taken away...it is tragic. Now she doesn't talk about anything at all, and doesn't want to. History is a funny thing.
And also, the world is so small."

for more info on Johnny and Jones: http://westerborkserenade.com/history/

Westerbork Site Tells Fate of Relative

2008-07-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Gunther Witepski (Seen top with Camilla Spira in a sketch: "V and the OD", left in the next picture from the sketch: "In Der schule") was listed as a writer and performer in the Westerbork Revue programs from "Humor Und Melodie" (September 1943) and "Bravo Da Capo" (October 1943). Gunther's Nephew Michael contacted me from Johannesburg after having seen Gunther's picture on the history page of our web site. Michael's father, Wilhelm Witepski fled to South Africa in the 1930's and never knew his brother's fate. Gunther does not appear in any shows after "Bravo Da capo" and probably left on a transport in November 1943. Gunther died in Auschwitz in March of 1944. For more info see: http://www.max-ehrlich.org/performances.htm

Go to our web site for more about Westerbork

2008-04-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

http://westerborkserenade.com/

Sketches and songs in "The Westerbork Serenade"

2008-03-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

SKETCHES AND SONGS IN "THE WESTERBORK SERENADE"

Die Westerbork Serenade, Johnny and Jones (1944), translated by Meiti Opie, adapted by David Natale,

Man without a Passport (Mench ohne Pass), Max Werner Lenz (1935), translated by Laurence Senelick

Oyfn Pripetshik (At The Fireplace), by Mark M. Warshawsky (1901),
“A flame burns in the fireplace, and the room warms up, as the teacher drills the children in the alef-beyz: Remember dear children, what you are learning here. Repeat it again and again: komets-alef is pronounced o.”

Magdeline, by Willy Rosen ('42 or '43), translated by Louis Dewijze and Annatina Luck, adapted by Natale

Wenn Ein Paketchen Kommt, by Willy Rosen (1943), translated by
Louis Dewijze and Jerry Silverman,

Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen (Raisins and Almonds), by Abraham Goldfaden (1880), “Under Yidele’s cradle is a snow white kid, the kid is destined for market, that will be your fate too, selling raisins and almonds…”

Die Dammenschue Von Zimmer No. 20, (The Lady’s Shoes from Chamber No.20) by Herbert and Rudolf Nelson (1939), translated by Luck, adapted by Natale,

“The Snag,” from “Sek,” by Conrad Tom (1931), translated by Senelick, adapted by Natale,

Das Bist Du, by Willy Rosen (1944), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale,

OOO-Oh Boom! Johnny and Jones (1938)

Ich Liebe Nur Die Heide (I love only the Heath), by Willy Rosen (1943)
“I love only the heath. Alone on the heath I can be happy.
Yes that is my wish. My soul rises as the sun laughs.”

Hatikva (The Hope), Israeli national anthem, by Naftali Herz Imber (1878)
“Our hope is not lost, our hope of two thousand years, to be a free nation in our land.”

Wenn Man Konnte Was Man Heimlich Wollte, (If One Could Do What One Secretly Wanted), by Willy Rosen (1944), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale;

Immer Langsam (Take it Slowly), by Willy Rosen (1943), translated by Dewijze, adapted by Natale

Westerbork Serenade Program Notes

2008-03-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

“One always has the feeling here of being the ears and eyes of a piece of Jewish history…We must keep one and other in touch with everything that happens…each one contributing his own little piece of stone to the great mosaic that will take shape once the war is over.”
Etty Hillesum, a Letter from Westerbork, 24 August 1943

I first visited the tragedy of Westerbork for my MFA thesis project at the Old Globe Theatre in 1996. It seemed the perfect acting exercise. But, as I began to work, the story took on a life of its own. Westerbork grabbed me by the sleeve and led me past hellish gates. People approached me from all sides and the story began to tell itself.
I performed a version for the first NYC Fringe festival in 1998. From this production I received some press and was contacted by more survivors who had actually been in the shows at Westerbork. After I heard their stories I was inspired to expand the piece more.
In 2006, with support and urging from my colleagues in the Theatre Artists Alliance, I came back to Westerbork yet again and was awarded a staged reading at the Annex Theatre. For the reading I had many people play the parts. It was informative to have the characters actually talk back to each other and to have other actors interpret the roles. One day I would like to see a production with a full cast and orchestra.
Why keep coming back to The Westerbork Serenade again and again? Because as the World War Two generation begins to pass away we must continue to piece together the puzzle and face some vital questions: How do the events of more than sixty years ago still directly affect Jews today with regard to religion, Israel and Palestine, and how we view ourselves as a people. What is racism and why does it make ordinary human beings behave like monsters? How are we in the US today similar to the people of Nazi Germany?
Finally, as an artist, it is very compelling to me to explore what it is to perform for one’s life. What does it feel like to be forced to use one’s creative essence and artistic skill in order to literally continue to exist? It seems to me the ultimate ironic twist to the notion that art fulfills our souls. In a most jarring way, this idea brings home the madness of the Holocaust.