By Sara Dudley Brown, Theatre Editor
Photo by Chris Banks
Have you ever wanted to hear your old favorite songs from the not too distant past reimagined in Yiddish? Well, if that’s your desire, I have the perfect show for you! Deb Filler, a Jewish comic performer, returning to MetroStage after thirteen years, will make you howl with delight when you hear a whole raft of characters, including Mick Jagger, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, not to mention the Beatles, singing their greatest hits in Yiddish as interpreted as only Deb can do! And as she will tell you, her father believed that if the Beatles had sung their songs in Yiddish, they would have been REALLY famous. She does, by the way, translate everything from Yiddish into English–not to worry! You won’t miss anything.
Deb Filler is a master storyteller and an enthusiastic guitarist and singer, pulling you deep into her family circle as she becomes her mother, grandmother, and father, and relates how these lovable characters passed on to her their love of music in all forms, especially classical music. Deb obviously soaked up everything they offered in the form of great stories. She also tells of her encounters with the three Lennys: Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Cohen and Lenny Kravitz. Each Lenny taught her something new or brought new meaning to her life through her friendship or meeting with each man–fascinating.
Photo by Chris Banks
The show includes a lovely short film entitled “Mr. Bernstein” by director Francine Zuckerman, and written by Deb Filler and Guy Hamling. This film has been screened in film festivals around the world and has won many prizes. I don’t want to give too much away, because it’s a delightful and touching film, but it deals with her father, a Holocaust survivor, his unexpected encounter with Leonard Bernstein in a displaced persons camp and his challah bread. Years later, Deb actually by chance meets Leonard Bernstein herself and at Mr. Bernstein’s request brings him several loaves of her father’s challah bread. Well, you just have to experience this with her! No dry eyes in this audience!
Deb is from New Zealand, but currently calls Toronto her home. Her accents and impersonations are spot on and funny, touching and entirely memorable. Want to know what’s also memorable? The smell of challah bread baking on stage in her show, “Filler Up” in 2005. I will NEVER forget that she made and baked bread during her delightfully hilarious show, then served it warm with “buttah” at the end of the show to the entire audience. For that show, Deb got a Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Actress—27 characters. Who knows what’s going to happen with this show. Now, that’s show business!
Credits: Directed by John Shooter, written by Deb Filler, stage managed by Michael Sharp, lighting designed by Yehuda Fisher and Alex Keen, and sound/projections are by Jeremiah Hosie.
Performances of “I Did It My Way in Yiddish (in English)” are Thurs, Fri at 8, Sat at 3 and 8, Sun at 3 and 7. All tickets are $45, or purchase 3 or more for $40 each. For tickets call 703-548-9044 or go online to www.metrostage.org. “I Did It My Way in Yiddish (in English)” is about an hour and a half with no intermission and runs through April 29.
