Here is an upcoming play put on by Hoboken High School Students sent to me by an anonymous parent who saw a dress rehearsal and had these remarks:
"I just returned from a dress rehearsal of the Hoboken High School Theatre Program's production of "Fires in the Mirror" - a play by Anna Deavere Smith about the Crown Heights riots in the 1990s. It is a tremendously powerful play that is performed mightily by this cast of Hoboken High Students. There are over 20 speaking roles and for whatever reason, it has not received the publicity it deserves."
........
" I believe that these kind of productions have a tremendous impact on the kids as they must digest the material and understand the underlying themes."
........
"The high school, the theatre program and the director should get much accolades for such a successful and ambitious undertaking."
Here is the Hoboken High School press release on the play:
On Friday, December 11 and 12, Hoboken High School Drama students will stage Fires in the Mirror, a play by Anna Deavere Smith. Fires in the Mirror is part of a unique project called On the Road: A Search for the American Character.
In 1991, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, a member of the Hasidic Lubavitch community, Yosef Lifsh, lost control of his car while driving in a funeral motorcade. The car jumped the curb, killing a seven year old Guyanese child, Gavin Cato. Tensions, already high, peaked when a volunteer ambulance aided Lifsh but left Cato to die. This event sparked a riot that left 1 dead, 190 injured, 129 arrested and $1 million in damage.
In this neighborhood, tensions between the black, largely West Indian majority and the Jewish, Hasidic minority had been running high for many years. There was a perception among blacks that there was a great deal of white racism and concern that the Lubavitchers enjoyed preferential treatment from the police. The Lubavitchers, on the other hand, perceived that there was a great deal of anti-Semitism in the black community.
Combining journalism and drama, the playwright Anna Deavere Smith not only examines the racial tension and violence in Crown Heights, but much broader themes, including racial, religious, gender, and class identity, and the historical conflict between communities in the United States.
Come see this provocative piece of theater superbly performed by Hoboken High School’s theater students.
Dates of performance: Friday December 11 and 12 at 8pm
Location: Hoboken High School Auditorium, 9th and Clinton Street
Ticket Prices: General Admission $10.00
College Students with ID $7.00
K-12 Students $5.00
Senior Citizens $2.00
Phone: 201-356-3731
Press Release: http://www.hoboken.k12.nj.us/index.php?q=node/2632 ◦
