The darkened theater is packed with every conceivable shade, shape, and hue on the female Jewish spectrum, from tichel to dreadlocks, jumpers to jeans. Intent on the moment when the black stage will reveal a promised look at the soul-journey of the baalas teshuvah, there is an electric atmosphere here, as if every woman in the room is perched to lose herself in a melting pool of camaraderie, inspiration, and yearning.
Garish in the harsh spotlights the opening scene of Escalators bursts forth with the cast holding poles that depict the landmark symbols of their confusing struggle as they dance to the beat of the raging music — heavy rock with Yiddish lyrics. A television a pair of jeans a cheeseburger compete with a Shabbos scene and a long pleated skirt. What unfolds is a battle to the death; will Torah and connection to G-d triumph or will the cheeseburger prevail?
There is no scenery no curtain and very few props; it is acting and ingenuity that carries this play into a new realm. The scene billed “First Shabbos Ever” when one actress blithely asks “Why are the women wearing black bathrobes?” elicits laughter. Humor meshes with raw pain and angst as the journey progresses.
“Becoming a baal teshuvah was the most involved deep intense self-reflective process I had ever encountered and in the process my whole world changed. I had questions about my identity and who I was. I’m inspired to make theater about deep and moving experiences and so that’s where I started with Escalators. This whole idea of ‘returning’ was one that really spoke to me ” says Sara Kohn the show’s creator and one of the cast. She was moved to produce Escalators to depict the stories of countless baalei teshuvah woven together to portray a unique whole that illustrates the teshuvah process through monologue dance song and theatrics.
Merging Worlds
While becoming frum definitely means casting off the old today it’s clear there’s no need to hang up those dancing shoes forever. The phenomenon of kosher entertainment for chareidi women has burgeoned to staggering proportions with every Chol HaMoed featuring countless videos and productions on a wide variety of themes and topics. But live theater is rarer and rarer still is the opportunity to watch professional performers bring the skills they acquired and honed in the secular theater industry to the religious stage. They are dancers and singers acrobats and actresses. They have danced on Broadway and Off-Broadway for audiences around the world before embarking on an existential journey that leads them to a new reality and new horizons. And many have found that while the cheeseburger and jeans get the definite boot creativity is here to stay albeit with a Torah twist.
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