New Passover Play by Ageless Itsy Kliman to be Performed at Mishkan Torah on Sunday, April 6

Long-time Greenbelt Resident Itsy Kliman has written a short Passover-themed play to be presented on April 6, 2014 at Mishkan Torah synagogue in Greenbelt.  What makes this a 'story' is the fact that this is the first play she has written in more than 40 years and secondly, she is 86 years old!

Itsy and her husband, Ted, (now deceased) created the Stage 18 Players at Mishkan Torah with Itsy as the writer and Ted directing.  This was a carry-over from his professional life in which he won many awards for his documentary and medical films.  As a team, they produced long plays and short plays to entertain the local community for a number of years.  One play (based on GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER) was such a smash, its venue had to be relocated from Mishkan Torah to Parkdale High School.

And now, so many years later, Itsy was challenged to see if she could still do it and the result is WHY IS THIS YEAR DIFFERENT?  The Passover Seder asks the question - why is this night different - and the leader explains the centuries-old Passover story as told in Haggadahs (the text of the Passover seder and the exodus).  But in Itsy's "YEAR," a very present-day family has to come to terms with very present-day situations.  The brevity of the play is deceiving; it is thorough, poignant, insightful, and best of all -- funny!

As Itsy explained many years ago, she only likes to write 'funny.'  These writings were a labor of love and they gave her much more satisfaction than the writings she produced for income.  She wrote film strips for Giant Food's Learning Center on subjects such as instructing cashiers on the 'new' Universal Product Code,' where the item merely had to be scanned; Courtesy Clerk (yes, there was such a position where the CC actually placed your groceries in your car), Boxed Beef, Heidi Bakery, Management Resolution, Cashier Basics, etc.

For Patient Counseling films produced in Baltimore for use by physicians, Itsy was selected for women's subjects:  BSE (Breast Self-Examination), Hysterectomy, Amniocentisis, etc.

She wrote a how-to manual for the pharmacy tech on the (new) unit dose system (dispensing a single dose in nursing homes primarily).  It was the only known one of its kind.

She also recalls receiving $25 and a pair of nylons when (shortly after High School) she entered a manufacturer's contest to name their all-weather coat:  The Sun Reigner.  Perhaps this was the start of the writing bug?  Many years later for the Greenbelt Convalescent Center she received a monetary award for naming their monthly publication, "RX Smile!"

Although it's been more than four decades since she has written a play, Itsy did not put down her pen; she simply used it in a different way -- her love for Calligraphy.  For 25 years she taught students the art of beautiful and elegant handwriting at community centers throughout the county for MNCPPC (Md Nat'l Capital Park & Planning Commission) and now continues classes in her Greenbelt studio.  She was selected by the Washingtonian magazine as one of the best calligraphers and became known as 'the bride's calligrapher.'

Itsy is the mother of two sons:  Andrew, an economist and Professor at Pace University in New York who has authored two books and lectured world-wide.  And Todd, who lives in Hyattsville, is the author of THE WILD VINE.  His writings have appeared numerous times in the food anthologies called The Best Food Writing of  ___.  He is a James Beard award winner and has received nominations several times, including 2014!  Occasionally he can be heard on the Kojo Nnamdi radio show.  He is the restaurant reviewer for the Washingtonian and does a weekly online chat.

Once again the team of Kliman and Kliman is at work.  Todd has stepped in to direct the new Stage 18 Players as they transform the written page to the visual in this heart-warming comedy that will be presented April 6, 2014 at Mishkan Torah as the main event of a four-part evening beginning at 5 o'clock and  including dinner and a wine-tasting.  Tickets are $18. for this don't miss program.

For more information and to make reservations, call 301-474-4223 or check out the Mishkan Torah Website.