Nobody Knew My Struggle

A rosy musical or a witty comedy is nice and entertaining.  But I like stories of people’s struggles. Looking back on my Theater Roll year to date, a few performances fit the bill and are worth mentioning – one a musical, one a comedy and one a drama.

The People in the Picture at Studio 54 is full of struggles. Where do I even begin to start?  First, there is anti-semitism in Warsaw, Poland which leads up to a struggle to survive the holocaust. If that wasn't enough, there is the struggle to remember the past but not allow it to consume the present. Then making painful decisions that your children will never understand and appreciate and finally, there are the dynamics of aging and leaving a legacy. This understated musical really delves into a lot.

Lynn Nottage (2009 Pulitzer Prize Drama Winner for Ruined) By the Way, Meet Vera Stark at the Second Stage Theatre uses comedy to tell the story of a black woman’s struggle to make it in 1930s Hollywood. What do you do when you like to act but the only roles available are compromising. What is also interesting about this piece is the debate that takes place many years later about the impact of the title character's actions.

Urge for Going at the Public Theater touches on a young Palestinian girl’s struggle to use education to get out of a refugee camp in Lebanon. Her brother, on the other hand, doesn't stand a chance. I left this performance knowing a bit more about world history than I did walking in.

To the writers, directors, producers and actors who explore these struggles, we now know...