{"id":30473,"date":"2018-10-12T03:50:01","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T10:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=30473"},"modified":"2018-10-09T14:35:10","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T21:35:10","slug":"like-a-fly-in-amber-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/10\/12\/like-a-fly-in-amber-premiere\/","title":{"rendered":"Like a Fly in Amber premi\u00e8re"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judith Chertkow-Levy, left, and Karen Kelm co-star in the musical Like a Fly in Amber<\/em>, which will be at Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel Oct. 19. (photo by Victor Dezso Foto)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadian Association on Gerontology Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting (ASEM) is the highlight of the year for those of us who work, conduct research or have an interest in the field of aging,\u201d said Dr. Gloria Gutman, event co-chair. And, as far as she is aware, \u201cthis is the first time in the 47 years that the Canadian Association on Gerontology has been organizing ASEMs that it has included a social or cultural event quite like Like a Fly in Amber<\/em>. When the organizing committee became aware of it, they got excited. It\u2019s just so topical, given population aging; professional, funny and poignant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s world,\u201d she added, \u201cmany of us, especially women, can expect to be caregivers of frail elderly parents and\/or, if we married partners older than ourselves, of a spouse whose physical and\/or mental capabilities may become compromised. It\u2019s the new norm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a Fly in Amber<\/em> is a two-person musical about aging written by Karen Kelm, and co-starring Kelm and Judith Chertkow-Levy. It sees its Vancouver premi\u00e8re at the CAG meeting on Oct. 19. Both the show and the conference are open to the public.<\/p>\n

Among other things, Gutman is past president of CAG and professor and director emerita of the department of gerontology and Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University.<\/p>\n

The ASEM, she said, is \u201cwhere we learn about and present new ideas on how to improve the quality of life of our elderly population. While other organizations may be concerned with a particular age-related disease, CAG is a multidisciplinary organization that is concerned with the health and well-being of the whole person in the context in which they are living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since CAG is a national organization, said Gutman, \u201cthe ASEM is held in different parts of the country as a way to build capacity as well as take advantage of what the different venues have to offer in the way of natural beauty, unique scientific and educational offerings, and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference program includes national and international keynote speakers, she said, noting that, this year, there are two from the United Kingdom, one from the United States and one from Vancouver. Preconference events, she explained, allow for more detailed study of particular topics, such as Reducing Seniors\u2019 Social Isolation Through Collective Impact, which is funded in part by the Government of Canada\u2019s New Horizons for Seniors Program. More than 600 abstracts \u201chave been accepted for presentation within the eight streams of the scientific program which correspond to CAG\u2019s professional membership: behavioural sciences; biological sciences; clinical practice; health sciences; humanities; policy and programs; social sciences; teaching and learning in gerontology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a Fly in Amber<\/em> was part of the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival. \u201cThe play revolves around Iris\u2019s writing of a eulogy for her mother while sitting in the attic of the house in which she grew up,\u201d wrote Dr. Carol Herbert, former dean of the school of medicine and dentistry at Western University who now lives in Vancouver, in a review of that production for the Jewish Independent<\/em>. \u201cShe struggles to evoke memories of the person her mother was and to put her personhood into words. The resulting tribute is beautiful.\u201d (See jewishindependent.ca\/moving-musical.)<\/p>\n

According to the synopsis, Iris returns to the family home the night before her mother\u2019s funeral and \u201cdiscovers that fiercely independent Grace may have hastened her own demise \u2013 accidentally, through stubborn, irrational decisions. Iris reviews the final chapter of their relationship, to make sense of Grace\u2019s kooky self-sufficiency, and find closure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelm plays Iris, while Chertkow-Levy plays Grace. The two performers met doing Fiddler on the Roof <\/em>at Theatre Under the Stars in 1975.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Karen Kelm (photo by Victor Dezso Foto)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOver 40 years later,\u201d Kelm told the Independent<\/em>, \u201cwe are both enjoying being back onstage together \u2013 although I don\u2019t think either of us could have imagined back when she portrayed Tzeitel and I was in the ensemble that she would play my mother one day!\u201d<\/p>\n

The two have been close friends since Fiddler<\/em>. \u201cShe would join my family for Jewish holidays and Shabbat dinners and I would sing with her on Christmas Eve at her family gathering,\u201d said Chertkow-Levy. \u201cAlthough we moved to Toronto and shared an apartment and both pursued music careers, we did not have the opportunity to perform together until 2016. Karen is a gifted songwriter and, when she proposed the idea of doing this show in Toronto, I was thrilled to participate even though I was in San Diego and she was in Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

In preparation for the 2016 Fringe shows, Chertkow-Levy \u2013 who is one of Herbert and Gutman\u2019s sisters \u2013 came to Vancouver around Passover for a few days of rehearsal. \u201cKaren joined us for seder at my sister Carol\u2019s home and, at the urging of my sisters, we sang a few bars of one of the songs. The theme of aging resonated with my sister Gloria professionally and with all of us emotionally and she had the idea of doing it sometime at a future convention. The seed of that idea grew and, as this CAG convention was being planned, Gloria felt the show was a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Judith Chertkow-Levy (photo by Victor Dezso Foto)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Kelm and Chertkow-Levy haven\u2019t publicly performed the show since its debut in Toronto, they have continued to work with the material and improve it, said Kelm. \u201cFor example, the songs are mostly the same but, in the previous production, we performed to recorded tracks. In this production, we will perform with a live pianist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe script for the Fringe production emerged from swapping anecdotes with friends about their mothers,\u201d she explained. \u201cI knew Judy and Gloria\u2019s mother (she ladled a lot of chicken soup down my throat over the years) and we laughed till we cried, remembering some of her best moments and priceless sayings. Judy also knows my mother, who, by the way, tells me it\u2019s OK to poke a bit of fun at seniors because \u2018we old folks are funny.\u2019 Whew \u2013 she may come to the show this time. But, essentially, the first version of the show aimed to present a series of vignettes with songs attached.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, some of my mother\u2019s idiosyncrasies show up in the script, but my experience performing for seniors in independent living facilities has taught me that many of the things we thought were unique to our moms are absolutely universal. So, after our first production, I took to heart some of the insightful observations of a couple of reviewers and began to write a more compelling script. The result is tighter, clearer dialogue and stronger dramatic structure surrounding the songs, now beautifully supported by a new score.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always had a clear picture of Grace (the mother) because she is such a wonderful composite character, representing many mother figures whom I loved,\u201d said Kelm. \u201cIris (the daughter) gave me more trouble, both as a writer and a performer, because, at first, I didn\u2019t want to get too autobiographical. In this version of the script, Iris much more closely represents me than Grace does my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Grace,\u201d said Chertkow-Levy, \u201cI find myself drawing on the memories of wonderful mothers in my life who are no longer with us: my mother and grandmother and Karen\u2019s wonderful Grandma Matthews and Aunt Peggy. And, I picture Karen\u2019s mother and my mother-in-law who are modern \u2018little old ladies\u2019 who have embraced technology and surf the Net and are only old by virtue of their age in years. All are and were strong, resilient women who loved life and took aging with a grain of salt \u2013 accepted it but didn\u2019t give in to it. I feel honoured to be able to draw on them as inspiration and keep them with me in memory. I hope that my portrayal lives up to that memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for <\/em>Like a Fly in Amber can be purchased from cag2018.eventbrite.ca<\/a>. The price is $40 for the show only and $65 for the show plus flatbread and a beverage. It plays Oct. 19, 7 p.m., in the Grand Ballroom at Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, 1088 Burrard St. For details about the CAG meeting, visit cag2018.ca<\/a>. There are one-day as well as student and senior reduced registration fees available.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judith Chertkow-Levy, left, and Karen Kelm co-star in the musical Like a Fly in Amber, which will be at Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel Oct. 19. (photo by Victor Dezso Foto) The Canadian Association on Gerontology Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting (ASEM) is the highlight of the year for those of us who work, conduct […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[2219,8414,8416,8415,8413,4462],"class_list":["post-30473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-aging","tag-gloria-gutman","tag-judith-chertkow-levy","tag-karen-kelm","tag-like-a-fly-in-amber","tag-musical"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}