{"id":39040,"date":"2022-06-24T01:48:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T08:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=39040"},"modified":"2022-06-22T19:00:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T02:00:48","slug":"after-covid-showtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/06\/24\/after-covid-showtime\/","title":{"rendered":"After COVID \u2013 Showtime!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back row, left to right: Jocelyne Hall\u00e9, Debbie Cossever, Nassa Selwyn, Susan Goldstein, Arnold Selwyn, Karon Shear and Marshall Berger. Middle row, left to right: Beryl Israel, Maurice Moses, Daniella Givon, Muriel Morris, Dawn Hurwitz and Rona Black. In front: Sara Bernstein, left, and Tamar Glaser. (photo by Jocelyne Hall\u00e9)<\/em><\/p>\n

Shortly after she arrived in Vancouver from South Africa, in 2002, Beryl Israel founded Showtime, a seniors\u2019 singing and dancing group. In the decades since, Showtime participants have performed 230 concerts. After a hiatus forced by the global pandemic, Showtimers are back to rehearsals, hoping to have their first public performance in September or October.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s old-time, happy favourites, from the movies and from Broadway shows,\u201d Israel said of the Showtime repertoire.<\/p>\n

For most of the group\u2019s history, rehearsals took place at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, but, as rehearsals return, they will be meeting at Kerrisdale Community Centre. Concerts are performed wherever they can bring happiness and good memories \u2013 community centres, church groups and Jewish venues like the Richmond Kehila Seniors, the Louis Brier Home and Hospital and the Weinberg Residence.<\/p>\n

From the start, 20 years ago, the group \u2013 which usually consists of about 16 performers, many of whom are Jewish \u2013 has done a concert every three or four weeks. That came to an abrupt halt with the arrival of COVID. Now, as the group plans the first post-pandemic activity, Showtimers are reflecting on what the group \u2013 and Israel in particular \u2013 has meant to them. In a series of testimonials collected by participant Karon Shear, members spoke of the impact of their participation in general and of their friendship with Israel. The testimonials were compiled \u201cbehind my back!\u201d Israel noted, and were shared in Senior Line<\/em>, the publication of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Muriel Morris, who has just retired as the group\u2019s pianist, said the Showtime experience was important at a pivotal time in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeryl came into my life shortly after Ben, my husband, died,\u201d said the musician. \u201cMeeting her was so fortunate for me. Showtime filled a great void in my life, as pianist of the group, giving pleasure to all our audiences and giving myself a true feeling of well-being and fulfilment.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Morris\u2019s departure, the group will sing to music recorded by North Shore musician Bob York.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Beryl Israel founded Showtime shortly after she arrived in Vancouver from South Africa, in 2002. (photo by Jennifer Friezen)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very privileged and lucky that he\u2019s done this for us,\u201d Israel said.<\/p>\n

While Showtime includes a cadre of singers and dancers, Israel alone fills many roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the everything,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m the director, producer, choreographer, I make the costumes, I do the arrangements, I do the bookings. I ended up doing it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the performers are north of 70.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened with the 60-to-70 age group,\u201d she said. \u201cThey sort of disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of the most active participants are in their 90s \u2013 and maybe singing and dancing keeps them young.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding, both for participants and for the audience,\u201d Israel said, a theme reflected in the many testimonials collected by Shear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the costumes, the rehearsals, being on the stage, singing and dancing and entertaining folks,\u201d said singer Debbie Cossever. \u201cBeryl gave me the opportunity to use my talents bringing joy to the lives of seniors. I have been with her troupe for 17 years<\/p>\n

because I love it! I am so proud I am a Showtimer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeryl has enhanced my life and my dreams have been fulfilled,\u201d said singer and dancer Sara Bernstein. \u201cIt has been an honour over the 17 years being part of Showtime. I witnessed how people sprung up from wheelchairs in elation of the dance, costumes and musical joy Beryl produced. I shall never forget seeing stroke victims joyfully tapping a finger or toe in unrestrained elation. Caregivers and staff mentioned that the residual energy of the shows carried on for days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough my stage presence in acting and singing goes back over 75 years,\u201d Arnold Selwyn added, \u201cthe last 16 years, performing with Beryl\u2019s Showtime group, has given me, without a doubt, the most satisfaction and pleasure. Her professionalism, choice of content and skill of program arranging, makes each show run smoothly and [be] enjoyable for the varied audiences. It is a joy to work with her and watching her dance is a delight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for giving me the opportunity to do a mitzvah (again and again) while I do some of the things I love most \u2013 singing and dancing,\u201d said Daniella Givon. \u201cIt is a pleasure to bring light and colour, music and movement to those who are wheelchair-bound, who cannot live on their own and who need special care. Every time I see our audience smile, nod their head, clap their hands and sing with us, I know this mitzvah counts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back row, left to right: Jocelyne Hall\u00e9, Debbie Cossever, Nassa Selwyn, Susan Goldstein, Arnold Selwyn, Karon Shear and Marshall Berger. Middle row, left to right: Beryl Israel, Maurice Moses, Daniella Givon, Muriel Morris, Dawn Hurwitz and Rona Black. In front: Sara Bernstein, left, and Tamar Glaser. (photo by Jocelyne Hall\u00e9) Shortly after she arrived in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[20479,3119,3036,21611],"class_list":["post-39040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-beryl-israel","tag-dance","tag-music","tag-showtime"],"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\/39040","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=39040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}