Prize-Winning play opens at The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington
Poster of the play Madeleines.
Dear Friends,
“Madeleines” by Bess Welden, a new prize-winning play opens at The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington in May! The 2022 winner of the prestigious Jewish Playwriting Contest, “Madeleines” tells the story of a family of Jewish women grappling with how to love each other through haunted pasts, through laughter and tears, and the solace of baking together.
Madeleines will be performed onstage live at the Waldron’s Rose Firebay in downtown Bloomington, May 4, 6, 11, 13, at 7:30 P.M and May 7 at 3:00 P.M.
Francesca Sobrer
In this multilayered and thought-provoking play, Debra, a struggling food writer, has returned to her childhood home to care for her ailing mother, Rose who is a professional cookie baker. When Debra’s successful older sister Jennifer arrives for Rose’s funeral, old sibling rivalries erupt and a shocking secret is revealed about their mother’s treasured recipe for the French pastry, Madeleines, upsetting everything they thought they knew about their family.
Francesca Sobrer returns to Bloomington to direct “Madeleines.” Now based in Chicago as a director and story teller, Francesca is well known to Bloomington theatre goers. For JTB, she directed the Zoom show, “A Pickle” and appeared in JTB’s Zoom show,”Blessings From the Pandemic.”
“Madeleines” features Bloomington actor and director, Martha Jacobs in a double role. Martha teaches acting in IU’s Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance and has directed and performed in numerous JTB productions. Most recently, she directed JTB’s outstanding production of “The Wanderers.”
Also starring, are prominent Indianapolis actors, Jolene Mentink Moffatt and Kristin Lennox.
Jolene can often be seen onstage at the Phoenix Theatre. Recently, she appeared in Summit Theatre’s production of “The Convent.”
Kristin is a voice and stage actor who performs in various Indianapolis theatres including Indiana Repertory Theatre.
We will welcome the playwright, Bess Welden to Bloomngton for the May 13th performance and she will participate in a talkback that evening. Talkbacks on May 6th and 13th will be facilitated by Darrell Ann Stone.
Tickets are $30 and may be purchased at the Bloom Box Office in person at 114 E. Kirkwood Avenue, online at https://buskirkchumley.org/tickets or by phone at 812-323-3020. Accessible seating is available. To guarantee an accessible seat, please inform the box office upon purchasing tickets.