Meet MARRANO JUSTICE Playwright Joel Levin

From the Program:

MARRANO JUSTICE author Joel Levin is a successful lawyer, entrepreneur and academic from Cleveland, Ohio. He heads a small commercial law firm, Levin & Associates, which specializes in representing individuals and small businesses in contract disputes, commercial litigation, and securities matters. He also is the founder of Think-A-Move and Milicom, two allied software and hardware development companies which design and create specialized equipment for the military, medical and telephone sectors. Finally, Mr Levin has held professorships at various universities in the United States and Europe, and, since 1982, at Case Western Reserve, both in its Law School and its Department of Philosophy. He has taught courses in Philosophy of Law, European History, Jurisprudence, Ethics, Contract Theory, Russian Law, Professional Responsibility and a variety of other fields.
Mr Levin received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Chicago, and also held the position of University Ombudsman under then President, and later Attorney General of the United States Edward Levi. He received his J.D. from Boston University, where he delivered the graduation address on structural flaws in legal logic. He attended Oxford University, obtaining his Doctorate in Law and Philosophy. His thesis, later published as a book on the structure of legal reasoning, analyzes such reasoning with that of semantics, philosophy of science and the theory of mathematics.
Mr Levin has written and lectured widely. He has authored three books: How Judges Reason, Revolution, Institutions and Law, and Tort Wars, as well as dozens of articles. He has lectured and published extensively both in law and philosophy, with occasional diversions into the fields of engineering, constitutional adjudication and human rights. He twice lived and taught in Russia, under State Department auspices, lecturing both students and judges on the principles of commercial law and legal theory. His latest work, MARRANO JUSTICE, a play about the life of Justice Benjamin Cardozo, illustrates the textured strands of reasoning Cardozo brought to the Supreme Court and to life from an older Greek and Sephardic tradition that offers new solutions to intractable problems.

Press Release for "MARRANO JUSTICE," opening this Thursday, Sept. 9 at Canyon Moon Theatre

World Premier at Canyon Moon

 

   Benjamin Cardozo, was an extraordinary Hispanic/Jewish judge, whose tenure on the Supreme Court still influences the laws we live by today. And yet, his story is unknown to most of the people who benefit from his work. Marrano Justice presents a riveting vision of the tensions and difficulties of race, freedom, love and dignity – framed by flashbacks and hauntingly beautiful Ladino music. Cardozo’s story echoes many of the themes at play in our country today.

The world premier of Marrano Justice runs at Canyon Moon September 9 through 12 and September 23 through 26. When Cardozo is visited by Torquemada, the 15th Century Spanish Inquisitor who expelled Arabs, Moors and Cardozo’s Jewish ancestors from Spain and Portugal, a tense dialogue begins as each of these men seeks purpose and vindication for the events of the Inquisition. These scenes alternate with scenes of the complex family and professional life of Cardozo and powerful images recalling medieval Cordoba, Spain and the Jim Crow South. Marrano Justice culminates with the Justices of the Supreme Court hearing the case of the Scottsboro boys – the seminal civil rights affair of the era.

Playwright Joel Levin, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, is a successful lawyer, entrepreneur, author and academic. Since 1982, he has taught at Case Western Reserve, both in its Law School and its Department of Philosophy. Mr. Levin has authored three books – How Judges Reason; Revolution, Institutions and Law and Tort Wars as well as dozens of articles.

Mark DeMichele (Benjamin Cardozo) most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed production of Secret Order for Actors Theatre of Phoenix and in the world premiere and surprise box office success of Parted Waters for Arizona Jewish Theatre. He has played on stages throughout the country and appeared in CMT’s hit show Nixon’s Nixon as Henry Kissinger. Mark is currently on the web as a reporter for TheDailyAdvantage.com.

A former college professor and Head Trainer for Anthony Robbins, Robert Bays (Torquemeda) spent ten years as an actor in New York. Bob was featured on Broadway in Tennessee Williams’ last play, Clothes for a Summer Hotel, directed by Jose Quintero, starring Geraldine Page. For CMT, Bob played the Trying and Chapter Two as well as directing Twelfth Night. The cast is rounded out by Michelle Lambeau (Nell Cardozo), Craig Hartley (Learned Hand) and newcomers Dion Johnson (Irving Lehman) and Jamie Maletz (Kate).

Michelle is an actress whose love of the theatre shows in her work as an actress, playwright and director. Her theatre blog, The Lucky Wig, details theatre doings in the Verde Valley and offers an interesting insight into backstage life.

Craig Hartley played Malvolio in CMT’s production of Twelfth Night and was formerly a company member at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D. C.

Dion Johnson is an actor who moves easily between the worlds of musical theatre and drama. His next role is the father in Hairspray at Phoenix Theatre.

Jamie Maletz recently moved to Sedona from Boston. She has written four musicals, one of which was fully produced.

Several events are planned around the presentation of Marrano Justice including a dinner at the Marketplace Café featuring Sephardic food. Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Greece, Egypt, Britain, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania…and so many others have had an influence on Sephardic cooking, a centuries-old, international cuisine with its roots in the Jewish traditions of pre-Inquisition Spain and Portugal.

Wherever the Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) people migrated, their cooking adapted to the techniques, tastes and ingredients found in new lands, while always remaining true to ancient cultural traditions.  Join us for a special evening when the Marketplace Cafe features a Sephardic menu with a Spanish influence following the play on September 12. For reservations, call MPC at 284-5478.

Marrano Justice plays Thursday, September 9 through Saturday, September 12 and again September 23 through 26.  Tickets are $19 general admission.  Full-time student are $11. To purchase tickets, call CMT at 928-282-6212. Tickets are also available at Rycus’ Corners and Marketplace Café in the VOC and at Basha’s in West Sedona. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. Canyon Moon Theatre is located in the Oak Creek Factory Outlets, next to Village Pet Supply and Grooming, on Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.

Rehearsals for Marrano Justice Are Well Underway!

Canyon Moon Theatre of Sedona, Arizona, is proud to present the cast of Joel Levin's Marrano Justice, opening September 9, 2010 at 7:30pm.

The play stars Mark DeMichele in the role of Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo and features Robert Bays as Tomas Torquemada, Deon Johnson as Judge Irving Lehman, Craig Hartley as Judge Learned Hand, Michelle Lambeau as Nell Cardozo and Jamie Maletz at Kate.

Watch this space for updates!


From left to right: Mark DeMichele, Robert Bays, Jamie Maletz.

Previews of "GLORIOUS!" by Peter Quilter begin Tonight at Canyon Moon Theatre!

Don't miss this hilarious comedy based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, diva extraordinaire of the 1940s!

GLORIOUS! by Peter Quilter opens this Thursday, May 27, at Canyon Moon Theatre in Sedona, Arizona!

Glorious! by Peter Quilter runs May 27 through June 13 at Canyon Moon Theatre. The (London) Sunday Times called the play  “a lunatically funny comedy…glittering, hilarious...a comedy with a heart…”

In1940’s New York, the performer everyone wanted to see including avid fan Cole Porter was Florence Foster Jenkins, a delusional and joyously happy soprano whose pitch was, unfortunately, far from perfect. Her elaborate costumes, from a Spanish senorita’s garb to an “angel of inspiration” outfit complete with wings and halo, delighted her audiences.

Quilter’s play provides a hilarious portrait of Jenkins as an indomitable spirit who may have committed “murder on the high C’s,” but who also had an enthusiasm for music that no cranky critic could squelch. Florence Foster Jenkins spent her fortune in pursuit of her dreams. She believed that singing badly was better than not singing at all. And for this, she became famous and has captured the imagination of audiences over the years. Quilter was not being entirely ironic when he called his play Glorious! 

Canyon Moon's production, directed by Producing Artistic Director Mary Guaraldi, recreates her absurd performances as it follows Jenkins during the last year of her life, from recording sessions and galas to Carnegie Hall, where, at the age of 76, she made her legendary sold-out debut and swan song. Helping her along the way are a cadre of real-life figures: Jenkins’s manager/boyfriend St. Clair Byfield, her accompanist, a young pianist with the wonderfully descriptive name of Cosmé McMoon, her friend and fellow amateur, Dorothy, and Maria, a temperamental maid.

Gerard Maguire (St. Clair Byfield) has had a long and distinguished career as an actor, writer, director and teacher since graduating from NIDA, Australia’s leading drama school. An audience favorite at CMT, Gerard played Henry in The Lion in Winter and directed The Business of Murder.

Glorious! Introduces four actors new to the CMT stage. Susy Hopkins (Florence Foster Jenkins) is a classically trained soprano who has appeared in concert at Lincoln Center and was featured in the Joseph Papp production of La Calisto in New York City.  Aiden Redsteer is a graduate of Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy where he worked with Canyon Moon’s Mike Levin. He is now at NAU studying theatre. He was nominated for a best actor award this past season at NAU.

Michelle Lambeau (Dorothy) has been an active participant in theatre for twenty years.  This year, Michelle produced and directed her original adaptation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan. Morgana Campbell (Maria/ Mrs. Verrinder-Gedge) began her theatre experience in 1998 while attending Arizona Western Community College in Yuma, AZ.

The show plays May 27-June 13 with no performance on June 5.  Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday performances begin at 3 p.m.  Tickets are $19, $11 for full time students. Tickets for preview performances (May 27, 28) are $16. All shows take place at the Oak Creek Factory Outlets on Hwy 179 in the Village of Oak Creek. Canyon Moon Theatre is a professional, non-profit theatre that serves the northern Arizona community and its guests. Single tickets for Glorious! will be available for purchase at Marketplace Café and Rycus’ Corners in the Village of Oak Creek and at Bashas' in West Sedona. You may also call 800-838-3006 to make reservations.

Last Week for Twelfth Night at Canyon Moon Theatre: A Musical Romp of Romance and Laughter

Audiences have been laughing their way out of the theater for the past two weeks, so don’t miss out on your last three chances to see Twelfth Night at Canyon Moon Theatre, Thursday through Saturday, April 22-24 at 7:30 PM.  It features silly lovers and ale-loving pranksters, all chasing each other in a musical romp that ends in marriage with a few twists.

            Never send a boy to do a man’s work, especially if he’s a girl!  Romantic complications among the upper classes multiply in the fantasy kingdom of Illyria as Duke Orsino sends Viola (thinking she is a boy) to woo the celibate Olivia in his name. Add a backdrop of side-splitting revelry as the ever-tipsy Sir Toby Belch and the foolish knight, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, join forces with the fun-loving Maria to marry Olivia off to Sir Andrew and to dupe the puritanical steward Malvolio into making a fool of himself by wooing Olivia. Throw in a twin brother, sword play, various other disguises and twelve songs and the rollercoaster is at full throttle.

Twelfth Night is directed by Canyon Moon favorite Robert Bays who also plays the fun-loving Sir Toby. Bays is a Broadway veteran who has appeared at Canyon Moon as the ailing Judge in Trying and as the Neil Simon stand-in in Chapter Two. The musical director, Teri Bays, returns to CMT as Maria after playing opposite her husband in last season’s Chapter Two. Craig Hartley as Malvolio was in CMT’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest and has an extensive background in theatre as a director and actor.

Brad Roberts, aka Sir Andrew Aguecheek, works for Yavapai Broadcasting and is a veteran of CMT’s murder mysteries where he has played everything from a flighty female to a Hawaiian ghost.  Mary Wallin, who starred in Barefoot in the Park, plays Viola, the object of everyone’s affection. The Duke of Orsino, Justin Ove, last appeared at CMT in Jerry Finnegan’s Sister. When Justin is not onstage, he is becoming a sommelier at Page Springs Winery. Talented newcomer Sarah Ann Lesslie plays the lovely Olivia.  Sir Toby’s band consists of Robert Bays and Teri Bays on piano, C C Cline on bass and Thomas Wisbey on drums. Set and costume design are by Robert Reninger, who has worked throughout the west as a stylist and designer.

Tickets are $19.  Full-time student tickets are $11. To purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets’ 24-hour hotline at 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are also available at Rycus’ Corners and Marketplace Café in the VOC and at Basha’s in West Sedona. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. Canyon Moon Theatre is located in the Oak Creek Factory Outlets, next to Village Pet Supply and Grooming, on Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.

Canyon Moon is supported by the Arizona Community Foundation and is northern Arizona’s year-round professional theater.

MARRANO JUSTICE Workshop Reading Tonight at Canyon Moon Theatre in Sedona

by Michelle Lambeau    

Tonight Sedona's Canyon Moon Theatre will be hosting a reading of Joel Levin's new play, Marrano Justice. This dramatic presentation of the life and works of Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo, whose deeply humanist erudition helped set the Court on the path of enlightened secularism that made our country great right up to the end of the XXth century, will be followed by a discussion moderated by Producing Artistic Director Mary Guaraldi.

A workshop production of  Marrano Justice is planned  for mid-September 2010. Watch this space for updates!

Announcing "MARRANO JUSTICE," Canyon Moon's Newest Original Production coming to Sedona this September

by Michelle Lambeau


Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo (1870-1938) was extremely influential in shaping American legal philosophy in the XXth century. Appointed to the Court by Herbert Hoover to succeed the celebrated Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Cardozo was already famous for his flair, his philosophy and his modesty. His tenure, though brief, is remarkable for the insights and lasting influence he brought to our justice system.

Cardozo was also an extremely private and complex individual. He tolerated no inquiries into his personal life and, though he practiced no religion, took great pride in his heritage as a Sephardic Jew who traced his ancestry back to the Iberian peninsula.

Playwright Joel Levin has set himself the task of presenting this fascinating historical figure in dramatic form with Marrano Justice. The title refers to the medieval term of contempt reserved in Spain and Portugal for forced converts to Christianity who were suspected - and often brutally executed - for secretly adhering to Jewish practices.

A rehearsed reading featuring Mark DeMichele, Bob Bays and Gerard Maguire alongside your humble blogger, followed by a discussion with the playwright and director Mary Guaraldi, will be presented by Canyon Moon Theatre this Sunday, April 11, at 7pm. The reading is by invitation only, and will be free of charge to participants. This will be followed, in September 2010, by a public workshop production of the play.

Watch this space for continuing information on this exciting project by Canyon Moon.

*****

"In truth, I am nothing but a plodding mediocrity—please observe, a plodding mediocrity—for a mere mediocrity does not go very far, but a plodding one gets quite a distance. There is joy in that success, and a distinction can come from courage, fidelity and industry."  

-- Benjamin Cardozo

'LADY SUSAN' Makes the Cover of Kudos Magazine!

Use this link to check us out:


Kudos Magazine, March 3, 2010

Note: Unfortunately, this link is replaced by Kudos every week, so our show is no longer on the cover. But it was, and perhaps if you visit the link and look up the cover article, "VVT Reads Lady Susan," you will find us again!

Another Sneak Peak at the Program for LADY SUSAN

Jane Austen and the Story of Lady Susan

by Michelle Lambeau

Beloved English novelist Jane Austen lived  between 1775 and 1817 in a selection of small country villages within a day’s journey of London. Born into a large family of the gentry, Jane was gifted from an early age with insight into what makes people tick, the talent for comedy that never lags far behind, and an eye for the strategies deployed by families to gain society’s ultimate prize: a brilliant match for its ladies into families of wealth and connections. She had a knack for storytelling, too, and a taste for the limelight, leading her to spend hours scribbling on bits of paper, then read her tales aloud to family and friends of an evening. She was prolific from a young age and, alongside Lady Susan, written when she was about nineteen, her best loved works, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey (her very own spoof of the gothic novels popular in her day), were written by the time she was twenty-three. Twenty-three! Encouraged by the enjoyment her ‘little stories’ gave to an ever-widening circle of admirers, she went on to try her hand at literature of a more sophisticated nature and acquitted herself brilliantly with Emma, Mansfield Park and the darker novel Persuasion, the last one she would ever complete. Even as she labored on the last three, she devoted time in her late twenties and thirties to polishing Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey for publication, and each one was well received by the public upon its release.

A different fate, though, was reserved for Lady Susan. It is a novel of letters, for some reason, her only attempt at the style. In the first flush of my enthusiasm for seeing the work performed on stage, I had imagined a set up with one actor for each letter writer, reading each letter in turn, which was the closest thing I could imagine to the way the very first audiences experienced it (though of course it would have been with the Author herself doing all the parts, and doubtless having prodigious fun in the process). It quickly became apparent that such a production would take about four hours, and I would be hard-pressed to find actors available to perform—or an audience willing to sit through it. So I started over. A number of times, in fact. But I digress. There are vastly more interesting mysteries surrounding the literary destiny of Lady Susan and much sleuthing to be done by some eager forensic scholar: The manuscript was never revisited by the Author. It was never polished and revised for publication. In fact, Jane Austen never even gave it a title (and everyone knows that a book without a title is like a child without a name. ‘Lady Susan’ was assigned it by the publishing house that took it on.) It was only published forty years after her death, by a nephew who had been placed in charge of her estate. And James Edward Austen’s decision was a controversial one: the historical record points to strong family objections but, tantalizingly, fails to spell out what they were. The leading theories are that either Lady Susan’s exploits were too unseemly to find favor in the Author’s decorous social circle, or else that her transgressions too closely described those of an actual family member.  In an age when respectability was essential to the successful connecting of families by marriage, and where the doings of a single member could ruin a good name for generations, such a breach of decorum by a brash adolescent would have been given short shrift indeed.

 Whatever the case may be, authorities in charge of such matters have consigned Lady Susan to the mortifying doom of ‘juvenilia’ and ‘minor works’ where it languishes to this day, to be stumbled upon only by the most ardent of fans who will not be satisfied until they have perused every last scrap of scribble ever scratched out by her hand. And so the ambition of this play goes just a little beyond the revival of a hidden gem: the hope is to see Lady Susan promoted to the same rank as the other great Austen romances. The evidence presented to you this night begins with the clear development and resolution of plot by a teenage writer who is clearly a virtuoso storyteller.  Note in particular that she eschews such sensationalistic contrivances as sudden accidents, fires, lightning strikes, falling off cliffs and the like, to move her story along. Instead, she allows character alone to rule fate, in graceful application of one of literature’s loftiest concepts. Jane Austen continues in this manner throughout her career: you will not find her villains dispatched by acts of nature or divine retribution; rather, she is content to leave them exactly as they were, unchanged and unmoved by anything that might have befallen. The heroes, on the other hand, are put through a wringer, but come out the other end transformed and made better by their struggles... And the entire text is liberally sprinkled with the wit and insight of a young woman who delights in her own intelligence, bringing each tale to its most satisfying conclusion of matrimony while entertaining and edifying her readers all along the way. We see in Lady Susan early glimmerings of the imaginative genius of Jane Austen: a specialist in romance who never married, an authority on the trappings of wealth and position who was raised to do without, a young woman whose fulfillment ultimately lay in creating worlds where the very richest, handsomest, worthiest, and most eligible of men invariably lost their hearts to strong, smart women who were not necessarily the prettiest, but whose virtues of intellect, wit and character would never fade. Now you decide.                                ~ Michelle Lambeau

Meet The Cast of "LADY SUSAN!"

Back row (left to right): Guy Darland, Brent Jones, James Ball, Ashly Lawler, Jesse Majewski

Seated: Alyssa Majewski, Linda Damita.  Kneeling: Tera Ponce
(Photo by Kitson Southward)

Sneak Peak at the Director's Notes for "Lady Susan"

So What is it with Readers’ Theatre Anyway?

by Michelle Lambeau

Verde Valley Theatre's production of Lady Susan presented as Readers’ Theatre is a first for the area. We look forward to discovering how Verde Valley theatre-goers respond to this break from the usual fare. Besides, the formula suits to the script in more ways than one.

Playreadings have long been a favorite hobby of mine.  Often our busy lives, jobs and commitments make it hard to find time to devote to the theatre. Playreadings offer a unique opportunity for like-minded amateurs to indulge in a few hours’ sharing of their passion and fun. And then there are the newcomers to acting who get their first taste of performing in an informal setting and gain from gleaning a bit of the group experience before taking on the challenges of an actual show. And who among the long-time participants would deny the satisfaction of getting a chance to sink their teeth into a part that they are unlikely to ever be cast in for want of such trifles as the right age, gender, physique—or even ability?

And for the broader community there is benefit, too. From remotest antiquity plays were meant to be experienced by the group as a whole, a ritual interaction between players and audience; not read from a book or viewed in isolation on a screen. And yet creating the experience today often calls for technical and financial means that exceed what all but the wealthiest of companies can afford. Thus it is that so many excellent works sink into obscurity: not for any want of merit, but from being turned down time after time by the budget and technical committees.  Public readings, carefully rehearsed, are a simple way to offer nearly any script to an audience in a manner close to the original intention—with added benefit in terms of pace, so vital to contemporary audiences who are unwilling to sit through lengthy changes of scene.

Over the course of many years spent attending and participating in playreadings, I have developed a theory of the practice which goes beyond the usual semi-circle of performers on stools to offer a spectacle designed to be visually more engaging, through use of costumes, props and stylized stage movement. And when VVT asked me to direct a show and selected my never-yet produced adaptation of Jane Austen, I was offered the perfect venue to try out the theory and the play. The cast has been stretched far to explore this new take on workshopping and performing a script, and has accommodated a flurry of rewrites and adaptations throughout the process—which made memorization undesirable, but demanded more in terms of flexibility.

Audience feedback will be the last important input to the process. Experts have and will continue to offer learned opinions, but theatre is first and foremost an undertaking by the community and for the community, so we all look forward to finding out whether the Verde Valley might care to see more of this (or not!) in the future.

~ Michelle Lambeau, Director

Sneak Peak at Preparations for VVT's production of LADY SUSAN, opening March 3 in Clarkdale, AZ!

Synchronicity at Play!

Who would have thought? Just last summer, a couple of dear friends sympathetic to my passion for Jane Austen took me to visit the house where she breathed her last, on July 18th, 1817, in Winchester, England. Three months later, Verde Valley Theatre asked if I would be willing to take on their March 2010 production--and agreed to take a chance on my dusty old manuscript: a loving, painstaking, dramatization of her little-known gem, called Lady Susan that I never thought would see the light of day. And now, after weeks of intense and exciting preparations, the show is due to open very soon. May I just take this moment to thank everyone, on both sides of the Atlantic, for their generous support of this project so close to my heart. May each one of you, too, live to see your dreams come true.

Jane Austen Comes to Clarkdale!

LADY SUSAN Gets Two New Crew Members!

The start of our 2010 rehearsal session saw the arrival of two new volunteers for our March production of Lady Susan. 

Terry Allen, who joined Verde Valley Theatre during last year's production of Moonlight and Valentino will be broadening her skills to cover lighting. And we are delighted to have the help of Mingus Union High School senior Mary Pritchard. She heads off to college in the fall with plans to study technical theatre, so we are lucky to have her help us out one last time.