Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Return to Haifa Powerful Drama!  This is probably the best way to describe the new offering by The Next Theatre Company of Evanston, "Return to Haifa" by M.E.H. Lewis.  This play deals with family, conflict, war and rebirth as we start in 1948 and 1947.  Jakob (a solid performance by Daniel Canton) and Sarah (deftly handled by Saren Nofs-Snyder) have just been taken from the settlements to Israel and are now living in a Kibbutz in Haifa.  The war is over and it is time for them to rebuild their lives.  Poland and the concentration camp must be left behind, just as all their possessions were when the Nazi's took them from their home.  They can now rebuild their lives in Israel.  Haifa at this time is a mixture of Arabs and Israelis and the other family we meet, just a bit earlier in time is Ishmail (a beautiful portrait painted by Anish Jethmalani) a skilled cobbler and his wife Safiyeh (brilliantly played by Diana Simonzadeh) who has just given birth to a little boy.  They have a home, a child and a bright future, or so it would seem. But then the fighting begins.  The Palestine-Israeli conflicts grow fiercer in 1948 and the Arabs of Haifa must vacate their homes.  Jakob and Sarah are offered the house of Ishmail and Safiyeh by the Office of Absentee Property Department and in it, they find a hand made crib with a little boy.  They take on the baby with the house and get on with their lives.  Act Two takes place in 1967, 19 years later.  Ishmael and Safiyeh are now in a refuge camp in Ramallah, on the West Bank.  They have children but no home of their own and are on rations for food and coffee.  The roads have been opened to Haifa and they take a bus trip back to see their old home.  They see the home and their hearts start to long for what they had.  Sarah opens the door for them, not knowing who they are, but in her heart she has expected that unless they were dead, this day would come.  The boy she has raised will meet his real mother and father.  Jakob is now deceased, having died in one of the border fights and her son Moishe (a strong performance by Miguel Cohen, who earlier played other roles) is in the Israeli Army. These scenes are the most emotional scenes and these two women shine in recalling their pasts and what happened to each of them.  Safiyeh speaks to why she left the home without her son and Sarah speaks to the death of her son in the camp.  As the play closes, each of the women has come to terms with what has taken place in their lives and Moishe is torn between his mother and the love she has given him and his true parents and family who he doesn't know.  Each has to deal with loss and choices as well as identity.  Who is the real mother of this young man?  Is it the woman who gave birth to him?  Is it the woman who raised him from infancy?  Were the events that brought Sarah and Moishe together a twist of fate or was it God's way of giving her back something to replace that which was taken from her? These are some of the questions that I found myself thinking as I drove home from Evanston.  From the notes, it appears that this play is based on a Palestinian novella, a story that could easily be real.  Can a mother leave her child to save herself or did she think he might be better off in an orphanage?  At one point, during all of the confusion as to who is who, Moise says to Safiyeh "I would do anything, even die, to save my child".  Anyone who has lived in a war-torn country might know of people who went through an experience like this.  The answers lie within ourselves. This is a very solid cast and I would be remiss if I did not mention young Todd Garcia who plays several roles but stands out as Khalid, the son of Ishmail and Safiyeh who never knew that he had an older brother.  This is two hours of tense drama and also gives us some insight into the lives of people who have been displaced by war and the struggles to survive.  It deals with culture clashes, religion, family and in the end the bond between these two families that had endured loss of property and loved ones. Directed by Jason Southerland on a set by Tom Burch that has these two families walking through the same house until it transfers from one to the other, the flow of action is seamless and the lighting by Jared Moore and sound by Nick Keenan add to the recipe for a play that I would have to say is as near to perfection as one might hope for.  I also want to mention one of the unseen heroes, the properties designer Sally Weiss.  Most people never pay attention to the props, they are just there, but I find that every little detail makes the production whole, and this one is just that. "Return To Haifa" will continue through March 7, 2010 at The Next Theatre Company located in Evanston at The Noyes Cultural Arts Center.  Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. (talkback discussions after), Wednesday matinees 2/24 and 3/3 at 1 p.m.  Tickets range from $25-$40 and can be purchased by calling 847-475-1875 xt 2 or online at www.nexttheatre.org.   The theater is located at 927 Noyes Street in North Evanston and there is some street parking as well as lots.  You can also get there by L, exiting the Noyes stop.  Reduced ticket prices for students under $25.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.