THURSDAY, MARCH 20 • 7:30 PM • ALEXANDER GRASS CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE 
SUNDAY, MARCH 23 • BOOK CLUB FILM EVENT – 9:00 AM • PRE-SCREENING NOSH • MIDTOWN CINEMA 
                                                                                          10:00 AM • FILM
                                                                                          12:00 PM • DISCUSSION

THE PERFORMANCE

USA, Slovakia, 2024/drama, 112 minutes/English, German, Yiddish, Hungarian w/subtitles/Screenplay by Josh Salzberg and Shira Piven, based on the short story by Arthur Miller/Directed by Shira Piven

Set in 1937, The Performance tells the story of Harold May (Jeremy Piven), a first-generation American Jew and gifted tap dancer nearly past his prime.   While on tour in Europe, Harold, his old flame Carol, and the rest of his troupe are scouted by Damian Fugler (Robert Carlyle), a German attache, who offers them a huge sum of money to perform one show in Berlin.  Flattered by Fugler’s attention and still longing for the success and status that have eluded him, Harold accepts the job. It is only after the troupe is already in Germany do they discover that the show is an exclusive performance for Hitler himself.

 

Please join us after 9:00 a.m. for bagels, coffee, and a screening of The Performance, followed by a discussion of Arthur Miller’s short story, “The Performance,” and its screen adaptation, with author and scholar Dr. Yelena (Helen) P. Khanzhina-Wexler.  Helen earned her Ph.D. in World Literature from the University of St. Petersburg (Russia).  She immigrated to the United States in the 1990s, where she continued to teach literature and writing at the university level.  For the last 13 years Helen has facilitated the Book Club Film discussion, in the process making it one of the most eagerly anticipated events of each Film Festival season.