Top 4 Kadimah Plays That Haven’t Happened
March 20, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By: Zander Abrams
Kadimah is the longest running program at Camp. It has many long-standing traditions, such as the Wall and the Canoe Trip. Kadimah is also my favorite program. I was a Kadimah camper in 2002, a counselor and play director in 2007, and the program director in 2008. Unlike other programs, Kadimah displays most of its traditions for all of Camp to see. Every summer, Camp looks forward to seeing Kadimah do the play. From my experience, picking the play is not easy. There are many competing factors that need to be satisfied, such as cost, roles, and overall difficulty. Here are my top 4 Kadimah plays that have yet to be performed.
4. Phantom of the Opera
Singing, dancing, drama, and comedy. This production would be both challenging and rewarding. I could imagine Joey Jaffe headlining as the mysterious and charming Phantom, with Madeline Rudin starring opposite as Christine. We’d have to keep the mask under lock and key in Drea Lear’s office. The only problem with Phantom would be that the younger kids may have trouble falling asleep after, but their counselors aren’t sleeping anyway!
3. The Lion King
One of the greatest Disney films of all time, and one of their most successful musicals too. This would give campers a chance to break from the mold of real people and embrace their inner animals. This would appeal to all ages, but the ending would have to be changed. I don’t think that Anne Hope would approve the part of killing Scar at the end.
Editor’s note: Rory Zamansky played a mean “Rory King” in the 1995 Ozo Play.
2. Wicked
This is a musical that both campers and staff would love. In 2006, my then camper Jonathan Edelman used to sleep with a copy of Wicked under his pillow. There are a great deal of different speaking, singing, and dancing parts. Amanute would have to put in overtime with putting costumes together. Luckily in Wicked, the witch is not evil, so we don’t need to worry about young campers getting scared.
1. The Producers
Is there anything more Jewish, more American, and more shticky than Mel Brooks? I grew up on Brooks’ films. My parents made sure my brother and I had a healthy ratio between him and Disney. I could see the Herzl production now, Yossi Kakou starring as Max and Brad Serber as Leo. Not only would Camp enjoy watching, but Kadimah would have fun at every play practice. There are some obvious reasons why The Producers is not currently a viable option, but with some careful editing and rewriting it could hit the Ulam as soon as 2014!
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My Favorite Story as a Camper (Part I)
November 18, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Danny Soshnik
Part I
In the wake of my Herzl Magic Bracket, I’ve had a tough time knowing what to write about. The past nine months have really been easy for me, but now that it is over, I need to actually think of something compelling to write. So I figured that I’d share with you my favorite story from when I was a camper.
The year was 1992. Kuwait had long since been liberated, the St. Louis Cardinals were in their early 90s funk, and I was a Kadimahnik.
My counselors were Steve “Brick” Goldstein, and Todd “Baseball Bat” Zeff. We were in Tzrif Zion (Gadol) and actually were the first ever campers in that cabin, which was pretty cool.
During one evening program in the Marp basement, Bryan Greenberg and I learned that Brick was going to be shmearing Kadimah from the fire pit right outside our door. We managed to both head to the North Haks at the same time, and that’s when the brilliant planning began. Brick, who was new to camp that year, was going to get a “Welcome to Shmearing” present unlike any other. See, before Bryan was a moviestar/rockstar, he was a hooligan.
The plan was simple actually. After he went through the 5 cabins in Kadimahland, he would settle into his shmear site, and then it was go time. During Chofesh, we spent the entire time explaining the plan to our bunkmates.
Fast forward a couple hours. The time, probably 10:45. Lights were out. The preparations had long since been made. It was go time.
Everyone had a role. Rory Zamansky was clearly nervous, so he was going to “stay back and be on lookout”. The rest of us climbed one by one out our back window. I’m quite confident none of us could fit out of that window now, especially Aaron Shefren.
We were dressed in black, as if it were Escape to Israel or Capture the Flag. But this Lights Out activity, led by campers, was “Smear the Shmear”. The goal was simple: Hit unsuspecting Brick with water balloons and escape back into the cabin before he knew where it came from.
We had everything covered – synchronized watches, people on the lookout with a known code if we needed to abandon the mission, and specifics as to where each of us would be stationed. When the clock hit the magical moment, Bryan and I launched our balloons from near Trzif Vav. What a rush! We had no idea if we hit intended target, but it didn’t matter. We quickly retraced our steps and climbed back into the cabin.
To Be Continued…