Illusionist Michael Carbonaro ‘Lies on Stage’ at CHMH; Prime Stage Previews ‘And Then They Came for Me’ at New Hazlett (Fri., 2/28/24)

1) A customer walks up to a counterperson at a bagel store and asks for an onion bagel. The clerk says sorry they just ran out of onion bagels but he will make her one using an everything bagel. He ties a string around an everything bagel and lowers it into a bucket that he has brought up from behind the counter. When the everything bagel is pulled back up it only has onions on it. The astonished customer asks how he did that. He says they, and other bagel stores, use a special breed of white mice that are allergic to onions, but eat everything else. He then shows her the interior of the bucket where there’s about 15 small white mice. The customer is further astonished. That is what magician/actor/illusionist Michael Carbonaro calls the Carbonaro Effect. It’s also the name of his hidden camera TV show on truTV.  You can see him up-close and personal at the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall where he will perform his new show: “Carbonaro: Lies on Stage.” 8 p.m. 510 E 10th Ave, Munhall.

AND THEN THEY CAME FOR ME: Remembering the World of Anne Frank (drama with multimedia) by James Still. Prime Stage Theatre Company, March 1 – 10 

Anne Frank (Molly Frontz) shares a hopeful moment with friend Ed Silverberg (Ayden Freed) in Prime Stage Theatre’s ‘And Then They Came for Me … Remembering the World of Anne Frank.’ (photo: Laura Slovesko)

2) As if Anne Frank’s immortal diary was insufficient testimony to the impending horror of the Holocaust, And Then They Came for Me adds another layer of unforgettable truth. Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss appear in James Still’s docudrama to relive their actual childhood memories of playing with Anne Frank. Ed Silverberg is recorded early in her famous diary as “my first boyfriend.” Another close neighbor, Eva Schloss, went into hiding on the same day as Anne. Through recorded “live” interviews and dramatic stage re-enactments by young actors, the juxtaposition of memory and reality unleashes the horror of fear and confusion for Jewish families during the Holocaust. And Then They Came For Me is more than a memory play, more than a documentary of events, and much more than any historical drama audiences will find hard to forget. Prime Stage features a cast of seven, two of whom perform the childhood roles of Ed and Eva, and one who plays Anne Frank. Performances are on Friday and Saturday evenings, with Sunday matinees. 7:30 p.m. New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (C.P.O.) 

Share on Social Media