Prime Stage Opens World Premiere of ‘Perseverance: A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Poland to America’ at New Hazlett (Sat., 4/15/23)

Navid Nackman as Melvin Goldman and Anne Rematt as Lee Goldman in Prime Stage’s ‘Perseverance’ about a Holocaust survivor who owned a jewelry store in Squirrel Hill. (Photo: Laura Slovesko)

PERSEVERANCE: A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Poland to America from a book by Melvin Goldman and Lee Goldman Kikel, adapted for the stage by L.E. McCullough. Prime Stage Theatre. April 15 – 16, live, and April 24 – May 7, streamed recording.

From his own collection of audio recordings on cassette, Melvin Goldman and his daughter, Lee Goldman Kikel, have created a memoir of one man’s journey from Auschwitz to a jewelry shop in postwar Pittsburgh. A world premiere, Prime Stage Theatre’s production of Perseverance shines a light on a singular soul whose cheerful countenance masked a dark and doomed adolescence in Poland during the Holocaust. Resolute in his faith in humanity, Melvin Goldman made a magical career, crafting personal jewelry for his adoring customers in his Squirrel Hill shop during the 1960s and ‘70s. The play addresses antisemitism normalized still in American culture and lends its personal perspective on a world in which we all share a moral obligation to advance hope in every path we take. Adapted by L.E. McCullough and directed by Art DeConciliis, Prime Stage’s Perseverance offers two live performances, Saturday, April 15 at 8 pm, and Sunday, April 16 at 2:30 pm. Tickets go on sale in mid-April to stream recorded performances of Perseverance through May 7. Live performances are at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. (C.P.O.)      

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