Viterbi’s ‘In Every Generation’ debates Jewish questions

By Eva Trieger

SOLANA BEACH, California — The holiday of Pesach begins with us recalling our past, and closes with our pledge to the future. The same holds true for In Every Generation, a new play written by Ali Viterbi and directed by Gabrielle Hoyt. The reading took place before a nearly full house at North Coast Repertory Theater as part of the 25^th Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival.

The play involves time travel in the lives of an Italian-Jewish family, depicted through their Passover celebrations in the present day, the future and the past. There are some stereotypical generational conflicts, a few jokes, but mostly a troubling dynamic of the age old debate of “Who is a Jew?” and why does it matter?

The play is divided into time periods portrayed in four parts. With excellent readers, we were treated to the interplay of generations reconnecting over the ritual of a seder. Davide (Marco Barricelli), Paola (Rosina Reynolds), Valerie (Lisa Robbins), Yael (Rebecca Myers) and Dev (Nicole Javier), invite us to their Pesach table.  The meal is anything but harmonious. Each generation bickers with the last, and the two sisters argue vociferously about virtually everything. They vacillate between being “besties” to being informants, spilling each other’s intimate secrets to the family.

The fluidity of time is an interesting vehicle for the play and provides a bit of insight into the characters and may even provide some universals for others who’ve survived the Holocaust, or who are children and grandchildren of survivors. There is some exploration of “survivor guilt” and some discussion about how the great-grandchildren of survivors feel so removed that they don’t really understand the connection to such an atrocity which occurred so long before their existence. An argument over who has suffered more, who is a true survivor, created an interesting dynamic between the grandparents.

Some of the dialogue is tender and honest, and the fact that the readers learned so much Italian and Hebrew is most impressive! It is lovely to note that Ali Viterbi, cowriter of Women of Valor, has spread her wings and is soaring on her own.  Happily, Viterbi has written plays that have been produced all over the world. This is quite an accomplishment for a writer so young.

The show’s focus on miracles and inquiry makes for an interesting dichotomy. Luckily, as Jews, we’re allowed to question. I left the theater with several questions and few answers. However, I think that in order to seek resolution, I will have to look to our past, evaluate the present, and speculate about the future.  I think that’s what Ali Viterbi had in mind when she wrote this provocative script.

*
Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.  She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com