It might be assumed that the art of a good scare is reserved for the gore and special effects of the silver screen. But the mysticism and supernatural qualities of the Theatre and Interpretation Center’s “The Dybbuk” bring the skill of creating hair-raising thrills back to the stage.
Northwestern fine arts graduate student David Winitsky directs Tony Kushner’s adaptation of “The Dybbuk” — a show that is in some ways a classic heartbreaking love story and in other ways a 19th century Jewish version of “The Exorcist.” The play unfolds at a synagogue in a Jewish community in Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Chonen, a young mystic, vigorously fasts and frantically studies holy texts. He tries to understand God, the nature of sin, and attempts to purge himself of the love he feels for a local rich man’s daughter. When the rich man arranges a marriage for his daughter, Chonen kills himself by repeating the unspeakable name of the Lord twice. He returns as a dybbuk, a “troubled and dark” wandering soul that enters the bodies of the living.
“I like the fact that (the play) gives the audience an insight into a really fascinating culture,” said Jordan Mann, a theater graduate student who plays the synagogue’s shamnes, or head. “People have conceptions about Yiddish culture. (The play) gives darker truths about the culture’s flaws and idiosyncrasies.”
“The Dybbuk” also addresses the rivalry between two holy books, the Talmud and the Kabbalah. The Talmud is a conventional commentary on the Torah whereas the Kabbalah is a criticized spiritual book of mystics that presents the concept of an indescribable and unpredictable God. Studying the Kabbalah, Chonen comes to belief that Satan and sin are merely another side of God.
“You wouldn’t really think people would say, ‘Hey! Let’s go see a play about Jewish mysticism,'” said Communication junior Mike Kopera who plays one of the rabbis involved in expelling the dybbuk. “But this (play) has a lot of contemporary echoings. Especially now when foreign things are not the most accepted, it’s important to reach out and not forget where we came from.”
Several cast members did research for their roles in the play. Communication sophomore Samantha Long contacted Orthodox Jews in Evanston for a Shabbat dinner while Communication junior Michael Kohn grew a full beard for the role.
“I tried to find as many Jewish related images as possible,” said Kopera. “I was invited by another cast member to go to a (Passover) Seder. That was the most enjoyable thing for me.”
All casts have different warm up exercises before rehearsals. Some casts belt, some run and others dance. The cast of “The Dybbuk” forms a circle and issues throaty, haunting groans and snaps its fingers creating a suiting preview to the eerie play.
“The Dybbuk” opens with Chonen’s solitary ghostly voice singing as he enters with a candle. The synagogue is then flooded with old men discussing the holy qualities of gold. The play then shows their violent reaction when a woman enters the building.
“I am a quarter Jewish and my grandparents lived in this area,” said Kopera. “I’m assuming they lived this in Poland. This is Judaism at its purely religious roots. Judaism has mystical, magical roots.”
But Long, who plays Leah, the girl possessed by the dead man destined in life to be her lover, said she hopes the play appeals to viewers from all walks of life.
“I want the audience to be touched by the story regardless of whether they’re Jewish,” she said. “The story is more universal than people assume it to be.”