Actor Jordan Zelvin has fond memories of reading books about a character named Hershel, by children’s author Eric Kimmel, when she was growing up in Glenview. Now Zelvin has a chance to relive those memories as the star of “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins” by Strawdog Theatre Company, Dec. 11-31, at The Edge Off Broadway Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago.
Performances of this adaptation of Kimmel’s book by Michael Dailey, with lyrics and music by Jacob Combs, are 7 p.m. Fridays, and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, except that there’s no 4 p.m. performance on Dec. 24, and no performances on Dec. 25. Admission is free but reservations are required at strawdog.org/draft-full-1.
“It’s the role of a lifetime. I’m having a blast,” Zelvin declared. “The thing that I really like about Strawdog’s adaptation of ‘Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins’ is that the story starts with a Vaudeville performing troupe led by Hershel. They fall upon this village where nobody celebrates Hanukkah and nobody believes in telling stories and carrying on tradition.”
Hershel decides to tell the story of “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,” which is about her grandfather.
This connection is especially meaningful to Zelvin because it reminds the actor of her connection with her grandmother, who died at the beginning of the pandemic.
Zelvin plays both the optimistic young Vaudevillian, and her grandfather, who is determined to celebrate Hanukkah despite the Goblins.
“Both Hershel and Grandfather Hershel are very brave individuals,” Zelvin said. “That doesn’t mean that they’re not scared. The thing that makes them brave, and the thing that is uniquely Jewish, is that no matter the obstacles they persevere.”
Zelvin noted that “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins” was the only Jewish storybook she had when she was growing up. “I remember reading that story in my synagogue with my Sunday school class and reading it at home,” she recalled. “Last year when I had my own classroom, I shared that story with my students. It’s such a lovely story to share in a class where the majority of the students were not Jewish.”
Zelvin recalled seeing the eyes of the one Jewish student in that junior kindergarten class light up when she read that story. “All of the other students in the room got to see a window into a new culture that they otherwise wouldn’t know a lot about,” she added.
Zelvin has been preparing for her theater career for most of her life.
She took every opportunity to perform when she was growing up in Glenview. “I did Showbiz Kids at the Park Center, Glenview Children’s Theatre, all the plays and musicals at Attea Middle School and GBS (Glenbrook South High School),” she said.
Her parents were very supportive of Zelvin’s love of performing. She recalled that they said, “These are the activities we need to put this child in. She’s got a lot of energy and a lot of stories to tell.”
Zelvin continued her deep involvement in theater at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, from which she graduated last year. “Denison provided me with so many different opportunities,” she said. “Not only to develop myself as an actor and a performer but as a wholistic theater major. I got to be involved in all of the processes that make up creative theater rather than just the performance, which I think informs your performance and makes you a more conscious collaborator and actor.”
Despite her involvement with the other aspects of theater, Zelvin was always in four shows at one time during her college years. “It was a lot of work but I loved it,” she declared.
In addition to performing, Zelvin is a teaching artist. She is currently working as a creative consultant for a company called On-Cue. Last year she was a junior kindergarten teacher and also taught dance classes at NorthShore Elite Talent Company in Glenview.
For now, her main focus is bringing “Hershel” to life.
“The biggest lesson of the show,” Zelvin concluded “is that stories are so powerful. It is so important to continue telling our stories and keeping our traditions alive.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press
