A new version of the enduring play that ran for over 20 years
The musical is based on melodies from Yitzhak Levy’s Anthology of Judeo-Spanish Liturgy and Book of Romances.
The play depicts daily life in a Sephardic neighborhood in Jerusalem during the 1930s. It centers around a single family: the Castels. Matters between men and women, fathers and sons; folk philosophy; the Shamash sounding the call for prayers; the fortune teller; relationships between neighbors; the wanton girl ordered by the rabbi to leave Jerusalem and later, the dilemma of her burial; Ben Tzion, an oddball looking for Elijah the Prophet; and finally, the tragedy of Victoria, accused of not guarding her virginity. Scattered between the scenes are songs of love and pain, happiness and sorrow - romanzas that have stood the test of time, passed down through the generations and sung to this day with great feeling and longing by members of the Sephardic community.
Translation of the songs from Ladino: Professor Shmuel Refael Vivante, head of the Salti Institute for Ladino Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
