Local News
Becky Frohlinger returns home to appear in December MTYP production of “Charlies Brown”
By BERNIE BELLAN Over the years it’s been a pleasure for me to follow the careers of the talented Frohlinger kids: Alex, Joey, and Becky.
While Joey is no longer performing – after having been active in venues such as Rainbow Stage while he was still living in Winnipeg, he’s now gone on to a successful career in software engineering in Seattle.
Meanwhile, Alex, whose name and picture has graced our pages many times over the years, spends most of her days on the road performing in plays and musicals. (Currently, by the way, Alex is in Philadelphia performing, according to younger sister Becky.)
As for Becky, it was only a little more than a year ago that she co-starred in the very successful WJT production of “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” in which she played a young woman who carried on a very long wartime correspondence with a man she had never met, but whom she ultimately married.
Now 28, Becky has been performing one way or another ever since she was a young girl. She tells me that she actually attended Gray Academy from kindergarten through Grade 12, but along the way she earned the opportunity to perform in a variety of productions, including at Rainbow Stage, also appearing with both her siblings in a community production of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Rady JCC under the direction of Cheryl Bordy (whose husband, Hal, was the executive director of the Rady JCC at the time).
Every once in a while Becky is able to combine the pleasure of returning to her childhood home here in Winnipeg at the same time that she has an acting gig here.
“It’s great to be able to sleep in the same bed I had growing up,” she remarks.
This month Becky will be part of an eight-person ensemble in the Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s production of “A Charlie Brown Double Bill.”
The first indoor holiday show at MTYP since 2019, “Charlie Brown” actually combines parts of two different shows in a one and a half hour show. Many readers are probably familiar with the play, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” but even if you haven’t seen that show, anyone who was born prior to 1965 has likely seen what is now considered one of the all-time Christmas classics, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” featuring music by the late, great Vince Guraldi.
Becky will be playing the character of Lucy Van Pelt in the MTYP show. Over the years though, she’s played a great variety of roles, including stints with the aforementioned Rainbow Stage, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, and Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (where she also appeared in a production of “A Way to Heaven.”)
Although “Charlie Brown” is geared toward children age five and up, Becky says it’s a show the whole family would enjoy. The show runs until Dec. 23, so there’s plenty of opportunity to take it in.
When not performing, Becky lives in Toronto where she says she keeps in touch with a circle of friends who all hail from Winnipeg. For a year and a half, in fact, her roommate was another ex-Winnipegger, Meital Kraut, daughter of Karla Berbrayer and Dr. Allan Kraut.
But a performer’s life is a peripatetic one. I asked Becky to give me a rundown of some of her more recent acting jobs – in addition to her performance her in August 2021 in “Dear Jack, Dear Louise.”
Just this past year – in January and February, then again over the summer, Becky performed in two different venues – in Prince George and in Chemainus (which Becky explained to me is a town on Vancouver Island) in a play called “Glory,” which is based on the true story of a Canadian women’s hockey team in the 1930s and 40s.
In that play Becky played the part of a “Jewish girl,” she says. Given that the play is set in a time when anti-Semitism was rampant, Becky notes that the character she played had to deal with an issue that rang home for her. As part of the play characters also had to learn to move like hockey players. Apparently the choreography was so well done that hockey players, including former NHL great Richard Brodeur (known as “King Richard” when he played for the Vancouver Canucks), congratulated the cast members on how well they captured the movements of hockey players.
In between those two gigs, Becky also worked as a dance captain and ensemble for a Kamloops production of “The Wizard of Oz”, where she also served as understudy to the Wicked Witch.
As busy as she is, I asked Becky whether she ever thinks of trying to expand her career beyond the Canadian border? “I feel totally fulfilled here, but of course I will go wherever the work takes me.” she answers.
Of course a performer’s life is filled with uncertainties – not knowing very far in advance where your next job will take you. Becky says she’s very lucky to have been able to return to Winnipeg several times over the past few years to appear in a number of different productions.
As she says, “You can leave Winnipeg, but Winnipeg doesn’t leave you.”
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
