Local News
Jewish performers at upcoming Winnipeg Fringe Festival July 17-28
By BERNIE BELLAN As has been my long-time custom, I try to find Fringe shows that feature Jewish performers or playwrights – or, as is sometimes the case – plays that have a Jewish theme.
This year will see a very large number of Jewish performers, many of whom are repeat Fringe performers, but we will also have one play to be performed by one of the Fringe Festival’s most popular performers: Jem Rolls who, while he is not Jewish, has chosen for his theme this year a most unusual subject
(For information about venues and show times go to Winnipegfringe.com)
Alli Perlov: One Human Being Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas
Alli Perlov has been a theatre kid her entire life. Her experiences include training at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg, and a brief career in film and television in her teens.
For the past 13 years, Perlov has been a performing arts teacher in Winnipeg, teaching courses in musical theatre, improv and drama to students from Grades 6 to 12. In an effort to continue practicing what she teaches, Alli Perlov has mounted three one-person Fringe plays starting in 2017 and brings her fourth to this year’s festival with a new work for her most favourite film, “A One Human Being, Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas”.
Some teachers take the summer off to recharge, while others mount a one-person Fringe festival show. In a similar approach to her 2018/2023 show, Perlov tackles her favourite film of all time in,
“A One Human Being Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Local performing arts teacher Alli Perlov aims to leave the audience in stitches as she performs dozens of creepy characters from the iconic 1993 Tim Burton stop-motion film.
In a musical parody full of charm and can-do spirit, Perlov tackles the task of making “try-hard” a compliment. Condensing the score to 50 minutes of music, and weaved with narrative, critiques and silly puns, everyone in the theatre is guaranteed a good time and a load of laughs.
Melanie Gall (3 separate shows): FORBIDDEN CABARET, STITCH IN TIME, ROCKIN’ BLUEBIRD (kids’ show)
Melanie Gall has been a Fringe favourite for years. Last year she performed in 3 separate shows – and she’s back doing 3 shows again!
FORBIDDEN CABARET
Hidden in the back alley of a Broadway theatre is the grittiest, most decadent club in New York. The year is 1934. Unlicensed musical entertainment is prohibited and the Dirty Blues are banned. But not at Club Hirondelle – and when the midnight hour strikes, the forbidden cabaret begins with some of the naughtiest songs from (almost) 100 years ago.
Featuring a dozen (real!) banned hits, including: “Boobs,” “What Can You Buy a Nudist on His Birthday?” and the Yiddish Theatre hit, “Mein Butcher.”
Melanie Gall is the award-winning performer of sellout hits Ingenue (5 STARS), American Songbook Experience (5 STARS) and Toast to Prohibition (5 STARS).
STITCH IN TIME
Excitement! Drama! Romance! And…knitting? A scintillating cabaret featuring ‘lost’ knitting songs of World War I and World War II.
Bring your knitting (or crochet) and stitch along to these funny, toe-tapping, needle-clicking tunes. Come out and have a ball! Melanie Gall presents over a dozen quirky historic songs, including “More Power to Your Knitting, Nell!” and “The Knitting Itch.”
During the wars, millions of women knit for soldiers and dozens of knitting songs appeared. After the wars, these songs were close to disappearing forever. But now, this music — a clever, sweet and entertaining footnote in history — will live again.
FIVE STARS – Glam Adelaide, Southside Advertiser
“Divine voice, highly recommended” – Fringe Review UK
“Cute, charming and funny” – Plank Magazine
ROCKIN’ BLUEBIRD (kids’ show)
Bluebird Scraps has always wanted to be a rock star. She dreams of bright lights, a cool costume, and thunderous applause. But the other birds just don’t understand! All the robins and sparrows sing together in their trees, but Scraps has a squawk that just doesn’t fit. With your help, she’ll find her voice and rock the show!
LEAPIN’ LOUIE LICHTENSTEIN
We sent an email to a Fringe performer by the name of Louie Lichtenstein, asking him if he was Jewish. The answer was yes. Here’s what Louie sent back:
Hello hard working Manitoba Jewish Media folks,
Leapin’ Louie, the most explosive Lithuanian Jewish Cowboy Comedian to ever come out of Oregon, is on his way to Winnipeg Fringe.
It’s Kids Fringe but awesome for adults too. An environmental theme no less.
Fly Through Time
with Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein
A cowboy comedy circus show about animals who fly
Kids Fringe Manitoba Theatre For Young People
Pay what you can
Leapin’ Louie uses circus, cowboy tricks, a six-foot unicycle, and lots of comedy to explore all those wild critters, including us, who fly.
In 400 million years five amazing groups of animals developed flight: Insects, pterosaurs, birds, bats and finally humans. Only 66 years after the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, —we landed on the moon. We’re moving so fast! Can we leave enough room for our amazing wild ecosystems as we jet into the future? It’s a biodiversity science education show that’s really fun for adults and kids.
Leapin’ Louie is a master of physical comedy, trick roping, whip cracking, and juggling. He has performed one-person Leapin’ Louie shows in 35 different countries around the world, including many tours of Europe, Japan and Australia. He is considered the most explosive Lithuanian Jewish Cowboy Comedian to ever come out of Oregon, USA. This is his first time at Winnipeg Fringe.
“‘Awesome’ is a terrible word, but there’s no shame using it – in the truest sense – to describe Leapin’ Louie” Broadway Baby ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)
Keir Cutler: JOAN OF ARC ASCENDING
“Joan of Arc is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.” Mark Twain
A new work, created and performed by Keir Cutler. For his 17th presentation at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Keir Cutler will perform a captivating world premiere show that invites audiences to rediscover the legendary true story of Joan of Arc. His portrayal defies contemporary doubt and invites wonder, probing Joan’s life through the lens of the miraculous.
The show also features live music by University of Manitoba musicology grad student, Manitoban Kyla Kelsey, and onstage original art work by Michael Cutler, Keir’s brother.
Montrealer Keir Cutler has been called “a masterful entertainer,” (Winnipeg Free Press) “a marvel to watch,” (Toronto Sun) and “a phenomenal performer!” (winnipegonstage.com)
Keir has a PhD in theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit, a playwriting diploma from the National Theatre School of Canada, He is the writer/performer of twelve solo works, and the author of multiple plays and books. He is a veteran of more than 100 fringe and theatre festivals.
Jem Rolls: THE KID WAS A SPY
The true story of Ted Hall.
Brooklyn, October 1944. The youngest physicist in the Manhattan project asks himself a very big question.
Will the world be safer after the war if he gives the bomb to the Russians?
And he does.
• Events take place in the world of OPPENHEIMER
• Jem Rolls has done more Fringes than anyone else on earth … [Except Alex Dallas.]
This show takes the audience from the murky world of spies to the idyll of young love. From teenage friendship to stark treason. From big decision to deep consequence. From high idealism to extreme cynicism. And from pure science to Hiroshima and the electric chair.
The show also brings in the stories of Klaus Fuchs, the greatest atomic spy; and Ethel Rosenberg, executed yet innocent.
THE KID WAS A SPY is the third in Jem Rolls’ series of shows about Jewish Nuclear Physicists no-one has ever heard of.
Which is, to put it mildly, the niche of a niche of a niche.
One only realistically enterable in the unique world of Canadian Fringe.
Which most Canadians do not realize is unique.
The first two shows in the series, THE INVENTOR OF ALL THINGS, about Leo Szilard, and THE WALK IN THE SNOW, about Lise Meitner, have each seen multiple sellouts and five star
reviews.
Randy Ross: TALES OF A RELUCTANT WORLD TRAVELER
Novelist and Fringe veteran Randy Ross provides an unflinching look at world travel and the writing life, while bringing new meaning to suffering for one’s art.
The Show: Tales of a Reluctant World Traveler is the story of how a Boston homebody turned a rotten, solo trip around the globe into a comedy novel and an acclaimed one-man play. The show is part travelogue, part performance, and part off-kilter author talk. A must-see for book lovers, writers, travelers, whiners, kvetches, and misanthropes. Please note: The show carries content warnings for gooey diseases, heartless publishers, and liquor made from cobras.
The Performer: Randy Ross is a Boston-area novelist and story-teller. He has performed at more 30 fringe festivals around the U.S., Canada, and in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2007, Ross took a four-month, solo trip around the world and learned to say in three languages: “Speak English?” “Got Pepto-Bismol?” and “Is this the evacuation helicopter?” His shows and novel were inspired by the trip.
Adam Schwartz (producer): NEUROHILARITY EXPOSED
SHOWCASING INTERSECTIONAL COMEDY AT FRINGE FEST
Neuodivergent Cast of Winnipeg Comics Includes Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, Asian, and Other Perspectives
About Neurohilarity
Neurohilarity is a non-profit organization created to give neurodivergent artists a stage to share their stories and promote a more positive representation of neurodiversity.
It was started in 2022 by Adam Schwartz.
Award-winning comedy showcase Neurohilarity is back again at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, but this year, it’s taking its mandate of amplifying underrepresented voices one step further with an ultra-diverse cast that highlights the intersectionality of neurodivergence.
This is the third year that Autistic comedian and producer Adam Schwartz has brought Neurohilarity to the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and he’s excited to show how neurodivergent and disability-centric comedy can look so many different ways. At the crossroads of disability, race, gender, and sexuality, there is no shortage of weird things to laugh about.
The stellar lineup includes a few familiar faces from last year’s festival run—which earned the Jenny Revue Mind and Body: The Health and Wellness Award. Returning performers include Danielle Kayahara, whom the Winnipeg Free Press called “self-deprecating, sympathetic and downright adorable as she describes her compulsion to ‘overthink everything’ while pausing to second-guess her comments.”
This year’s newcomers to the Neurohilarity stage include up-and-comer Kaitlynn Brightnose (IndigE-Girl Comedy), and comedy veteran Rollin Penner (Yuk Yuk’s, CBC, Winnipeg Comedy Festival). The show will be hosted by ADHD dynamo Carole Cunningham, a regular host at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club who is often accompanied onstage by her chihuahua, Karen.
Willow Rosenberg: A LESBIAN IN A BEAR STORE
From new playwright Willow Rosenberg, comes a deeply personal, funny, and emotional journey through her mom’s Beanie Baby collection. “A Lesbian in a Bear Store” has something for everyone. Including adorable animals, all of the gay, some of the Jewish, and a special appearance by one of the most angsty teenage poems you’
Tickets are $12 in advance, or bring your favourite plushie for discounted $10 tickets at the door.
Jay Stoller: UBUNTU
Visiting musicians from South Africa join local drumming group
Local African drummer Jay Stoller is thrilled to announce the upcoming production of Ubuntu, an interactive performance that brings to life the power of working together as a community. This exciting show is set to take place at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival from July 18 – 26.
Ubuntu will be a highly unique production at this year’s Fringe. Not only is it a collaboration of musicians from Winnipeg and South Africa, the audience will be fully participating in the show: everyone in attendance will have an African djembe drum to play along with the musicians on stage. Yes, there will be 200+ drums in the theatre!
Jay and his local drum group members are excited to welcome drummer extraordinaire Tiny Modise and vocalist Nosipho Mtotoba, both from Soweto, South Africa.
Ubuntu is a Southern African philosophy that says ‘I am because we are’. Through the interactive show, the power of drumming together will be demonstrated as Winnipeg’s Fringe community makes amazing music together.
(And yes, we asked Jay whether he’s related to any Stollers in Winnipeg, to which he replied, “Yes, we do have some family with the same last name, although probably second cousins.”)
Benji Rothman: REVIEWING THE FREE PRESS
The Winnipeg Free Press has run amok, reviewing each and every Fringe show for decades, completely unabated and without recourse. Well now, it’s their turn.
In this brand new show, Benji Rothman takes the Winnipeg Free Press to task, diving deep into their history and casting judgement on their performance as Manitoba’s leading news outlet.
Local News
Fringe Festival star Melanie Gall to appear at Gwen Secter Centre July 16
By BERNIE BELLAN A veteran performer at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Melanie Gall, will be making a special guest appearance at the Gwen Secter Centre on Thursday, July 16.
Melanie will be the featured speaker (and entertainer) for the Remis Speakers’ Series that day. The Remis Speakers’ Series is held every Thursday starting at noon and ending at 1:30. This year’s series began May 7 and will continue through the end of October. This year it has been attracting increasingly large audiences – ranging from 40-60 people, as it offers attendees the opportunity to enjoy a delicious – and kosher lunch, while listening to a very diverse variety of speakers – all the way from Gail Asper talking about returning the Ten Commandments to Assiniboine Park to Rabbi Matthew Leibl performing Christmas songs that were written by Jewish songwriters. At the same time it provides those attending a chance to make new acquaintances – or perhaps bump into old friends they haven’t seen in a long time.
Melanie Gall’s own story is sure to be riveting. I’ve written about Melanie in the past, but the past two summers had been especially nerve wracking for Melanie, as she was subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse over her support for the State of Israel.
You can read my story about what Melanie went through during the Winnipeg Fringe Festival – both in 2024 and again last year, at Melanie Gall subjected to antisemitic abuse.
Melanie, who will be entering her 13th year of performing at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, will be peforming in only one show this year – a departure from her past practice of performing in multiple shows (as many as three different shows) during the Fringe Festival.
Elsewhere on this website we’ll be offering a preview of Melanie’s show (which is called “The Ballad of Isobel Gunn” and which is based on an incredible, but true story), along with previews of several other shows.
In the meantime, if you’re not already a member of the Remis Speakers’ Series group, but would ike to attend this coming Thursday, simply email us at jewishp@mymts.net and we’ll reserve a spot for you. The cost for the lunch is only $20.
The Gwen Secter Centre is located at 1588 Main Street (corner of Smithfield). There is parking available on a lot behind the centre or on the street.
Local News
Folk Festival Report
(Posted July 10) During this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival we’re going to be running an ongoing blog report – with photos and blurbs from the festival, sent to us by Heather Silbert and Samara Ebanks.
Here’s Heather’s first entry (sent Friday at 3:33 pm): “It’s a hot hot day at the 51st Winnipeg Folk Festival! Lots of people; lots of good vibes; and an abundance of awesome music!!”
“We just moved to spruce hollow. Nice and shady. listening to Jacob Brodovsky.”
4:21 pm: “Jacob just announced that he lost his job and received a lot of vitriol from the Jewish Community because he’s a Jewish person who believes that Palestinian and Jewish lives are intertwined, and he is against the genocide. He is very deeply feeling, and expresses all these big feelings through his songs. I want to give him a hug, but it’s so hot outside!”
(Keep checking for updates)
Local News
New GrowWinnipeg “Grow Together” highlights diverse origins of our growing Jewish community
By MYRON LOVE On Monday, June 11, about 120 younger Jewish Winnipeggers from diverse backgrounds came together at the Asper Campus for an evening of food and music, games and prizes and, most important, the opportunity to socialize with their peers from a growing community that reflects the long term success of our community’s 26-year-old GrowWinnipeg initiative.
“We are gathered here to celebrate your and your parents’ decisions to come to Winnipeg, build families and raise families here,” noted Dalia Szpiro, GrowWinnipeg’s director, in addressing the young adults in attendance.
To summarize, the GrowWinnipeg Initiative arose when our past community’s leadership recognized that our Jewish population was an aging and shrinking community with aging infrastructure.
The first stage was the planning and construction of the Asper Campus, which brought our major institutions and organizations under one roof in an attractive new building.
The next challenge was to attract more people to our community. GrowWinnipeg was created to take on the challenge. The initiative, which was officially launched in 2000, is unique in its efforts to reach out to young Jewish families throughout the Western world.
The first outreach efforts were directed at Argentina’s sizeable Jewish community at a time when the South American country’s economy was going through a very difficult period. Several of our community leaders visited the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and a website was established. Arrangements were made for local families to host Jewish Argentinians here on exploratory visits and the community helped the prospective immigrants navigate the then new Provincial Nominee Program, find jobs and establish themselves here.
Since then, many young families – from Argentina, as well as a great number of other countries – have chosen to make Winnipeg their new home. The young people at the recent GrowWinnipeg evening were reflective of the diversity of our growing community. During the course of the evening, I had the opportunity to speak with not only Israeli-born participants, also young people from Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and Uruguay – and a young lady who grew up in Ottawa.
Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky originally came here from Ottawa to go to university. She met and married local entrepreneur Noah Palansky in 2023. (We wrote about Noah in the December 19, 2025 issue). That same year, the former competitive swimmer who competed in the Maccabiah Games in 2009 and 2013 served as manager of the Canadian Junior swimming team participating in the games. She is currently the director of operations and strategy for a company called CoinFlip.
Although born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Yael Borovich grew up in Winnipeg. She is the daughter of Dalia Szpiro and Eduardo Borovich (and younger sister of Vanessa) all of whom moved here in 2002. She is a graduate of the Asper School of Business and works as a senior client relationship manager for Scotia Bank’s commercial branch.
Siblings Igal and Edem Avimelek arrived here from Turkey six years ago with their parents, Etel and Moris. Edem is in her second year at the University of Manitoba while Igal is studying engineering at UBC.
They report that their father, Moris, has established the Upperwear Textile Agency – marketing textile products online – while their mother Etel, is senior IT Director, software development and data analytics and enterprise architecture at Standard Aero.
“Our parents were looking to move to a new country and came across the GrowWinnipeg webpage,” Edem says. “GrowWinnipeg has been really supportive of us in helping us move here and become established.”
More recent arrivals Alex Tsmokaliuk and Jane Hin are from Ukraine and Russia respectively and have been together since 2022. “We were looking for a peaceful place to start a family,”: Alex says. “We heard about GrowWinnpeg and here we are.”
Alex is a fitness trainer while Jane is working for WRE Development as a property manager.
Dora Bronstein, who is originally from Beersheva, is also a recent arrival to our community. “I came to Winnipeg because I wanted to get away from war – and I heard about GrowWinnipeg,” she says.
She is currently working for L.C. Taylor Licensed Insolvency Trustee as an estate manager.
Erele Tzidon and Daniel Mejnov
Last October, GrowWinnipeg introduced its new Youth Ambassadors program.
“Since October, we have been working to create an organized system and opportunities to help young newcomers find their people within our community,” wrote Youth Ambassador Erele Tzidon on Facebook.
“Our mission is to help young immigrants find a sense of home in Winnipeg and support a smooth and welcoming transition.
We are excited to help bring our young Jewish community together.
As reported in the Jewish Post about 18 months ago, Tzidon is originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel. She came to Winnipeg in 2018 with her parents Ofer – formerly regional manager for a car rental agency in Israel and now an RBC branch manager – and Sharon – an emotional therapist in Israel who is currently working as an educational assistant at Gray Academy – and three younger brothers.
The 20-year Gray Academy graduate has recently completed her third year in Science at the University of Manitoba. For the past three years, she has also been a member of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin’s research team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICS), researching the link between pregnancy complications and the risk for heart disease.
In November, 2024, Tzidon was presented with the Dr. James S. McGoey Student Award – based on the quality of her cardiovascular research at the ICS, which operates out of the St. Boniface Hospital campus’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
Tzidon’s fellow Youth Ambassador is Daniel Mejnov. He was born in Beersheva but moved to Winnipeg with his parents, Dennis and Victoria (and younger brother Alon) 14 years ago. He is currently enrolled in an IT program at the University of Winnipeg.
Mejnov welcomed all those in attendance at the celebration and thanked the volunteers who helped him and Tzidon organize the event.
“It has been great being able to bring so many people together,” he said. “This is a good way to unite our community.
Two other individuals of particular note that I spoke with at the event were Orit Agabayev and Alina Plis, partners in three year old A and O Event Décor, who provided the balloon arches and walls, table settings and centre pieces for the evening.
Agabayev is originally from Netanya and Plis is from Yeruham (in southern Israel). The latter has been here for 18 years and operates a daycare. The former came 16 years. Her principal career is working in the field of animal nutrition.
In an Instagram PosI from four years ago, Plis noted that “I have always been passionate about planning parties and events. I started out with planning big surprise birthday parties for my kids. Eventually I began planning and decorating events for family and friends. Now I am taking the next step with my friend, Orit, who shares the same level enthusiasm as me. What drives me to go above and beyond is simply the excitement my creations bring to those who see my work.
On Facebook, Agabayev added that “Alina and I are so excited to start A&O event decor. We both love decorating and planning different events. We hope that you can put your trust in us to create or decorate an event for you. We do Birthday parties, anniversaries, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proposals, weddings and more..
“Message us with your ideas to get a free quote and you’re one step closer to having an unforgettable event.”
