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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 14, 2010 · 28 Artscene Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE SUBMITTED PHOTO IN THE MIDDLE OF LIFE: From left, Chris Stolz (Geoffrey), Justin Martins (Tom), Kiah Cato (Tessie), Tamara Kunder (Sara), Kim Harrington (Gorgeous) and Anne Miskey (Pfeni) rehearse for the play The Sisters Rosenweig. The play runs April 15 to 17 and April 21 to 24 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. Looking at life with the Rosenweig sisters By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF T he late award-winning American playwright Wendy Wasserstein will have one of her comedic works brought to life on stage in Oakville by the BurlOak Theatre Group. The community theatre group will perform The Sisters Rosenweig at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. The play opens on Thursday, April 15. Wasserstein, who died four years ago at age 55, received the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre for the play. She was also a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner. "Her plays are so well-written that a lot of well-known actresses have been in her plays," said Ken Stern, who is directing the BurlOak presentation. He noted actresses such as Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander and Madeline Kahn have performed Wasserstein plays and Kahn won a Tony Award for her performance in The Sisters Rosenweig. Stern is a recently retired drama teacher and this is his third time directing with the Burl-Oak group. He's also had acting roles in his years as a member of the group. The play, written in 1991, is about three Jewish-American sisters, aged 40 to 54, with successful careers who are faced the challenge of juggling work and their relationships. At the birthday party for the oldest sister questions arise about love, family and commitment and "People can come see their lives portrayed in one way or another. It is a play that is very moving, is very funny and it's very entertaining." Ken Stern, director The Sisters Rosenweig it looks at the choices women make. "I call it a mature love story," Stern said. One sister is a writer, another a high-level banker and the last a talk-show host that is about to make a jump from radio to cable television. "They are hard-working professionals and there are conflicts between that and their other roles," he said. "The younger sister isn't married and she's 40 and she probably won't have the opportunity to have a child. There are stresses in vulnerability when you are a highlevel banker and you are used to being in charge and that's not always easy when it comes to relationships." There is a cast of eight people, four men and four women. "The play is a comedy, but it also has some serious issues. It's not a feminist document, but it does deal with how important a career is in a woman's life. It also deals with family. The sisters at times are close and at times are just furious with one another and I think that resonates with a lot of families." Another issue of the play is the importance of faith. Though the sisters are Jewish, faith is not important to them. Despite the fact the play being nearly 20 years old, Stern said it is a very timely and accurate portrayal of today's life and the characters are believable people. "People can come see their lives portrayed in one way or another," he said. "It's a play that is very moving, is very funny and it's very entertaining." The play runs April 15-17 and 21-24 at 8 p.m. There is a matinée on Sunday, April 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $27 and seniors and students can purchase $22 tickets for the matinée. For tickets, visit the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts box office online at www.oakvillecentre.ca.