We sent our reviewer to seven children's shows on Hanukkah.

It ended in tears

Manny Matra sprayed plank jokes, Mickey remembered Carmel from time immemorial, the confused Yuval did not quit "Survival", Uncle Haim sold a loud merchandise, Pinocchio and Lassie moved to tears, Taylor Malchov surprised in favor and Rinat Gabay returns with Tal Musari.

It was the holiday that was

Neil Slonim and Amit Slonim

08/12/2021

Wednesday, 08 December 2021, 00:00

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Hanoch Rosen announces that Noa Kirl will not participate in the Festigal due to hospitalization (Photo: Amit Slonim)

Seven children's shows in one holiday?

Sounds like an impossible task, but just as a small oil spill that was supposed to last one day lit up for another seven days, so too have we proven that with enough willpower and on-the-spot intimacy with the nurses at MDA's rapid corona testing complex, anything is possible - and even So get a quick overview of the shows we sampled at Hanukkah 2021, in the order we attended.

More on Walla!

Despite the absurd story, there was something about the Festigal that moved me to tears

To the full article

Sky High Festigal

Three weeks ago, our full review of the 40th time the festival went on stage in Israel was published here on our website, but since then it has continued to make headlines for a variety of reasons.

Noa Kirl became ill and canceled, boarding school children were offended by him and the script was different, and finally the almost regular magazine reporter came in saying that "this is not what it used to be," that the messages are problematic in part and the merchandise is too expensive.

Everything is true, except that after watching six more children's shows, it becomes clearer how much the Festigal is a sleek and festive product, which sets a different standard - both in terms of talent and content.

The visual celebration, along with the original songs from the Festigal (which continue to be played even a month later with us at Spotify) make the Festigal a show that despite its many and objective flaws, still stands at the top without competition.

The most polished.

Festigal 2021 (Photo: Or Danon)

Jungle adventure

Publications of "Adventure in the Jungle" state that this is "Production No. 1 of Hanukkah 2021 in Israel," which is a pretty big statement. We went to see the musical in the auditorium of Kibbutz Givat Brenner, which was filled to capacity, and even before we checked the barcode of the green note, we were already attacked by four loud merchandise stalls. Dolls of the stars of the show could be bought in them: Uncle Haim, Bobo, Kofiko and a PJ power band.

The play itself, written and directed by Udi Gotschalk, lasts about an hour and a half (including a long break that sends the kids to buy more Kofiko dolls and books) and features a somewhat silly story, befitting the genre. It does not matter so much to the target audience, who is torn with laughter from all the nonsense emitted by Kofiko, Bobo or Uncle Haim. To the credit of Haim Osdon, who has been on stage for about 30 years (and over a decade in the current character) he is still full of passion for the character of the confused clown he created. The charisma and grace of "Uncle Haim" manages to hold the show, which suffers from a few dead moments, for example happens when the three big puppets of the PJ force take the stage without really plot justification and wave to children while the series' theme song is performed in the background.

The 5-year-old reviewer who sat next to me said it was the funniest show we saw at Hanukkah, and noted favorably Noga, Kofiko's adoptive sister, who is played in the show by Rose Shabbat and brings to the stage a lot of grace and pure childishness, in the most positive sense possible.

funniest.

Jungle Adventure (Photo: Amit Slonim)

Lassie

Ahead of the show, we read Eric Knight's "Lassie Comes Home."

It turns out that the literary classic from 1940 not only stands the test of time, but completely makes one want more.

Luckily for us, the stage version that is presented at Meditech in Holon completely pays homage to the original, and adds an exciting modern twist to it.

The musical, directed by Gamma Fried and written by Eitan Moshkovsky (both wrote the lyrics to Tal Belkarovich's music), is adapted for children from the age of 5, but it is not childish for a moment.

In fact, the show is recommended for all dog lovers of all ages, or just for people with a heart.

The original story gets quite a few changes, but at its core is still the story of the bitch Lassie, who every day at 4pm shows up outside the gate of the boy Joe's school and accompanies him home. The loyalty and love between Lassie and Joe has spawned many TV series and movies, and it seems that these will continue to fascinate generations of children forever. In the local version it was decided to omit Sam, Joe's father, and instead Joe is raised by a single mother. Noy Ben-Brit shines in the role of the mother (and in other small roles) in a stage presence that was a bit surprising to see in a children's show. The "villains" of the Count and his servant Haynes, played by Assaf Degani and Zohar Badash, were also more realistic and powerful than the original. The decision to replace the Count's granddaughter with the child also turned out to be a flash in the pan, as in the shadow of the shared love for dogs was born in a credible and delicate romance between the two stars of the show, Ziv Shalit and Shir Sage.

The 5-year-old reviewer very much enjoyed the show, which features a sweeter ending than in the original book, saying it was okay to cry with excitement the moment Joe and Lacy meet at the end, and even handed Tissue to her crying father while saying, "This is not really a bitch, this is a robot."

The most exciting.

Lassie (Photo: Bnei Gimzo)

Pinocchio

There is a long line at the entrance to the soldier's house in Tel Aviv, with the tough ushers seeking to scan the barcodes of the green mark, and refusing to accept vaccination certificates or the results of PCR tests. The result is a congestion of people standing in the middle of the street in a crowd, which is ironic given the reason why a green sign is generally checked. The hall, which has been rebranded in recent years as the "Tel Aviv Theater," is still one of the least comfortable in Israel, with back-breaking chairs and legroom that would embarrass Soviet low-cost flights. This background is in stark contrast to the pure fun of "Pinocchio" from the "National Theater for Children and Youth" taking the stage.

The classic story of Carlo Collodi was recreated through the eyes of Daniel Efrat and Gilad Kimchi (who is also in charge of directing and choreography) with original music by Amir Lekner, and has been running on Israeli stages for years. The success lies in the encounter between the classic legend of the wooden doll who wants to become a real child, and the surprising choice in the style of comedy del Arte, which makes live, intense theater full of visual richness for children, for some it is a first encounter with such a high standard of art.

Yedidya Vital, in the lead role of Pinocchio, feels very comfortable as the famous wooden doll, and his "puppet" body movements add another layer of credibility to the show. The rest of the team also rises to a very high level. Needless to say, Tuvia Tzafir, in the role of Grandpa Geppetto, gives a dream gameplay. But it was actually Keren Marom, in the role of the narrator (and many other roles) that captivated the 5-year-old critic. The real magic of theater.

Most surprising.

Pinocchio (Photo: Nir Stolo)

Beauty and the Beast

Undoubtedly the most artistic of the series of plays we saw last Hanukkah. "Beauty and the Beast" from the Orna Porat Theater presents a colorful movement show alongside the famous legend (in collaboration with the dance group "Fresco"), with a surprising soundtrack that includes original music by Lior Ronen and classics from musicals, from Leonard Bernstein through Vivaldi to Alan Hanken, His Oscar from the Disney version of the story.

The Klachkin Auditorium at the Eretz Israel Museum, with its sunken chairs, seems too small to accommodate the invested show. This is a play that is suitable for a magnificent cultural hall, or a prestigious opera house. The stage and set, which included videos that are surprising to see in a children's show, made the story with the simple message of “Do not judge a book by its cover” a particularly impressive show. On stage, the dancer Nofar Levinger (who is remembered as one of the bouncy waltzes in Strauss' "The Bat") stood out, but naturally this is the play by Prince Sebastian Belle.

Raanan Nissim Ferrara and Moshe Ben-Shoshan, who adapted the classic story, chose to focus on the character of the beast, unlike the familiar version of Disney.

Roy Kakon (due diligence: my cousin's husband) presents a rounder and more complex version of the beast, and the audience goes through a long journey with him from the figure of an arrogant and selfish prince to the ultimate sacrifice.

Belle, played by Yael Dover who does look like an inspiration to a Disney princess, gets a smaller role, and the whole background story of the character is dropped in the remake.

After all this, the 5-year-old critic agreed with me that the play was actually stolen by Aviram Avitan, as the gardener Jardinier, who prevents the play from becoming too heavy and artistic, and fills it with lots of humor and personal charm.

Most impressive.

Beauty and the Beast (Photo: Amit Slonim)

The Maccabees: The Last Battle

In an interview with Maya Cohen on "Israel Today," Tal Musari said that the play came to "introduce the children to the Jewish experience." The intriguing and somewhat daunting statement put us in the car (on Saturday) to see the play written by Assaf Eshtar on the basis of the Hasmonean Revolt. The result was infantile as it was entertaining. Surprisingly, even though the show is full of children's stars - the hall was clean of merchandise. So the show itself surprised with good original music, and even a (very) surprising play for the good of the children's stars Taylor Malkov and Emanuel Levy. None of them will probably win an Oscar in the future, but within the framework of a children's show they both easily got into the roles of the "bad Greeks" with a lot of personal charm and natural humor. It will be interesting to see both of them in more mature roles.

The play, directed by Yaron Ruach, includes several missionary passages in character, which present in self-sacrifice glorification for the sanctification of Gd. Personally, it itched me. It is not certain that preschoolers should be exposed to the dilemma between bowing to a statue and dying. In general, this flattening of the story of the Maccabees misses the beautiful symbolism of Hanukkah as a battle between light and darkness, and turns it into a battle for the right to pray in the Temple. On the other hand, these passages balance with a load of pure nonsense that obscures the whole religious matter. For example, the character of Antiochus, played by network star Uriel Tsabari, is a machine gun of impressive jokes and imitations. How did Ilana Dayan, Margalit Tsanani and Ofira Asaig arrive at the royal palace of Antiochus? It does not really matter, it's totally fun.

The never-ending Rinat Gabay steps into the shoes of "Judith the Maccabee," a feminist addition to Matityahu's family, alongside brothers Yehuda (Tal Musari) and Shimon (Yehuda Bohbot).

Alongside some original songs, Gabay leads the plot with impressive lightness.

It's amazing to see someone doing what Gabay has been doing on stage for so many years, with so much passion.

The 5-year-old enjoyed every moment, but admitted at the end that she did not understand why it was impossible to live in peace with the cute Greeks instead of going to war.

Baby of a family

The show from "Baby of the Festival", a kind of version for the little ones of the festival that has been running at the same time on Hanukkah since 2008, presented a leaner list of talents than usual this year - but still with big enough names to fill Heichal Shlomo in Tel Aviv. Mickey, the confused Yuval, Manny Mimtra and Kogomlo each gave their famous numbers, to the delight of the children. Alongside them appeared dozens of dancers and large puppets of the dog punch (Jerry Mimra's absence was felt), Nabi Rabbit, Ostrich Batya and Sonic the Hedgehog (it is not clear how much the children know the character who became famous at arcade games in the 1990s).

The show, directed by Omar Zimri, tries to present an original story, but as befits a show that is suitable for children from the age of 0 (and indeed there were newborn babies in the too-hot hall at Drive-In) the plot is very secondary to the familiar dances and songs.

The 5-year-old enjoyed it, and so did her two-year-old sister who for a change joined us.

If anything, one could have spared the attempt to address parents with jokes about Yuval Shem Tov's tribe in the “survival” or (blessed) involvement of Mickey Mukhtar in the affair of the abusive kindergarten teacher Carmel Meuda.

The most childish (in a good section).

Family baby (Photo: Alon Levin)

Bottom line "Family Baby" is not a masterpiece, but it is a rich celebration for children from a very young age and family fun that also includes positive messages about friendships, family and dealing with fears under all the board jokes.

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• The confused Yuval

• Hanukkah