Dead Poets Society Heads to Tel Aviv Stage in New Beit Lessin Production
A Hebrew-language theatrical adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film will premiere at Tel Aviv's Baruch Ivcher Beit Lessin Theatre on November 28.
By Amir Navarro ·
One of modern cinema's most celebrated stories is making the move to the Israeli stage this fall. Dead Poets Society, the Academy Award-winning film forever associated with the late Robin Williams, is being adapted as a major Hebrew-language production at the Baruch Ivcher Beit Lessin Theatre in Tel Aviv.
The highly anticipated staging is set to premiere on Saturday, November 28, two weeks from now, directed by Eldar Gohar Groisman.
The story follows an unconventional literature teacher working inside the rigid culture of a prestigious American boarding school. Rejecting the institution's conservative approach to education, he steers his students away from traditional grading measures and academic conformity.
In their place, he pushes the young men to think independently, awaken their imaginations and navigate their own emotional lives. His non-conformist teaching style quickly creates friction, drawing fierce resistance from both the school faculty and the students' parents.
The students find themselves torn between the institutional expectations of their families and the intellectual autonomy their instructor has opened up to them.
The tension reaches its peak when a tragic event fractures the school community, setting off an official investigation that forces the controversial educator to face the consequences of his methods, even as the profound transformation of his students proves irreversible.
The stage adaptation was written by Tom Schulman, who won an Academy Award for the original film's screenplay.
Acclaimed actor Yehezkel Lazarov leads the Israeli ensemble. He is joined on stage by Tal Grushka, Dali Shachnai, Amir Kriaf, Rotem Keinan, Yaniv Shavit, Tomer Ben Rubi, Arnon Herring, Omri Lax and Shahar Golo Ben Tov.
The creative team includes Eli Bijaoui, who provided the Hebrew translation, along with set designer Neta Haker and costume designer Oren Dar. Composer Lior Ronen, lighting designer Keren Grank and video artist Omri Rozi round out the production's technical and sensory elements.
Opening night will feature two consecutive performances on Saturday, November 28, at 5 and 8 p.m. More information is available at www.lessin.co.il/shows/.
