Jeffrey Sanzel
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Sanzel is a theater director, stage actor, and playwright
. He is best known for writing, acting in, and directing the play, From the Fires: Voices of the Holocaust.
, New York
, working at the Theatre Three
in Port Jefferson
, Long Island
. Sanzel joined Theater Three in Port Jefferson
in 1989, where his first duty was to coordinate children's theater productions. In 1993 he became the Artistic Director
, a position he currently holds. In 2008 he was honored by the Port Times Record
in 2008 when they namned him "Man of the Years in Arts 2008".
. Designed for children grade 5 through 12, the play explores a young girl's experiences as her world collapses during World War II. The story follows the lfe of Rachel Gold, a Jewish teenager living in Nazi Germany, from 1937 through 1845, and traces the experiences of her life from the inception of the Nuremberg Laws
through her deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp
to her death during the forced march of Jewish internees to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
. As of December 2008, the play was in its 11th year of perfromance and had been seen by over 100,000 people.
In 1989 Sanzel, along with Bill Van Horn, re-adapted Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
for the stage. The New York Times
noted that "The problem for most theaters is finding ways to present this venerable classic so that audiences will continue to come back season after season". They followed by writing that under the direction of Sanzel, "Theater Three of Port Jefferson has successfully met the challenge", in that "They have taken the title literally, and the result is an a capella carol about the resurrection of the soul of Ebenezer Scrooge."
In 1992 Sanzel adapted the play again, and had done so each following years, creating adaptations that remained true to Dickens' original story and yet had enough originality to convince audiences to return each season for the updated versions. Sanzel's adaptations have been playing for over 20 years, and have received many positive reviews. The New York Times praised the newer versions by writing "Sanzel looks at "A Christmas Carol" as a multifaceted literary jewel in which each plane is another angle from which to view the story. This year he has woven holiday carols throughout the show like multicolored ribbons tying the package together." And of Sanzel's own work acting within the play, they wrote he "does an excellent job as a Scrooge haunted by the shadows of his own life and its many lost opportunities and misdeeds". They offered of the overall production, "This is a forceful production that again brings home the necessity to look around and offer a helping hand to the less fortunate. It helps visualize the Christmas spirit of human kindness that can live throughout the year, and it ends with a blessing from an old English carol, "Love and joy come to you . . . " What is unusual about the Theater Three vision is that it all seems so possible."
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is best known for writing, acting in, and directing the play, From the Fires: Voices of the Holocaust.
Background
Sanzel was born into a Jewish family. He currently resides in Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, working at the Theatre Three
Theatre Three
Theatre Three occupies Athena Hall in Port Jefferson, New York as a fully functioning, non-profit theatre company. Begun in the late 1960s, Theatre Three has become one of the premier theatre houses on Long Island.-History:...
in Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson, New York
The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson is located in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2000 United States Census, the village population was 7,837...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. Sanzel joined Theater Three in Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson, New York
The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson is located in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2000 United States Census, the village population was 7,837...
in 1989, where his first duty was to coordinate children's theater productions. In 1993 he became the Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
, a position he currently holds. In 2008 he was honored by the Port Times Record
The Times Beacon Record
The Times Beacon Record is a community newspaper publisher, located in Setauket, NY, consisting of seven different weekly newspapers serving Suffolk County localities on the North Shore of Long Island spanning from the town of Huntington in to Wading River. The current publisher is Leah S...
in 2008 when they namned him "Man of the Years in Arts 2008".
Theater
The long-running From the Fires: Voices of the Holocaust is considered Sanzel's most famous play. He wrote the piece inspired by neighbors and familiy who had survived the atocities of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Designed for children grade 5 through 12, the play explores a young girl's experiences as her world collapses during World War II. The story follows the lfe of Rachel Gold, a Jewish teenager living in Nazi Germany, from 1937 through 1845, and traces the experiences of her life from the inception of the Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
through her deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
to her death during the forced march of Jewish internees to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
. As of December 2008, the play was in its 11th year of perfromance and had been seen by over 100,000 people.
In 1989 Sanzel, along with Bill Van Horn, re-adapted Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
for the stage. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that "The problem for most theaters is finding ways to present this venerable classic so that audiences will continue to come back season after season". They followed by writing that under the direction of Sanzel, "Theater Three of Port Jefferson has successfully met the challenge", in that "They have taken the title literally, and the result is an a capella carol about the resurrection of the soul of Ebenezer Scrooge."
In 1992 Sanzel adapted the play again, and had done so each following years, creating adaptations that remained true to Dickens' original story and yet had enough originality to convince audiences to return each season for the updated versions. Sanzel's adaptations have been playing for over 20 years, and have received many positive reviews. The New York Times praised the newer versions by writing "Sanzel looks at "A Christmas Carol" as a multifaceted literary jewel in which each plane is another angle from which to view the story. This year he has woven holiday carols throughout the show like multicolored ribbons tying the package together." And of Sanzel's own work acting within the play, they wrote he "does an excellent job as a Scrooge haunted by the shadows of his own life and its many lost opportunities and misdeeds". They offered of the overall production, "This is a forceful production that again brings home the necessity to look around and offer a helping hand to the less fortunate. It helps visualize the Christmas spirit of human kindness that can live throughout the year, and it ends with a blessing from an old English carol, "Love and joy come to you . . . " What is unusual about the Theater Three vision is that it all seems so possible."
Awards and nominations
- 2008, Man of the Years in Arts, awarded by Port Times RecordThe Times Beacon RecordThe Times Beacon Record is a community newspaper publisher, located in Setauket, NY, consisting of seven different weekly newspapers serving Suffolk County localities on the North Shore of Long Island spanning from the town of Huntington in to Wading River. The current publisher is Leah S...
External links
- http://debsliweb2.homestead.com/JeffreySanzel.html
- http://www.theatrethree.com/20062007season/reviews.html