This I Believe: Diana Weber Gross

As delivered to the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County on Sunday, January 4, 2009:

Ethical Culture teaches that in eliciting the best in others we can find the best in ourselves.

We Ethical Culturists have faith that people can grow and change.

Felix Adler taught that any place people meet to seek the highest can become as holy ground.

I am a teacher and I live these principles each day.Tomorrow I begin again - a new year, a new term with the same 450 plus young children whom I will see for a brief span of 45 minutes once each week. My classroom is our holy ground, sanctified again by the happy singing, chanting, clapping, dancing and playing of my charges doing their best. Freely creating musical responses that, I fervently hope, take them above and beyond the present day lives they lead, lives of promise or, perhaps, of poverty and pain, lives filled with nurturance or neediness. Through times of self confidence or self doubt, whether enjoying rich lives or enduring barren ones, I believe the music we make together, if they claim it as their own, can carry on in them, informing their choices and in a small, but not insignificant way, helping them shape a life that without their own music singing inside, would be barren indeed.

This is what I offer my students. A gift of ambitious potential, I think. But the greater gift is mine, because among the patient explanations, false starts and do overs, laughter, crashes, and yes, frustrations, I can at times see my best self, best teacher but even more, best human being I can be, peeking out from behind the piano or conga, over the music stand or a child’s bobbing head and I thank Ethical Culture for teaching me that my work is an expression of my religious life.

Diana Gross in "Adam and Eve"

Posted by Ken Karp on behalf of Bob Gordon. Also, see the NV Suburbanite's coverage.

It was quite a treat. Dare I say “unexpected?” On Sunday, February 10, the Teaneck New Theater presented a musical, based upon a short story by Mark Twain: The Diary of Adam and Eve. There are two principal actors (charmingly portraying Adam and Eve) and three singers who sometimes sing ensemble and often perform solos. The strongest, clearest, nicest, most musical (and well-trained) voice was that of our own Diana Weber Gross. Not only that, she was the musical director as well. And she also has the distinction of having chosen and doing the sound effects, to signify the passage of the days in the Garden of Eden – it was almost Spike Jones-ish, but fitting, as we learned later.

The director and performers asked the audience for questions at play’s end. These came haltingly at first, then more readily. They asked about the staging, the symbolism (especially the sound effects), how the musical numbers were chosen and also evidenced emotional reactions to the story, which was as humorous as you might expect from Mark Twain, until the rather sad ending.

But it was excellent entertainment!

The Diary of Adam and Eve, 'translated' by Mark Twain, is Twain’s humorous look at the very first male-female relationship: how it began, how it evolved and how it matured. This is a witty, playful and ultimately touching portrait of the very first couple as they slowly begin to know, accept and love one another. It’s also an insightful and delightful take on how much, and how little, has changed in the interaction between the sexes. Despite their many differences, Adam eventually realizes he cannot do without Eve. She, of course, knew that all along. Music is integrated into the play to complete TNT’s tribute to Valentine’s Day.

Tickets for The Diary of Adam & Eve are $12; $10 for students and seniors; and $8 for theatre parties of 10 or more. For reservations and information, call TNT at 201.692.0200.

I was tempted to run this story in the March issue of Focus when I realized that if I circulated it this week as well, you would have an opportunity to attend one of the remaining 3 performances, which come up this weekend, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 118 Chadwick Road, Teaneck (behind Holy Name Hospital).

Friday, at 8pm …. Saturday, at 8 pm …. Sunday, at 3pm.

Bob Gordon