"YOU ARE MY HERO" - OCTOBER 7 Actress
Actress Shocked When Woman Whose Story She is Portraying Joins Her on Stage
Our play OCTOBER 7 opened last night, and we were honored by the presence of a very special guest. As you know OCTOBER 7 is a verbatim play based entirely on interviews Ann and I conducted in Israel after that deadly day.
When we were there, we interviewed a wonderful young woman named Shani. She was at the Nova dance party. Her story of fleeing for her life in a hail of bullets, watching her friends being mown down and then hiding in a bush of thorns for hours while Hamas terrorists hunted her, is a big part of the play. We were so grateful that she trusted us with her story. We were even more honored when she joined us for the opening night.
Shani flew to New York from Israel on Monday morning, and was our guest of honor.
Having her at opening night was so special. The actress who played her, Jenny Anne Hochberg, was ecstatic to meet her character in real life (when she recovered from the shock). “You are my hero",” she told Shani. The video below show the moment we brought Shani up on stage.
We met Shani just a few weeks after she went through a horrific ordeal. She was attending the Nova Festival where she planned to teach an acroyoga workshop. Instead, she spent the day running for her life. Her story is harrowing and such an important part of the play.
After everything she went through, Shani rejoined the IDF as a combat medic. She’s been assisting the wounded ever since, and just finished her tour of duty shortly before coming to the US.
The play is a must see for stories like Shani’s. Buy tickets or make a donation here. OCTOBER 7 runs until June 16.
Shani must have amazing internal strength and faith. I pray for the defeat of Hamas and the return of the hostages and bodies of those who have died.
Thank you for honoring the people of Israel with your play.