INTERVIEW: Betsy Aidem on the universality of ‘Prayer for the French Republic’
Photo: Prayer for the French Republic features, from left, Betsy Aidem, Richard Topol, Pierre Epstein, Francis Benhamou and Jeff Seymour. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy / Provided by BBB with permission.
Prayer for the French Republic, Joshua Harmon’s new play at Manhattan Theatre Club, is a topical examination of a Jewish family living in Paris and deciding whether a move to Israel is in the best interests of mother, father, daughter and son. What prompts this potential move is the rising cases of anti-Semitism in the local neighborhood and across Europe. The family find themselves wondering if the warning signs are occurring, and they need to make a decision.
Betsy Aidem, the celebrated actor of All the Way and Beautiful on Broadway, plays Marcelle Salomon Benhamou, the mother in the family. She’s a successful college professor who has recently been named chairperson of her department. Everything seems to be going well professionally, and then she is shocked when her son (played by Yair Ben-Dor) comes home after being attacked in the streets. She begins to question her dedication to being a French citizen and wonders whether her husband’s idea of moving to Israel is the best next step.
“It’s exciting to be originating a world premiere,” Aidem said in a recent phone interview. “It always has a special place.”
Aidem has been working on Prayer for the French Republic for more than two years. Right before the world shut down in March 2020, Harmon and director David Cromer staged a week-long workshop, and the 40 people who were in the room for the final presentation immensely enjoyed the three-hour drama, which also has a good deal of humor despite the serious subject matter.
“We knew we had something really special, and then we workshopped a few more times in the year and worked on different acts as Joshua kept writing,” Aidem said about the development of the piece. “And about a year after the first workshop, they offered me the part. So I had a whole year of the pandemic, while nothing was happening, knowing that this was going to be happening, so it was a great gift and has been for two years of my life. So I’m very grateful.”
Aidem said that Marcelle has a remarkable journey in the play, and it is her character’s arc that becomes the main arc of the narrative. In the beginning, with the sun shining through the windows of their comfortable Parisian apartment, Marcelle is in control of her life. She is at the peak of her academic career, having been named chairperson of her department, and she enjoys her personal life with family and friends.
“They live in a great neighborhood,” she said. “They have all the amenities of having a very well-earned life. There’s so much comedy in the way this family relates to each other because they’re all so highly intelligent. It keeps the ball in the air and the air in the ball for families that know how to make each other laugh and laugh at themselves, which I think is terrific, but she loses her footing as the fear creeps into the family and with the situation in the political arena. Their immediate world starts to become more prescient on them. I think she loses her footing, and it’s very interesting to watch somebody lose their footing in the course of the play. Usually you watch people who don’t know what they’re doing get stronger, and you root for them. It’s the hero’s journey, yay! Watching someone lose their footing because the circumstances change, what do we do?”
Aidem has made connections between her own life and the life of Marcelle, and these connections have informed her performance. For starters, Aidem said they are the same age. The character of Marcelle begins the play observing some Jewish customs, mostly because of the faith traditions of her husband (played by Jeff Seymour). Later in the play, it’s revealed that Marcelle grew up with her brother (played by Richard Topol) in a Jewish household that was not terribly observant. The character’s father (played by Pierre Epstein) is also a survivor of the Holocaust. Aidem grew up in a Reform Jewish household, and later in life, she learned that her father grew up in much more observant setting.
“I have only found out in the past couple of decades that my grandfather had left Poland after his family had been driven out of Russia by pogrom and left a lot his sisters and his mother behind, who I believe were all sent to Auschwitz,” Aidem said about her own family’s history. “I’m still researching all this. So I think your sense of your Jewish identity, mine was more about the rituals and the culture. … So I feel that Marcelle felt like something was missing in her family knowing what her father’s story was. They didn’t talk about it. My grandfather never talked about it. There was a lot of guilt and a lot of shame for being a survivor for a lot of people, so I think you start embracing that. You meet a man who is very observant, and then you sort of say, let’s try to figure out a way to make this work for our family, until it doesn’t.”
Aidem was quick to point out that Harmon’s script is quite funny, and that it was important for this family to laugh amidst times of great pain. When one experiences fear, she said, poking fun helps individuals find the absurdity of the situation.
“Whenever I looked back at anything anytime that I went through something extreme, as the characters do in this play, you realize you’re focusing on something that’s absurd,” she said. “There’s always absurdity in the midst of crisis, and I think Josh captures that so beautifully. … It’s not ironic detachment; it’s ironic engagement, and I think that’s what he really is an expert at as a writer.”
Helping Aidem and the company bring this story to life is Cromer, a well-respected theater director who has worked on and off-Broadway. Aidem credited his incredible brain for leading the way during the rehearsal process. She said his knowledge of theater and human behavior is unparalleled.
“He really tries to be authentically true to what people do and not go for the stage picture, not go for the typical way of this is how we stage and illustrate this kind of thing,” Aidem said. “It’s awkward, it’s messy, get into trouble, don’t know what you’re going to do. He loves things that are jumbled and kooky and crazy, and not how do you find your way up to clarity in the middle of a mess. He really has an ability to articulate that, that makes it playable and challenges you. I mean, that’s the most exciting thing, to be challenged to go to places that you’re not used to, that aren’t comfortable, that are outside of your instincts sometimes, and then your instincts start going there naturally. He is a leader that way, which is so exciting.”
Most of all, Aidem is grateful that the audiences have turned out in force for Prayer for the French Republic, which has been extended multiple times (no word yet on a Broadway transfer). Performances continue through March 27, and these additional weeks are thanks to the theatergoers who have decided to follow this family on this important journey, heeding the lessons along the way.
“I sensed — because the subject matter is so important for what’s happening in the world right now, and because Josh is such a great humorist and David is such a great realist — that we were in very good hands,” Aidem said. “The cast is so incredible. … We have characters in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, then we skip to the 90s — 80s are the only age group that are not in the play. And I think that is part of what makes the universality of the play so appealing. … The audience can relate. Oh, yeah, I remember when I was going through that. Will that be ahead of me? Is that what I see in my parents?”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Prayer for the French Republic, starring Betsy Aidem, continues its extended run at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s NY City Center Stage I through Sunday, March 27. Click here for more information and tickets.
