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Tovah Feldshuh Pays Tribute to Mom in Memoir
NATIONA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
BROADWAY HAS BEEN
dark for over a year, but Tovah
Feldshuh keeps busy.
The four-time Tony nominee
and star of Broadway produc-
tions like “Yentl,” “Golda’s
Balcony” and “Irena’s Vow”
adds the role of author to her
resume with the release of her
memoir, “Lilyville: Mother,
Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve
Played.” The book tells the story
of her life through the evolu-
tion of her relationship with
her mother, Lillian Kaplan
Feldshuh, who died in 2014.
“What I hope the book
does is engender hope in every
child of every parent that you
can bend toward each other,”
Feldshuh, 68, told the Exponent
in an interview.
Tovah Feldshuh
Photos courtesy of Tovah Feldshuh
“Anything can be healed,”
added the “Law & Order,” “The
Walking Dead” and “Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend” actor.
The titular Lily was born
on a dining room table in the
Bronx to Russian and British
“Lilyville” Jewish immigrant parents in
1911. After marrying Sidney
Feldshuh, she becomes a quint-
essential housewife in Scarsdale,
New York, completely dedicated
to her family and embracing
American culture.
Feldshuh writes
that while her mother provided
her children with a stable
upbringing and shepherded
them to their school events
and social activities, she was
not an affectionate parent.
She preferred to show her love
by trying to “improve” her
daughter through criticism.
“Maybe if she said ‘I love
you’ a million times I wouldn’t
have gone into the theater,”
Feldshuh said. “I wouldn’t
have had to create an artificial
universe where I would be the
beginning, middle and end of
a story.”
When young Tovah decides
to pursue an acting career, her
desire to stand out confounds
her mother’s desire to fit in.
Their generational tension
comes to a head when the author
decides to change her first name
from the hyper-American one
her mother chose, Terri Sue, to
Tovah, the name she used in
Hebrew school.
This decision isn’t intended
to be a rejection of her mother
— it’s inspired by a love interest
who tells her Tovah is a better
fit for her than Terri Sue — but
it will change her destiny and
attract Jewish roles that help
build her career. She finally gets
her big break on Broadway in
“Yentl,” a play about a woman
in an Orthodox shtetl who
disguises herself as a man in
order to study in a yeshiva.
As Tovah matures, she
and Lily begin to strengthen
their bond. They plan Tovah’s
wedding to attorney Andy
Levy in a six-week time crunch
and rejoice in welcoming
her children into the world.
Although Lily remains critical
of some of her daughter’s roles
and decisions, she’s still in the
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H eadlines
Seashore Gardens Foundation
Lillian Kaplan Feldshuh (right) helps her daughter prepare for her wedding
in 1977.
audience when she takes the
stage. Their relationship reaches a
turning point when Tovah’s
beloved father falls ill, and she
and Lily become closer than ever.
“If, God forbid, Andy
precedes me in getting ill and
beginning his death process,
whenever that happens,”
Feldshuh said, “I am incredibly
equipped to take care of him
because I watched my mother
and how she was a gladiator to
keep my father alive.”
“Lilyville” will thrill fans of
Feldshuh with anecdotes about
her iconic performances, from
Israeli Prime Minister Golda
Meir in “Golda’s Balcony”
and trapeze-flying grand-
mother Berthe in “Pippin”
to controlling Jewish mother
Naomi Bunch in “Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend.” In addition to getting behind-
the-scenes glimpses of Broadway
theaters and Hollywood sets,
readers will realize how much
Lily Feldshuh’s influence shines
through in her daughter’s
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM portrayal of strong women,
Jewish and non-Jewish.
“When I would feel defeated,
my mother banged on my chest,”
Feldshuh said. “She didn’t hurt
me, she just gently would say
‘Remember who you are.’ Well,
this is the way to give that gift,
l’dor v’dor, from generation to
generation, to other Feldshuhs,
to other Levys, and hopefully
more than that, to all children
of all parents.”
Feldshuh is looking beyond
the pandemic to future projects,
including starring as sex thera-
pist Dr. Ruth Westheimer in a
play about her life — as well as
taking “Lilyville” to the small
screen. “I have written a television
series based on ‘Lilyville,’ and
I plan to play both my mother
and myself,” she said. And if
they make her choose between
the roles? “I’ll be playing my
mother, because she’s got all the
punch lines, honey!” l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
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JEWISH EXPONENT
APRIL 15, 2021
9