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HEATHER M. ROSS | STAFF WRITER
M any people have used the past couple of years as a time for
self-reflection and often dramatic career shifts. For Noah
Schoenberg, that shift came when he took his first online
writing course in January 2020.

Now, at 28, he’s showcasing his first play, written two years earlier.

The Bala Cynwyd native became a bar mitzvah at Congregation
Beth Am Israel, where he also attended Hebrew school. His family
later attended Adath Israel on the Main Line in Merion Station.

Schoenberg had a very different idea of his future when he set out to
college, completing his undergraduate studies at Macalester College
10 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
in applied math and neuroscience.

Schoenberg always had an interest in
writing but, after some time at home
watching classic films with his grand-
mother, he came to a realization.

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about
film and writing in general,” he said.

He began his journey with a writ-
ing class called “Gotham,” which
led to several other online writing
courses where Schoenberg’s creativity
flourished. “Once I started writing, my inter-
est and capacity were clear to me,”
Schoenberg said.

The play “Lev of Leningrad” is a
comedy-drama inspired by the story
of Lev and Marina Furman, Jewish
refuseniks and Soviet-Jewish activists
whose journey eventually led them to
Philadelphia. The term refusenik typi-
cally refers to Soviet Jews denied per-
mission to emigrate from the Soviet
Union, typically to Israel.

Schoenberg was introduced to the
Furmans’ story by his longtime friend,
Michal Furman, the younger daugh-
ter of Lev Furman and an Israeli-
American officer in the Philadelphia
Police Department. He was inspired to
begin writing after a Shabbat dinner
at the Furmans’ home when Marina
Furman asked Schoenberg if he would
like to take a shot at telling their story.

Lev Furman, originally an engineer,
is now a hospice rabbi in Philadelphia.

Schoenberg has looked up to him for a
long time.

“I consider him to be the greatest
guy that I know,” Schoenberg said.

“They are inspiring for a lot of reasons
and, in their own right, a sort of classic
American immigrant story.”
While Schoenberg appreciates both
films and plays, he decided it was more
practical to tell the Furmans’ story as
a play. He reasoned that building any
sort of historical world, especially for
film, is a costly endeavor.

The decision on whether to write
the story for film or as a play was ulti-
mately based on how well Schoenberg
thought Lev Furman’s story could best
impact the audience. While film has
the advantage of zooming in on an
object or a letter, flashbacks, which are
central to Schoenberg’s storytelling, are
better suited to the stage, he said.

“Lev as a character is so engaging
and dynamic, I thought a live perfor-
mance would really bring the audience
in,” Schoenberg said.

“Lev of Leningrad” follows the
Furmans’ story from Soviet Russia
to Israel to Philadelphia, where Lev
Furman is faced with a changing world
full of diverse people and their stories.

The play will feature live music per-
formed by Cantor Jacob Agar, who
Schoenberg met at Beth Sholom
Synagogue in Elkins Park. Agar is an
opera singer and composer who has
committed to doing the music for the
play, according to Schoenberg.

The play debuted at the Fulton
Theater in Lancaster during its inaugu-
ral Stories of Diversity festival in 2021.

“Lev of Leningrad” was selected as one
of three finalists and received a staged
reading. Between the rehearsals that
week and the performance, Schoenberg
became convinced that his dramatic
career change was the right decision.

“There’s nothing like it. I’ve never
had more fun than in those rehearsals,”
he said.

Schoenberg has advice for young
people considering switching to a
career in creativity.

“Living at home (with his family)
allowed me to save up a nest egg of
money. [You need to] live as cheaply
and efficiently as you can for a year or
two before you make the jump. You
will have to sacrifice your time so you
can write at your best — I’m a morning
writer. Be ruthless in protecting that
time; you need to be at your freshest
and best to even have any chance at
doing this. Put yourself in a position to
succeed,” Schoenberg said.

Schoenberg isn’t done telling Jewish
stories, though. An upcoming project
will tell the story of his grandmother,
who was raised in Bucharest, Romania.

A staged reading of “Lev of
Leningrad” will take place on June
29 at 7 p.m. at InterAct Theatre
in Philadelphia. Tickets are pay-
what-you-wish. All proceeds will be
donated to Sunf lower of Peace, an
organization dedicated to helping
Ukrainians affected by the Russian
military invasion. JE
hross@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Noah Schoenberg
Noah Schoenberg