Thursday, October 1, 2026
A diverse cast of students at Temple B’nai Torah, in Wantagh, have hit the stage in the temple’s annual fall production.
There have been two performances of “Into the Woods Jr.” at the temple, with the final show scheduled for this weekend. “We have a cast of 32 children ranging in age from 6 to 17,” Lisa Shubin, the production’s executive producer, said. “They’ve been working very hard since September on this, rehearsing several times a week.”
The show is directed by the congregation’s co-president, Alisa Baroukh. “I’ve been with the congregation my entire life,” Baroukh, 49, who grew up acting in productions staged by the temple, said. “One of the things I really like about directing is that I have the opportunity to take what I have in my head and make it a reality.”
“Into the Woods Jr.” is a one-act, junior version of the musical “Into the Woods,” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, adapted for younger performers. The musical weaves together characters and plots from classic fairy tales including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Rapunzel” and “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and was written to be more accessible to younger actors and audiences.
The first two performances were on Dec. 6 and 7, and the final showing is this Saturday at 7 p.m. “It’s a great performance,” Baroukh, an East Meadow resident, said. “The kids have put all their heart, their soul, into it. It’s amazing.”
The plot of the musical centers on a baker and his wife who want to have a child, but are shadowed by a curse. To break it, they must find a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold in order to concoct a cure. Along the way on their search, they run into Little Red Riding Hood, who is on her way to her grandmother’s house; Cinderella, who is arriving home after the king’s festival; and Jack, who has just grown a giant beanstalk.
Baroukh’s son, Elijah, 14, plays the baker. “It’s fun to just do this,” he said. “At the beginning we were wondering what it was going to be like when it was finished, and now we know.”
Elijah, who has been in the Temple B’nai Torah congregation for a decade, said that watching the show morph into its final product has been rewarding. “I personally really like community theater,” he said. “Obviously it’s not Broadway-level, but it’s still exciting to see. And we have kids in the cast as young as … 6.”
Juliana Manashirov, a 14-year-old Wantagh resident who plays Jack, described it as her biggest role in a production so far. “Before I just had a couple lines,” she said. “So now I have more that I have to memorize and prepare for.”
Juliana and Elijah both noted their enjoyment in being members of the cast that younger performers can look to for help. “We get to still hang out with all the kids, instead of mainly just, like, the ones near our age,” Juliana said. “We help out with the little kids, too.”
Elijah added that a lot of the younger cast members come to him with questions about the show. “It’s fun to have people that look up to me,” he said, “but not be the only one that people look up to.”
His mother observed that the performers have grown close to one another, comparing them to a family. “It’s such a joy every day to come here,” she said. “I never have a problem coming to rehearsal.”
Temple B’nai Torah embraces a progressive and inclusive vision of Reform Judaism through worship, study of Torah and righteous deeds, according to its website. Congregation members strive to create a multi-generational home by staying connected to their roots and offering spiritual enrichment, Jewish education and community engagement.
Tickets for Saturday’s final show can be ordered at TBTtix@tbtwantagh.org. To learn more about the temple, visit TbtWantagh.org.
