Cafe Europa Brings Broadway to Holocaust Survivors

On the crisp morning of Feb. 24, a large group of Holocaust survivors gathered to listen to a performance at Congregation B’nai Torah as part of the local monthly Cafe Europa. The group, one of many named after a cafe in Sweden where Holocaust survivors met to find lost friends and family after World War II, has been meeting in Atlanta as long as any of the staff that support it can remember.

“I don’t know when they started, it predated me and I’ve been working at this office for 18 years,” said Amy Neuman, director of Holocaust Survivor Services at Jewish Family & Career Services, which sponsors the group. “So, it was already going on, used to be a much smaller crowd. It’s grown, it’s very popular.”

The group in attendance was relatively large, with around 50 survivors, including some who hadn’t been to one of the local meetings before.

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“Sometimes we have people that move into the area, or they just realize that there’s a community of Holocaust survivors, and there were a few new people here that were at an event for the first time today,” said Caren Kern, social program coordinator for the events, who knows every patron by name. “I introduced them to other people that maybe were from their area and that they had things in common with.”

Part of Kern’s job is helping coordinate entertainment for these monthly meetings. They’ve had various speakers and performers, from local school choirs to professional pianists and singers, but the performers for this meeting were something of a step up.

Billy Harrigan Tighe performs a solo while the Cafe Europa patrons look on.

Billy Harrigan Tighe and Kristine Reese, a husband-and-wife duo who are Broadway performers and can often be found singing in musicals at City Springs Performing Arts Center, had come to perform a series of tunes from various musicals. Tighe had actually met members of the group before, when they came to watch a performance of “The Music Man,” in which he played the lead role.

“They attended a matinee, and we got to talking afterwards,” said Tighe, “and had an opportunity to share in their feedback about the production – glowing, thankfully – and take some pictures and get to have a really nice conversation and that’s when she told me about this.”

The two stars performed a series of musical numbers, ranging from shows like “Pippin” – which Tighe played the leading role for in the original Broadway revival cast in 2013 – to “South Pacific,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Carousel.” One of the highlights was a beautiful duet of a song from “Finding Neverland.”

“We want to pick material that speaks to them, that they remember from when they were younger,” said Reese, who works at the City Springs Theatre Conservatory, and was part of their original season. It clearly worked, as one patron discussed how much he enjoyed it.

“Loved it. This is classic Broadway, which I enjoyed. I hear some current Broadway which … I like the old stuff better,” he laughed.

“It’s really rewarding,” said Tighe. “So much of what our career is focused on doing is big shows. To be quite honest, it’s a lot of your own career self-satisfaction. I think what gets lost is an opportunity like this, where you can see your audience, and know what our gifts and what our artistry is able to do.”

“And seeing how much they enjoy it, and how happy it makes them,” added Reese.

In between Broadway songs, the B’nai Torah pre-schoolers perform a few of their own.

Their performance was not the only treat the patrons received that morning, however, as students from The Epstein School brought the survivors mishloach manot, and the young B’nai Torah pre-schoolers performed some songs about Tu B’shevat. There was also, as always, plenty of time for eating and socializing.

“I feel very loved when I come here,” said one patron. “Everybody is always so loving and caring, and I always like to sit at a certain table where my friends are, and it’s just really wonderful, it really is. When there’s no spot here, they actually put another chair here, so they fit me in.”

“It allows us to make contact with other Holocaust survivors,” said another. “For the most part, we’re going through the same issues, the same concerns. So, it gives us a sense of community.”

“It means so much to me and to them, because it brings them together,” said Kern. “All of the people that are in similar situations are in one place, and it brings me so much joy to bring great entertainment and great food to them and see that they’re happy. With everything that’s going on in the world, this should be a safe place for them to be.”