‘Perseverance’ tells story of Squirrel Hill jeweler, Holocaust survivor
Melvin Goldman and his daughter, Lee Goldman Kikel, on a family outing.
Photo by Laura Slovesko
Navid Nackman (left) and Anne Rematt in “Perseverance.”
Photo by Lee Goldman Kikel
Mildred and Melvin Goldman in their Squirrel Hill jewelry store.
Navid Nackman, left, as Melvin Goldman and Johnny Terreri as Aron Goldman in "Perseverance" at Prime Stage Theatre.
Before Melvin Goldman achieved the American Dream as a prosperous Squirrel Hill jeweler, he endured one of humanity’s worst nightmares.
Born Mieczyslaw Goldman in Poland, he was shipped to Auschwitz as a teenager. His family and many friends all perished in concentration camps. Left alone and penniless after the end of World War II and the liberation of the concentration camps, he came to Pittsburgh as a refugee and mostly kept the horrors he witnessed to himself.
“My father did not discuss his time in the ghetto or anything after the war with me,” said Lee Goldman Kikel, Goldman’s daughter and a Hampton Township resident. “It was only in my high school years and into college that he talked about his parents and his siblings and family members. But never any of the atrocities, never anything he experienced. I think he did it to protect me.”
But in the late 1970s, when Goldman was in his mid-50s, he purchased a tape recorder, picked up some blank cassettes, and started unburdening himself. As the tapes rolled, he recounted what had happened to him. Altogether, he piled up 10, hour-long tapes. Goldman would record memories throughout his days as the proprietor of G&S Jewelry Store — ringing phones and other noise inside his office can be heard.
“I do think in a way maybe it was cathartic for him to put that story on tape,” Kikel explained. “But I know it was so difficult for him. I know my father was never able to grieve. In Pittsburgh, he plunged into learning English and working and anything to try not to focus on that.”
What prompted him finally tell his story?
“I never had the chance to ask him, but I think he felt that his story and what had happened to him and what had happened to our family was so important. He wanted the story preserved so people would never forget.”
Kikel used the tapes as the basis for her 2019 book, “Perseverance: A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Poland to America.” Now, the book has been adapted for the stage, with the world premiere of “Perseverance” set for Saturday. It is being presented by Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre as part of its “enGAGE” series of annual productions presented in partnership with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.
Adapted for the stage by playwright L.E. McCullough, who has written more than 150 plays on historical subjects, “Perseverance” is meant to highlight Goldman’s spirituality and humanity as he rebuilds his life and tries to heal the scars of his past. McCullough used the tapes left behind by Goldman, who died in 1996, to capture his voice and personality. Kikel attended the first read-through of the play and a rehearsal and “it was just amazing. I was brought to tears seeing someone play my dad.”
Goldman once told Kikel’s husband that he felt “rotten on the inside,” and she believes her dad suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder before the concept was fully understood or treated.
“He lived with it every day and it was very, very difficult for him,” Kikel said. “I remember he had nightmares when I was a little girl. And I know from listening to the tapes and having them transcribed, he was never able physically or emotionally to get away from it any day of his life.”
Showtimes are Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. A recorded performance also will be available for streaming starting Monday, April 24 through Sunday, May 7. Additional information is available at primestage.com.