During World War II and the Holocaust, famous (or later famous) artists like Josephine Baker, Samuel Beckett and Christian Dior’s sister Catherine were members of the French resistance. Among their ranks was Marcel Mangel, who later would become known as Marcel Marceau. Or even more simply: “The greatest mime in the world.”
Now, Jewish Broadway stars Ethan Slater and Julie Benko are telling this lesser-known chapter of Marceau’s story.
On July 30 and 31, “Marcel on a Train” will be in workshop at the acclaimed Williamstown Theatre Festival. The new play stars Slater as Marceau, Benko as a character named Berthe and what seems to be an all-Jewish cast of Noah Robbins, Peter Grosz, Maddie Corman and Aaron Serotsky. The play was co-written by Marshall Pailet and Ethan Slater.
The piece will focus on one of Marceau’s missions with Jewish resistance network Organization Juive de Combat smuggling Jewish children from France to Switzerland by train. “I went disguised as a Boy Scout leader and took 24 Jewish kids, also in scout uniforms, through the forests to the border, where someone else would take them into Switzerland,” Marceau remembered in 2002.
During these operations, he would mime to the children to keep them quiet and calm on the journey. “It had nothing to do with show business. He was miming for his life,” Philippe Mora, the son of one of Marceau’s compatriots in the resistance, said in 2009.
Marceau would ultimately go on two more missions and save more than 70 children.
“Marcel on the Train” has been in the works for at least 10 months. In September 2023, Slater posted behind-the-scenes rehearsal photos on Instagram. “L’shana Tova From Marcel On The Train,” he wrote at the time. Co-writer Marshall Pailet also posted on Instagram about the work-in-progress in September 2023, including a video of Slater jumping over a music stand into a somersault — presumably working out acrobatics he might have to perform onstage as Marcel.
Over the last few years, Slater has broken out into the entertainment industry. He’s originated the role of SpongeBob Squarepants on Broadway, starred in a revival of “Assassins” Off-Broadway and a revival of “Spamalot” on Broadway and will soon star as Bok in the movie adaptions of “Wicked.” Playing Marcel Marceau on “Marcel on the Train,” as well as co-writing it, seems to be his most explicitly Jewish character and work to-date.
The same cannot be said for co-star Julie Benko, who has already played several explicitly Jewish characters over the course of her career. Benko rose to prominence in 2022 as Beanie Feldstein’s replacement in the revival of “Funny Girl,” taking on the role of legendary Jewish entertainer Fanny Brice. She stayed on as the alternate Fanny Brice when Lea Michele took over the starring role. After “Funny Girl,” Benko originated the role of Ruth Stern in “Harmony,” the Broadway musical about the Comedian Harmonists and their Jewish members during the Holocaust.
“From the first page of ‘Marcel On the Train,’ I knew I wanted to be involved in this project. It has a very rare combination of humor and drama that draws you in,” Benko told Hey Alma. “Marcel Marceau’s inherent theatricality as a real person in history illuminates the struggle of all those who fight to maintain their humanity among great inhumanity, in whatever place and time they live.”
She concluded: “I think it’s going to be an incredibly engaging and powerful show, and I’m really looking forward to exploring how it comes to life off the page.”
