The theme of The Braid’s latest show is, per usual, right on target.
“Hold Me, Heal Me,” which features true Jewish stories of kindness, is the perfect counterprograming for this challenging moment in time. It is designed to make the audience laugh, cry and want to do good.
“This show is a possible antidote to times that feel overwhelming,” The Braid’s founder and artistic director, Ronda Spinak, who is producer of this show, told The Journal. “It reminds us that acts of kindness, great and small, make everyone feel better.”
“Hold Me, Heal Me” premiered in 2014. In January of 2025, just a week after the devastating Los Angeles fires, Spinak decided it was time to bring “Hold Me, Heal Me” back with new stories that feature the best of humanity.
“It is powerful to choose kindness,” Spinak said. “How incredible it would be if we moved through our days with kindness at the ready instead of short tempers, impatience and hate.”
“How incredible it would be if we moved through our days with kindness at the ready instead of short tempers, impatience and hate.” – Ronda Spinak
Spinak, who has a piece in the show, has been evacuated since Jan. 7.
“I walked back into my home on January Jan. 8 and again on Jan. 9 to save my house when fires were burning dangerously close across the canyon and the winds were picking up,” she said. “There were two strangers, who selflessly helped me protect my home.”
She added, “Their actions made a difference, and I was moved to tell this story of their kindness, mostly as a homage to them.”
Stories from the original show include works by famed Holocaust survivor and author Dr. Edith Eger, award-winning playwright Faye Sholiton and poet/art therapist Anna Belle Kaufman. Other additions include the tale of a sickly young boy befriended by a grandfatherly train enthusiast and a story of the bond formed between a Beverly Hills caller and a customer support worker worlds away.
Composer and lyricist Mike Himelstein believes the show’s impact will be lasting and powerful, because “that’s what all Braid shows do,” he told The Journal.
His story has the theme of “paying it forward.” It made him think that “there are people in my past that helped me so much, and I should acknowledge them and pay them back,” Himelstein said. “We know that the new people [we meet] need some help, and we should give it to them, but [let’s] not forget those who have helped us; they may need a boost as well.”
“Hold Me, Heal Me” is co-directed by Susan Morgenstern, The Braid’s producing director, and long-time Braid actor Jasmine Curry. The professional cast includes veteran performers from past Braid productions: Kimberly Green (“True Colors,” “What Do I Do with All This Heritage?”), Jeanette Horn (“What a Surprise!,” “StoryNosh”) and Joshua Reuben Silverstein (“True Colors,” “What a Surprise!”) They are joined by newcomer to The Braid Karen Agam Macarah (“Merrily We Roll Along,” “Into the Woods”).
Silverstein has a story in “Hold Me, Heal Me,” called “Laila and the Tooth Truth,” which he wrote as a testament to sacrifice.
“Sometimes we have to let go of something precious, because someone else in our lives is needing us to do so; they are far more precious than what we are holding on to,” actor/writer/comedian/beatboxer Silverstein told The Journal. “My daughter Laila shows up in a very sweet way in this piece.”
Silverstein hopes this show and his piece inspire people to think about how they can do more for each other.
“Even if it’s small gestures, words of encouragement, leaving something behind that we think a loved one will appreciate in the future [or] helping out a stranger in need,” he said. “We have to remember that we are all in this life together.”
Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom wrote “Always, Charles,” about a night nurse who saved him during a very difficult moment,
“Our culture teaches us, in so many overt and subtle ways, that people are selfish, that life is a competition, that compassion and care are signs of weakness,” Feinstein told The Journal. “Stories of kindness, compassion and care remind us of our better selves; they offer us a vision of who we ought to be, and the redeeming qualities of human community and solidarity.
“The arts can reach the deeper part of us, the part that knows none of that is true,” he continued. “The arts can revive our commitment to care and nurture, uplift and embrace one another.”
Spinak added, “In a time of great uncertainty, and the long shadow of hate throwing its darkness on us all, acting with kindness creates a bit of light.”
As people act with a soft, gentle spirit, the light can grow.
“In the downward spiral of loss and sadness, gestures of kindness take us out of ourselves and by doing good for others, we allow our spirits to lift and faith in others is renewed,” Spinak said. “We are the hands of God when we do good.”
“Hold Me, Heal Me” runs from March 15 through April 10 in person in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, as well as Live via Zoom. For schedule, details and tickets, go to the-braid.org/healme.
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