Brenda Adelman’s Father Killed
Her Mother, Married Her Aunt
by Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BROOKLYN — If one remembers “Hamlet,” the prince’s main problem is the untimely death of his father, soon followed by the marriage of his mother and his uncle, a marriage that raises many painful questions.
Former Brooklynite Brenda Adelman had no such questions — it was all there for all to see. In a plea bargain in 1996, her father, owner of Adelman’s Auto Parts on Avenue L, admitted he had shot his wife to death, and served two and a half years in prison. After he got out, he married Brenda’s aunt.
Most people, faced with such a family situation, would mention it as rarely as possible. However, Ms. Adelman, an actress and performance artist, has made it the subject of her show, “My Brooklyn Hamlet,” which is playing in both Brooklyn and Manhattan during the next few days.
Ms. Adelman describes her father as a “Jewish guido,” basically meaning that he was a working-class Jewish guy who wore a black leather jacket, smoked a cigar, always carried a gun, talked tough and had a blue-collar job.
Once, there were quite a few such people (although this reporter would prefer to use a different term) in neighborhoods like Brownsville and Flatbush; today, they are comparatively rare. Brenda’s mother, Barbara, was a “bohemian artist” who wore long skirts, took Brenda on trips abroad, and, ironically, read Shakespeare to the young Brenda.
“My aunt stood by [my father] when he was in prison,” says Brenda, “and married him when he got out.” Asked whether she knew her father and her aunt were involved, Brenda says, “I wasn’t aware, but since that time, several relatives have told me that they knew they were having an affair.”
Brenda was 30 at the time; as a result of the incident, she went back to school and got a degree in psychology, but continued to be involved in the theater.
In the show, Brenda, who grew up in Brooklyn’s Mill Basin and now lives in Sedona, Ariz., portrays all the characters, including her mother and her father. Her father knows about the show, but, according to Brenda, doesn’t mind — “He says that’s all in the past.” Occasionally, even in places like Sedona, people come out of the audience and say, “I used to bring my car into your father’s place all the time!”
“My Brooklyn Hamlet” will be showing tomorrow evening from 8 to 9:30 at Red Tent Women’s Project, 338 Fourth St., Park Slope. RSVP to (718) 866-5859. It will also be showing Friday at 7 p.m. at the Phillip Coltoff Theater in Greenwich Village, 219 Sullivan St.; call Lisa Rachmut at the Children’s Aid Society at (212) 949-5001. A 20-minute segment will also be shown on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Women’s Project Theater, 424 W. 55th St.; call Alexia Kelly at (212) 695-1596.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006
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