Honoring Vivienne Shub

A blog post by Assistant Director Deborah Cardin. To read more posts from Deborah click HERE.

On Thursday, November 13, the JMM was privileged to host a special event honoring Vivienne Shub, a true icon of Jewish Baltimore. A talented actor who passed away in September at the age of 95, Vivienne left her mark as a member of the companies of many of Baltimore’s most well known theaters including Vagabond Theater, Center Stage (which she helped create) and Everyman Theater. In addition she was a beloved acting teacher at both Goucher College and Towson University.

I first learned about Vivenne Shub and her impact on our community when she was featured in a 2004 exhibit held at the JMM Weaving Women’s Words, that was created by the Jewish Women’s Archives. This exhibit highlighted many extraordinary Baltimore Jewish women through photographic portraits, oral history interviews and contemporary artwork. Even among this group of powerful and amazing women, the section devoted to Vivienne stood out and it was a true honor meeting her at the exhibit’s opening. (You can learn more about Vivienne’s life at the JWA website as well as through a recent Jewish Times article.)

The evening featured members of Vivienne’s family and close friends who shared fond memories of her. Speakers included Vivienne’s sister, Naomi Greenberg-Slovin, who shared an especially close relationship with her sister as well as a love and passion for the theater; her children, Dan Shub and Judith Shub-Condliffe; and Ralph Piersanti who recalled the early days of Center Stage when it was housed at the JCC. Award-winning filmmaker, Steve Yeager, presented a clip from a video he shot of Vivienne performing as Etta Cone in the Cone Sister of Baltimore at the BMA.

In addition to the tribute, JMM staff created a lobby display featuring photographs and other theatrical memorabilia from our collections as well as from her family. The display will remain on view through the end of the month.

The JMM is so grateful to Harriet Lynn and the members of Vivienne’s family for presenting us with the opportunity to take part in such a special program.