Movie Screening of This Ordinary Thing by Al Tapper
Mon., January 26, 2026
6:30 - 8:30 pm ET (US)
Wasserman Cinematheque
RSVP for Screening & conversation (in-person)
RSVP for Zoom Only - Q&A with Al Tapper at 7:40 (virtual, no film screening)
The film will only be screened in person. Anyone is welcome to join the post-screening conversation in person or on Zoom.
About the Event
Haunting and unforgettable, THIS ORDINARY THING tells the story of non-Jews who helped save Jewish people across Europe during The Holocaust. The film combines never-before-seen archival footage with the testimonies of over forty different people who, working independently and at great risk to themselves and their families, saved thousands of Jewish strangers from almost certain death. Narrated by an all-star cast, including Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons, the film is a timely reminder of the pockets of goodness that can rise in a sea of evil: everyday people helping others who were "different" from them.
Notably, none of the people featured in the film thought of themselves as heroes. And yet the film, with immense contemporary resonance, causes each of us to ask ourselves “What would I have done?”
About the Speakers
With a growing list of accolades and credits achieved in the entertainment industry, Al Tapper has put corporate America behind him to showcase his creative talent ranging from composer/lyricist to prolific producer. In 1997, after more than 30 years in the investment community, Al Tapper focused his efforts and diverse background to pursue a passion he developed in college, the performing arts. While attending Boston University, Al Tapper wrote his first musical at the age of 20. Since then, he has written special material for regional productions, has produced two albums of his own songs, written and composed 7 musicals, a ballet a rhapsody, and a capriccio. He has written two straight plays and four books, and produced 4 documentary films.
Director Dmitry Troyanovsky stages productions, teaches, leads workshops, and develops new theatrical material at national and international institutions such as Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (China), Opera Idaho, Bard Music Festival, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Baryshnikov Arts Center, American Repertory Theatre Institute, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Boston Playwrights' Theater, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Moscow Art Theatre School, Segal Theatre Center (CUNY), 92 Street Y in New York, Brown University, Brandeis Theatre Company, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, American Lyric Theatre, and Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. Notable projects include a Chinese language production of Sara Kane's play 4:48 Psychosis at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and the Russian language premier of Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love at the Pushkin Theatre in Moscow. Dmitry's production of The Discreet Charm of Monsieur Jourdain (based on Moliere’s work) was invited to the IV Moscow International Theatre Festival "Your Chance."
Laura Jockusch is the Albert Abramson Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. Her research and teaching focus on the social, political, cultural, and legal histories of European Jews before, during, and after the Holocaust and engage in comparative, transnational, and cross-disciplinary perspectives.