Valley theatergoers are very familiar with the multi-talented Maria Amorocho. For over 20 years, she has appeared on nearly every stage in the area in comedies, dramas and musicals.
“I can’t say I’m exactly a triple threat,” she admits with a grin. “I’m known as ‘an actor who moves’ rather than a true dancer.” No matter. With her rich, clear soprano voice and her significant “acting chops,” she’s a shining star in each production she graces.
Maria is a product of a Baptist missionary nurse and a Catholic Colombian doctor. That fact, in and of itself, might just make her unique. “My parents were married in 1959. My mother came from Eastern Kentucky; marrying a Catholic Latino was unheard of !” Maria grew up in Louisville where she attended church and Sunday school. But the place for social fun was the Jewish Community Center. “My family belonged and we were always at the pool. My friends were all there. I took cooking classes, learning to make kosher pizza and hamantaschen. My sister took pottery and crafts classes and would come home with Purim masks and seder plates.”
During and after college at Kenyon College in Ohio, Maria also did some shows at the Cleveland JCC. By that time, her church attendance had tapered off, though she would sing at church events to “make my car payment.”
Maria had visited Arizona and saw it as a place of great potential for theater. “It was ground floor time. The theater arts were growing. It was an exciting place to be.” She needed a place to stay and friends recommended she contact Earl Weisbrod, who needed a roommate. She did and they were engaged three years later!
Earl was a dentist and a cultural, secular Jew. After the births of their two sons, Elijah and Jeremiah, Earl realized he wanted the boys to have a Jewish education. With Maria’s spiritual and social background, she readily agreed. The boys were enrolled at Temple Beth Israel’s preschool (now Congregation Beth Israel), and Maria drank in the education along with her sons. The more she learned, the more she realized how her own views fit in perfectly with Jewish values. Prior to Elijah becoming a bar mitzvah in 2007 at Temple Kol Ami, Maria converted to Judaism.
“I have always believed in tikkun olam (repairing the world), and I found the rituals and emphasis on home and family to be very comforting,” she says. “I believe that the Jewish people are ‘chosen’ not for privilege, but for responsibility, and that’s how I live my life.”
Maria’s artistic talents go beyond her performances; she is also extremely crafty. She discovered a way to create female kippot with a combination of wire and jewels. Her beautiful creations are now sold all over the country through temples and Jewish gift shops. You can also order a custom-made kippah directly from Maria: go to Etsy.com and search for KeepsakekippotAZ.
Maria can next be seen on stage in Actor’s Theatre’s production of the award-winning “Good Friends,” running April 25 through May 11 at the new venue for the Arizona Opera at 1636 N Central Ave., just north of McDowell Road. The play is written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Matthew Wiener. For tickets or more information, call 602-888-0368 or visit actorstheatrephx.org.
