Glory is an original musical by Yaron Kafkafi and Shani Shalegi, created in memory of Hadar Shalegi-Shalom.
A funny, moving and uplifting fantasy musical featuring well-known pop songs, Glory tells the story of an extraordinary bond between two sisters – a bond that continues even after one of them is no longer alive. At its center is Glory, a newly arrived angel in Heaven who is sent back to watch over Ruby, a vulnerable cabaret singer struggling to find her way. As her mission unfolds, Glory gradually discovers that her connection to Ruby is far more personal than she ever imagined.
GLORY
“Glory” is an original musical by Yaron Kafkafi and Shani Shalgi, created in memory of Hadar Shalgi-Shalom.
Funny, moving, and uplifting, the fantasy musical features well-known pop songs and tells the story of an extraordinary bond between two sisters - a bond that endures even after one of them is gone. Glory, a newly appointed angel in Heaven, is sent to watch over Ruby, a vulnerable cabaret singer struggling to find her way. As the mission unfolds, Glory discovers that her connection to Ruby is far more personal than she ever imagined.
2023
Glory
“Glory” is a funny and moving fantasy musical featuring well-known pop songs in new arrangements. At its center is Glory, a newly appointed angel in “New Eden,” who receives her first assignment: to watch over Ruby, a sensitive cabaret singer who has lost her joy in life following the death of her sister.
At first, Glory struggles to connect with her new role. She finds it difficult to understand Ruby - her pain, her choices, and the way she navigates life. But as she watches her more closely, something about Ruby begins to feel strangely familiar. Gradually, Glory discovers that their bond runs far deeper than a random assignment: Ruby was her sister in her previous life, and their connection has survived death.
The musical moves between two contrasting yet complementary worlds. On one side is “New Eden” - a colorful, celestial, humorous and bureaucratic realm where even angels have rules, duties, and make mistakes. On the other is Ruby’s cabaret world - glamorous, raw, and wounded, where music, love, loneliness, and humor exist side by side.
Although the rules of New Eden forbid direct contact with the living, Glory becomes increasingly determined to help Ruby. As Ruby begins to put herself in danger, Glory realizes she can no longer remain a passive observer. Her mission becomes a personal journey of compassion and self-discovery, revealing powers within her that she never knew she possessed.
The original production of “Glory” premiered in 2023 at the Rozin Auditorium in Tel Aviv as an independent production. Blending fantasy, cabaret, humor, dance, and familiar pop songs, the musical is ultimately a story about sisterly love, loss, depression, hope, and rediscovering the desire to live.
“Glory” grew out of the deeply personal story of Shani Shalgi and her younger sister, Hadar Shalgi-Shalom. Hadar was born in 1982 and grew up in Ra’anana. She loved to dance, graduated with honors from the dance program at Ostrovsky High School, served in the IDF, and later studied management at Ben-Gurion University. She went on to work as an event producer, involved in both private events and large-scale public productions.
In March 2013, while on her honeymoon in Barcelona, Hadar was critically injured in a road accident and died five days later. Her death changed Shani’s life and her family forever. Exactly ten years after the accident, Shani brought “Glory” to the stage in Hadar’s memory. The title echoes the meaning of Hadar’s Hebrew name: splendor, radiance, glory.
For Shani, the musical was not only a memorial project, but the fulfillment of a dream shared by two sisters who loved theatre, music, and musicals. After Hadar’s death, followed by another loss in the family, Shani felt that she had lost much of her own joy in life. The creative process - and her partnership with Yaron Kafkafi as a full artistic collaborator - helped her rediscover a happiness she had not felt in years.
Out of that grief emerged a musical that is not only about death, but about continuing to live. It is about the sister who is gone, but also the sister who remains; about learning to live alongside loss, and about transforming longing into music, dance, laughter, color, and theatre.
“Glory” is therefore a work of remembrance, but it is also a celebration of life and of a love that does not end. Born from a deeply personal loss, it seeks to resonate with anyone who has lost someone they love, and with anyone learning how to carry that person with them while continuing forward.
Read more about the musical and Shani Shalgi in Ynet and Mako (Hebrew).
Creative Team
Artistic Direction & Dramaturgy: Yaron Kafkafi
Director: Shani Shalgi
Written by: Shani Shalgi & Orna Peles
Choreography: Liesl Beck
Musical Direction & Arrangements: Yaron Kafkafi
Costume Design: Yuval Caspin
Set Design: Rona Mishol
Lighting Design: Uri Morag
Videography: Oren Gabay
Cast
Glory: Karen Kafkafi
Ruby: Daniella Milo
Aviv: Ofer Regirer
Dan: Yuval Ganot
Michael: Shahaf Yifhar
Renoir: Tom Idelson
Or / Serendipity: Noa Klein
Shai / Karma: Tamari Shahar
Shir / Destiny: Vered Ovadia
Bartender: Tomer Lamport
Angel: Tayla Beck / Alma Robbins
Angel: Inbar Ben-Artzi
Angel: Shir Sivan
Production
Assistant Directors: Orit Gefen & Orna Peles
Producer: Hana Katsnelson
Consulting: Iris Ronly Riklis
Rehearsal Manager: Merav Golan
Stage Managers: Ilay Cohen and Michal Nisan
Video: Tami Shaham
Photography: Michal Aviv
Documentary: Adar Wolff and Bar Baier
Public Relations: Aya Dvorin and Reut Yaakobi