Steven Widerman & Linda Bookheim
Susan was born in Newark, NJ. Her family moved to Huntington when she was two years old. She has been a Huntingtonian for most of her life. Susan went to the Huntington schools and graduated from Huntington High School. She also went to Temple Beth El religious school through Confirmation and was a Bat Mitzvah with Rabbi Schatz when not many girls had a B’Nai Mitzvah. After High School she went on to graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and subsequently received an MBA from New York University.
Susan spent most of her career as the Director of Finance & Administration for several Not-for-Profits in New York City and on Long Island. Susan also worked as an Accounting Consultant for various small and mid-size businesses. Susan’s forte was to find the unusual transaction and find innovative solutions to the problems at hand.
Aside from her career, she created with her brother, Steven Widerman (a master puppeteer), The Puppet Company. They ran a Puppet Theater in Manhattan for ten years. They started as kids and built many marionettes and performed their own shows for many Corporations and children’s parties.
Since retiring after Covid, Susan has spent her time volunteering for Temple Beth El where she is the current Treasurer. While this is a demanding endeavor, it is rewarding to make change, assist in maintaining the longevity of the Temple and be a part of a community.
Susan loves being near the beaches and New York City – the best of both worlds. She has two children who are her pride and joy. Susan plays a mean game of tennis and enjoys walking her dog, Eliza, every day. Her favorite thing to do is to spend time with friends and family.
Steven Widerman is Owner and Artistic Director of The Puppet Company. He grew up in Huntington and attended Temple Beth El with his family. He attended the religious school, became Bar Mitzvah and was married twice in ceremonies performed by Rabbi Shallat. He has served on the temple’s Board of Directors, and created the Legacy Gifts program known as Ner Tamid during his tenure.
He has been involved in Puppetry in live entertainment, film, television, and advertising. He has designed and built a remarkable variety of hundreds of puppets, and written and composed several complete musical theater pieces for puppets. He studied his craft with Master Puppeteer Bil Baird, performing with the Bil Baird Marionettes after graduating with a degree in Music Composition and History from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1977 he founded his own company, The Puppet Company, which owned and operated a puppet theater from 1988 to 1998, in partnership with his sister, Susan Widerman Blog, at Union Square in Manhattan.
He is currently pioneering and advocating the filming of puppets with 3-D video equipment for which he has developed techniques he has named and trademarked as PuppetVid3D®. He currently resides in Chicago with his wife, Linda Bookheim. Their three children all attended the temple’s religious school and the family participated in temple shows produced by the Chutzpah Repertory Company. This included a production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” for which Steven designed and built puppets for “Tevye’s Dream.”
Steven and Linda continue to be long-time, long-distance members of the temple.
Linda Bookheim is a retired bank executive with a 43-year career in financial services. Trained originally in music and with graduate business studies, she began her career teaching before transitioning to banking. Linda’s Husband, Steven Widerman, is a life-long member of Temple Beth El. After moving back to Huntington in 1997 Linda, Steven, Lauire, Samson and Marc were active members where they found community and joy in music and theater. Now based in Chicago, Linda and Steven sing with the Chicago University Chorus and Linda runs a vintage business specializing in mid-century modern housewares, upcycled goods, and handmade items. In her spare time she stays active at the gym, swims in summer, skis in winter and follows Steven around the county to puppetry and 3 D events.