The celebrated Jewish ph ilanthropist Ernest W. Michel will be honored at Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, on Monday, June 8, 2009 at 7:30pm, in a gala concert presented by the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene. Folksbiene's musical celebration, entitled "Fun Dor Tsu Dor - From Generation to Generation," brings together a multi-generational cast of stars from both the Yiddish and mainstream Theatre Worlds.
Joining these singers and actors will be other luminaries such as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, the gala's honorary chairman, who will pay tribute to Michel, while recognizing a number of other individuals and organizations that have made important contributions to Jewish culture. The evening will shine a spotlight on those who have contributed to the remarkable resurgence of interest in the Yiddish language, particularly among the young.
The evening's stars include the Tony Award-winning comic actress AndRea Martin; comedian Freddie Roman, the Emmy-winning stage and television actor Fyvush Finkel, reknowned relationship expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer; the actress, singer and Tony-nominated director Eleanor Reissa, and the Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick.
From as far back as the Nuremberg trials when this Auschwitz/Buchenwald survivor was assigned as a special correspondent to the German news agency DANA, "Ernie" Michel has been identified with an impressive array of Jewish causes, milestones and achievements. As the longtime executive vice-president of UJA Federation New York (he is now its executive vice-president emeritus); as one of the founders and the founding chairman of the first World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Jerusalem in 1981, and as a highly effective and influential fundraiser, Michel has made incalculable, lasting contributions.
But it is Michel's accomplishments as a writer, advocate and community builder that truly set him apart, and that, in the words of Folksbiene Board Chairman Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, "make him the epitome of our evening's theme." Wiesenfeld goes on to note: "Ernie Michel doesn't just chronicle and interpret the Jewish experience. He shares it, and in sharing it so graciously and generously, he has made of the act of remembering, and of the passing on of our legacy, a great art."
Underlining the evening's theme of inter-generational communication, Folksbiene is inaugurating a new annual award honoring survivors and their progeny. The first National Yiddish Theatre Heritage Hemshekh Award will be presented to a prominent member of the 2nd generation, Dr. Eva Fogelman, a respected psychologist, author and survivor advocate, and to Danielle Sarna, a 3rd generation and public relations executive, who, among her many c haritable activities, is a member of the Young Leadership Board of the Museum of Jewish Heritage. "The children, grandchildren, and, in the future, decendants who identify themselves as survivors, and who through their singular actions help preserve, protect and perpetuate Yiddishkeit, will be the recipients of this prize," Wiesenfeld points out. "Folksbiene, above all, stands for the sharing of our legacy, and for establishing continuity from one generation to the next. It is for this reason that we feel this new award will be more than a distinguished honor; we hope it will serve as a beacon of hope, understanding, and courage for anyone who is the victim of anti-Semitism."
The evening's ensemble is under the direction of the Tony Award-nominated director Eleanor Reissa. Frank London, of the Grammy-winning The Klezmatics, and Zalmen Mlotek, the world-recognized Yiddish music expert and conductor (who is Folksbiene's artistic director), co-musical direct and lead their All-Star Band. The event, produced by Larry Adelman, benefits The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene, America's sole-surviving pro fessional Yiddish theatre and the longest continuously producing Yiddish theatre company in the world.
Now in its historic 94th consecutive season, Folksbiene is enjoying something that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago: mainstream success. In addition to its special achievement Drama Desk Award in 2007, the company has produced a string of critically acclaimed crossover hits, including the Drama Desk-nominated "On Second Avenue," the Drama Desk-nominated Yiddish adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" ("Di Yam Gazlonim"), and this season's widely praised "Gimpel Tam". Through its numerous accommodations for non-Yiddish speakers (the company introduced live English and Russian supertitles at all its performances in 2003), its outreach to underserved audiences in and outside of New York, and its cultivation of new work and young actors, the company has made impressive strides at broadening and diversifying its audience.
For tickets, which range from $75 to $500, call Folksbiene at (800) 994-3347, 212/213-2120 or online at www.folksbiene.org
