Folksbiene Presents NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND Tonight, 5/14

Folksbiene presents the world premiere of NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, an innovative mixed media concert produced by the National Yiddish Theatre, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, tonight, May 14 at 7pm. Created by Zalmen Mlotek and featuring the acclaimed klezmer group Golem!, the concert’s local co-sponsors include the National Conference on Soviet Jewry; Dor Chadash; Hillel, and COJECO, the Council of Jewish Emigré Community Organizations, and Folksbiene.

NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND adds a unique musical dimension to the artififact and art-filled traveling exhibit, “Let My People Go! The Soviet Jewry Movement, 1967 – 1989,” curated by Beit Haftutsot (the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv). The exhibition, which tells the story of Jews in the former Soviet Union who were refused permission to emigrate, was adapted for American audiences by the Museum of Jewish Heritage, where it opened in November and remains on view until August 5, 2012. (The traveling exhibition is organized and circulated by the State of Israel – Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs and Beit Hatfutsot.)

The concert’s unique ensemble incudes opera and Broadway’s Elmore James, cantor David Stepanovsky, noted Judaica vocalist Phyllis Berk, jazz experimentalist Svetlana Shmulyian, and the youthful and electrifying klezmer sensation Golem! Joined on stage by Zalmen Mlotek, the internationally recognized conductor, composer and Yiddish music authority, who created the concert and serves as music director, the cast will perform music from an intriguing array of folk and protest music, some homegrown, and some smuggled in to the U.S.S.R. to sustain the underground movement. Songs, including several originals, are in English, Russian and Yiddish, with Russian and English supertitles provided throughout.

“Notes from the Underground” world premieres tonight, May 14 at 7pm at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living Memorial to the Holocaust, 36 Battery Place. Tickets are $ 25. The night’s concert will be preceded by a special viewing of the exhibit at 6pm, and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception for all attendees. For tickets call 212/339-6034, or for more information or to order tickets online visit www.mjhnyc.org, or www.nationalyiddishtheatre.org.