Joel Grey, Sheldon Harnick, Tovah Feldshuh, David Hyde Pierce and More Set for First-Ever New York Reading of Elie Weisel's NIGHT

On Sunday, January 29, 2017, the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust joins with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to honor the memory of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who died on July 2, 2016, by presenting a community reading of his landmark memoir NIGHT, which tells of his experience in German concentration camps with his father during the Holocaust. This reading is being held to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27.

The reading - a first of its kind for the Museum - will take place on January 29, 2017 at the Museum, 36 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan, in Edmond J. Safra Hall, beginning at 3:00 pm and will continue through the evening until the last page is read at approximately 8:00 pm.

"This event honors the legacy of Elie Wiesel and gives us the opportunity to bring his groundbreaking and eloquent account of the Holocaust to life for one night, through the voices of New Yorkers of all backgrounds," says Michael S. Glickman, President and CEO of the Museum. "As New York's Holocaust Museum, it is our responsibility to amplify Wiesel's words in whatever way we can to continue his work of teaching the world about the dangers of indifference and the importance of fighting for justice."

This gathering will bring together a wide array of artists, actors, community leaders, government officials, students, Holocaust survivors and survivors of other genocides, each of whom will read at least a page of Wiesel's NIGHT. Elisha Wiesel, Elie's son, will also participate as the community gathers to hear his father's word read aloud. The readings will be done primarily in English, with some speaking in French and Yiddish.

Elisha Wiesel said: "At a time when this country is feeling so divided, when so much negativity is circulating about those who are different from ourselves - those who have different ethnicities, religions or even different political leanings - my father's words are an important reminder of the dangers of the 'us versus them' mentality. My family and I are grateful to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for hosting this community reading of 'Night' at this very important moment in our history."

"Elie Wiesel's remarkable testimony as a survivor and his grace in reassuring all of us that we can heal, find redemption and protect ourselves through the incalculable darkness has soothed and inspired so many," said Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. "It is essential that we hear his message and follow his example of civility and strength." Christopher Massimine, executive producer of NYTF added: "Artists, through their art, reflect who we are; only a few can be said to reflect the conscience of mankind. Elie Wiesel was one such artist."

The list of participants, still in formation, includes:

Entertainment

• Tovah Feldshuh, TV and Broadway actress, Emmy winner
• Joel Grey, Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor
• Sheldon Harnick, playwright/lyricist, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner
• Jessica Hecht, TV and Broadway actress
• Bill T. Jones, choreographer
• Itzhak Perlman, world's preeminent violinist
• David Hyde Pierce, Film, TV and Theater actor/director, Emmy and Tony Award winner Maryanne Plunkett, Broadway actor
• Ron Rifkin, TV and Broadway actor, Emmy and Tony Award winner
• Jay O. Sanders, Broadway actor

Media

• Joseph Berger, award-winning journalist for The New York Times
• Jane Eisner, Editor in chief of The Forward
• Adam Gopnik, writer, essayist, and New Yorker contributor
• Pia Lindstrom, Emmy-winning television journalist
• Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentaries
• Sam Norich, president of The Forward
• Letty Cottin Pogrebin, award-winning journalist, author, and founding member of the Feminist movement
• Geraldo Rivera, award-winning journalist, author and media personality
• Gary Rosenblatt, publisher and editor in chief of The Jewish Week
• Edward Rothstein, columnist and reporter for The Wall Street Journal
• Stephanie Simon, culture reporter NY 1 News

Government and NGO

• Hon. Dani Dayan, Consulate General of Israel in New York
• Hon. François Delattre, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations
• Carmen Fariña, NYC Education Chancellor
• Joshua Laird, Commissioner, National Parks of NY Harbor
• Senator Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman
• Eugenie Mukeshimana, founder & executive director Genocide Survivors Support Network
• Jacqueline Murekatete, Founder of the Genocide Survivors Foundation
• Yuh-Line Niou, Assembly member-elect
• Consolee Nishimwe, Rwandan genocide survivor
• Menachem Rosensaft, Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Survivors
• Jean-Baptiste Rudatsikira, Director at the Genocide Survivors Foundation
• Ilia Salita, CEO of Genesis Philanthropy Group
• Elliot Spitzer, Former Governor of New York
• Andres Spokoiny, Jewish Funders Network
• Scott Stringer, NYC Comptroller
• Hon. Brita Wagener, Consul General, German Consulate of New York

Lifestyle and Culture

• Andre Aciman, award-winning author and professor, CUNY Graduate Center
• Georgette Bennett, founder of the Tannenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
• Rabbi Blu Greenberg, author
• Rabbi Irving Greenberg, author
• Alice Greenwald, President and CEO, National 9/11 Memorial
• Aaron Lansky, executive director and founder Yiddish Book Center
• Daniel Libeskind, world-renowned architect
• Daryl Roth, theatre producer
• Dr. Ruth Westheimer, American sex therapist, media personality, and author
• Ruth Wisse, author and authority on Jewish culture

Academia

• Abraham H. Foxman, director of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
• Andzelika Berestko, student
• Sister Mary Boys, dean Union Theological Seminary/ Columbia University
• David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States
• Josh Morrison, student

Among the numerous Holocaust survivors participating in the event are Mrs. Fanya Gottesfeld Heller and Mrs. Susanne Kaplowitz.

Mrs. Gottesfeld Heller, a Museum Trustee, author, and longtime friend of Elie and Marion Wiesel, was born into a traditional Jewish family in a small Ukrainian village in 1924. Mrs. Heller and her family hid from the Nazi death squads with the help of two Christian rescuers. Beset by hunger, marked for death by her neighbors, and faced with the constant threat of discovery and execution, she miraculously survived to share her message of life and hope.

Mrs. Kaplowitz was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1936. Mrs. Kaplowitz and her brother were hidden by a Christian woman, a former employee in her father's store. Her parents hid separately. She and her family survived the war and came to the U.S. in December 1949.

Prior to the reading of NIGHT, from 12 pm to 2 pm, other Holocaust survivors will share their testimonies in the Museum's Core Exhibition.

The Tribute and entry to the Museum are both free. Advance reservations for the Tribute are recommended as theater seating is limited. To reserve Tribute tickets, visit www.mjhnyc.org/tribute or call 646.437.4202. Additional seating will be available in rooms showing the simulcast.

The event will be live streamed on the Museum's website at: www.mjhnyc.org/night.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust has thrived for nearly two decades along the waterfront of New York Harbor, and was created as a living memorial to those who perished, as well as those who survived, 75 years ago. Established as a place of learning and reflection, a repository for artifacts and information, and a catalyst for dialogue across all age groups about vital lessons of Jewish history, the Museum serves both local and global communities and creates opportunities for diverse audiences to engage with history and to consider its relevance to the present.

Since 1997, the Museum of Jewish Heritage has welcomed more than two million visitors; it maintains a collection of 25,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies and contains classrooms, a 400-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, a resource center for educators, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.

For more information, visit www.mjhnyc.org.

Since 1915, the award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene [NYTF] has presented a window into the world of Jewish culture by engaging, educating, and igniting the imaginations of generations of theatergoers. It is the longest consecutively producing Yiddish theatre company in the world and the longest consecutively producing performing arts company in the US. NYTF presents plays, musicals, concerts, literary events and workshops in English, Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew and Russian, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying most performances. Its mission is to celebrate the Jewish experience through the performing arts and to transmit a rich cultural legacy in exciting new ways.

For more information, visit www.nytf.org.