Julianna Margulies, Carol Kane & More To Join Museum Of Jewish Heritage For Community Reading Of NIGHT

The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a community reading of Elie Wiesel's influential memoir, Night, on Sunday, January 28, 2024 beginning at 1 p.m. Well-known figures will take turns reading the book throughout the afternoon; and the reading will be interspersed with music and reflections.

Scheduled readers and speakers include: CNN senior political analyst and anchor John Avlon; author of Fleishman is in Trouble Taffy Brodesser-Akner; Emmy-award winning CNN anchor John Berman; host of leading Jewish podcast Unorthodox and deputy editor of Tablet Stephanie Butnick; world renowned journalist Ann Curry; Academy Award-winning filmmaker Marshall Curry (The Neighbors' Window, A Night at the Garden); actress, singer, and comedian Jackie Hoffman (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Only Murders in the Building); Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian Carol Kane (Hunters, The Princess Bride); founder of Lab/Shul Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie; actress and singer Caissie Levy (Leopoldstadt, Wicked); writer and illustrator Maira Kalman; actor Neal Lerner (American Fiction); actor and Unorthodox co-host Joshua Malina (Leopoldstadt, The West Wing); journalist and host of the Making Gay History podcast Eric Marcus; actress and artist Sarah Podemski (Reservation Dogs); director, actress, and playwright Eleanor Reissa (Indecent, The Plot Against America); actor Peter Riegert (Crossing Delancy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt); journalist and the host of The Pop Culture Spotlight Jessica Shaw; singer, songwriter, and pianist Regina Spektor; Tony-award winning actor Ari'el Stachel (The Band's Visit); Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, The Morning Show); and Elisha Wiesel, Chairman of the Board of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and son of Elie Wiesel. Additional participants to be announced.

"For many Americans, Night was their first encounter with the Holocaust as a historical event. Published before survivors were speaking out, before memorials and commemorations, this memoir, this testimony of a 16-year-old Elie Wiesel, forced us to confront the worst of what humanity can do. Since then, Wiesel's memoir has been an inspiration and a defense against indifference and intolerance. On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, at a time when antisemitism is at a terrifying level and fewer survivors are with us to share their stories, the Museum's mission to educate about the Holocaust is crucial and urgent. We return to this seminal work and read it in community for what it still has to teach us," said Jack Kliger, President and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage is presenting this event in collaboration with its partner, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, whose artistic director, Zalmen Mlotek, is leading the musical components of the program. Rabbi Marc Margolius, senior program director at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, will lead guided meditations throughout the afternoon.

Museum admission is included with registration. This free event-presented in three acts-will take place in person, in the Museum's Edmond J. Safra Hall, and via livestream on Sunday, January 28 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Registration is free and open for in-person and virtual attendance via this link.

About The Museum Of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York's contribution to the global responsibility to Never Forget. Opened in 1997, the Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust.

The Museum's current offerings include Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark, a new exhibition about the extraordinary rescue of Denmark's Jewish population in 1943, a story of mutual aid and communal upstanding in difficult times for visitors aged 9 and up; The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do, a major exhibition offering a timely and expansive presentation of Holocaust history, on view in the main galleries; and, Survivors: Faces of Life After the Holocaust, featuring photographer Martin Schoeller's portraits of 75 Holocaust survivors in his signature style.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains the Peter & Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Resource Center, a collection of almost 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies, and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, , and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum also hosts the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, the Producers of the acclaimed Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, and LOX at Café Bergson an OU-certified café serving eastern European specialties.

Each year, the Museum presents over 100 public programs, connecting our community in person and virtually through lectures, book talks, concerts, and more. For more info visit: http://mjhnyc.org/events. Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.

About National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Now in its 109th season, the award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the US and the world's oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF is in residence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek and Executive Director Dominick Balletta, NYTF is dedicated to creating a living legacy through the arts, connecting generations and bridging communities.

NYTF aims to bring history to life by reviving and restoring lost and forgotten work, commissioning new work, and adapting pre-existing work for the 21st Century. Serving a diverse audience comprised of performing arts patrons, cultural enthusiasts, Yiddish-language aficionados and the public, the company presents plays, musicals, concerts, lectures, interactive educational workshops and community-building activities in English and Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying performances. NYTF provides access to a century-old cultural legacy and inspires the imaginations of the next generation to contribute to this valuable body of work.

Learn more at nytf.org.