Interview: Lisa Fishman & Co. Bring Cross-Cultural Concert SOUL TO SOUL to NYC

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue are joining forces to present the acclaimed cross-cultural concert Soul to Soul in a special augmented production commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on 30 West 68th Street, on Sunday January 19 at 7 pm. (This year marks the 30th anniversary of the MLK Jr. holiday.)

Created by the composer and conductor Zalmen Mlotek and inspired by the historic partnership between the African American and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 60s, Soul to Soul explores the intersections between Yiddish and African-American musical folk traditions.  It stars the singer/songwriter and trumpeter Magda Fishman; the actress and singer-songwriter Lisa Fishman; opera and Broadway’s Elmore James, and the noted opera soloist and musical theater performer Sam McKelton.  These four highly gifted vocalists perform a unique and demanding repertoire blending Yiddish folk and klezmer classics with black spirituals, gospel and jazz.

The 2025 edition of “Soul to Soul” is especially poignant as it will be performed in the very synagogue where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech, "The Future of Integration" in 1957, just weeks before the Little Rock 9 would begin attending Little Rock Central High School.

The occasion will feature a children's choir assembled from the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Harlem's IMPACT Repertory Theatre and the Abraham Joshua Heschel School. The songs, some of which were touchstones of the Civil Rights movement, are accompanied by historic and artistic imagery as well as video selections from historic speeches, marches and commentary from those who took part in the Civil Rights movement with Dr. King. Featured in the program is the prominent social activist and Freedom Rider Peter A. Geffen, who worked for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the summers of ‘65 and ‘66.  Geffen is a founder of Abraham Joshua Heschel School and The KIVUNIM Institute.  Also appearing will be Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres (a longtime community leader) who will honor the audience with welcoming remarks; Stephen Wise’s senior rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, and Cantor Daniel Singer.

We spoke with singer Lisa Fishman about the concert.

What are you most looking forward to about this upcoming concert?

Reuniting with my beloved Soul to Soul family to share this moving and inspirational story of connection, community, perseverance and mutual influence and support through music!  Our cast is a reflection of the people and communities we sing about, and in addition to each of our own personal connections to the material, I truly believe that everyone involved in this production has a genuine desire and conviction to continue to spread the positive messages of the show, most significantly: freedom, justice, equality and liberty for all, the importance of supporting our fellow human beings in times of need, regardless of race, religion or otherwise, and a true brotherhood of all human beings. Everyone is very invested in the material.  There's a lot of heart and soul in Soul to Soul!

I must also add: I'm also just looking forward to sharing the stage with this incredibly talented group of artists!  The material ranges from Jazz and Klezmer to Spiritual Hymns and Civil Rights songs - and it's always just so fun and satisfying to make music with this group and to share it with our audiences! By the end of the show, the audience is always singing and clapping along, and it really fills my spirit. 

You've been performing with Soul to Soul for a while. How did you get involved with it originally?

I have been working with Zalmen Mlotek (Artistic Director, NYTF), Motl Didner (Program Director, NYTF) and the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene since the early 2000s - singing in many of their musical concerts, as well as performing in many of their theatrical productions (most recently playing Yente the Matchmaker and Bobe Tsaytl, as well as understudying Golde, in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, directed by Joel Grey).

I believe that the earliest iteration of Soul to Soul featured Elmore James, Tony Perry and Magda Fishman (who are still the other regular three cast members. Tony Perry will not be with us on the 19th because he will be recovering from knee surgery! Feel better, Tony! We will miss you!!!).  A little later, Zalmen and Motl decided to add another female to the cast, at which point I was invited to join the production.  

You have a background in Broadway, as well as a wide range of styles. What is important to you about presenting and preserving some of these older, more traditional styles of Yiddish and African-American songs?

First off, as a singer of Yiddish music for many, many years now, I feel like I'm helping to carry the torch of this incredible, vast and diverse body of music and culture that emerged from the Ashkenazi (aka: Eastern European) Jews - a people who, as we know, were almost wiped off the planet numerous times, most notably during World War II. As one of the many artists around the world who perform this music, I hope that I am helping to keep it and Yiddishkayt (aka: Jewish culture) alive. The music and the stories behind them not only tell a story about the people who wrote and originally sang the songs, but they also carry universal themes that people of all backgrounds can relate to and be touched by.  It means a lot to me to be one of the voices carrying on this music - most significantly when I think about all of the Jews through the ages whose voices were lost prematurely via pogroms and gas chambers.

And, on the note of the universality of the music and the themes, it is always an honor and pleasure to be able to share the history of the connection and influence between the Jewish people and African Americans. My involvement in Soul to Soul has deepened my knowledge and understanding both of the many commonalities our two cultures share as well as the depth of influence on one another musically. I love that I'm able to share it all through song!

How does it feel to be doing this show in the same temple where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the "Future of Integration" speech in 1957?

It's incredible. For me, it really adds another level of meaning and significance to the show and the material. To be in the same place that this beautiful, gifted, visionary soul preached about a future free of segregation, the importance of non-violent protest, civil rights for all and brotherly love, to get to sing many of the songs that share these messages, and the fact that this year is the 30th Anniversary of MLK Jr. Day - just gives me the chills!

Are you working on any upcoming projects aside from this one?

I live in Los Angeles, and aside from concertizing regularly in a multitude of styles of music from Jazz, Rock, Folk and Blues to Klezmer and musical theater, as well as working as voice over dubbing artist for many Netflix films and series, I also voice the role of Miss Dogma on a new animated series called God's Gang. I just recorded the next episodes, which will be coming out soon! (Episode 1, called "Love Is In The Airhole," can be found on YouTube. In that episode, I voice Miss Dogma, along with some of the Reptilian aliens, as well as the whales!)

I also have a one-woman, musical show that I have written called Dating (And The Search For Love) that deals with the trials and tribulations of being 'out there' in search of The One! I've been performing the show, with all original songs and monologues, around Los Angeles, and am currently looking for a producer to help take it to the next proverbial level!

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I love being a part of the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene family. Zalmen Mlotek, Motl Didner and the whole gang at NYTF continue to produce incredibly meaningful and entertaining shows, and I'm just so happy to be returning to NYC for another performance of Soul to Soul.  For better or for worse, the themes of the show are as timely as ever, and I look forward to reuniting with my NYTF family to inspire, uplift and entertain our audience!

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Tickets to Soul to Soul are $36 for individuals and $72 for families (2 adults plus children).  To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.nytf.org

To preview the concert, click HERE

Video and more about Lisa Fishman’s show Dating (And The Search For Love), along with info on her other artistic endeavors, can be found at www.LisaFishman.com.

Header photo of Lisa Fishman by Steve Handwerker

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