African American and Jewish Music Meet In Celebration Of Two Cultures: SOUL TO SOUL

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) production of Soul to Soul, the electrifying and emotionally captivating theatrical concert that explores the parallels of African American and Jewish history, will be presented virtually this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

This exhilarating and moving musical event, which previously played annually to sold out houses in New York City and across the country (Los Angeles, Houston, Boca Raton, Denver, Baltimore, Chattanooga) and internationally (Bucharest, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg), will be showcased for free-with registration-for the first time online.

Amid the pandemic, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene has ramped up its virtual offerings, presenting over 70 broadcasts-concerts, readings, Yiddish lessons, and benefits-and reaching more than 200,000 people. In early December, the Folksbiene Chanukah Spectacular-featuring close to 90 stars of Broadway and Yiddish theatre from across the globe-drew an international audience of more than 22,000.

Now in its tenth year, Soul to Soul features a star-studded cast of singers, including: Broadway veteran Elmore James (Disney's Beauty and The Beast; Big River), Cantor Magda Fishman (B'nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton), Tony Perry (NYTF's Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!), Lisa Fishman (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish), and Tatianna Wechsler (Oklahoma! at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; X: Or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation).

Wechsler, who has starred in several hit online productions, including Folksbiene LIVE! - Anywhere I Wander, and the Folksbiene Chanukah Spectacular, which drew tens of thousands of viewers from across the globe, and appeared in the Folksbiene's stage production of The Golden Bride, also will also produce and direct the program for a New Medium.

Motl Didner, NYTF Associate Artistic Director, wrote this year's concert script and curated images for the performance, which will run approximately 80 minutes.

"What 2020 has taught us is that we all need to work together if we are to claim A SHENERE UN BESERE VELT (a more beautiful and better world). Soul to Soul is a recognition of society's need to stand up for cultures that have been exposed to suppression, persecution and degradation. It is also a powerful statement of the necessity of building bridges if we are to become 'a more perfect union'," said Zalmen Mlotek, NYTF Artistic Director, and Dominick Balletta, NYTF Executive Director.

The annual concert will premiere on Monday, January 18 at www.nytf.org. All Yiddish songs will include English translation subtitles. The presentation will be available inclusively for viewing for 96 hours, until January 21.

Audiences must register in advance, beginning on January 4. Tickets are $12, plus service fees. Once a viewer starts to watch the show, they will have a 4-day window to complete viewing. For additional information, please email info@nytf.org.

Conceived in 2010 by Zalmen Mlotek, Soul to Soul was first designed as a song-cycle and has evolved since then to include an interwoven narrative accompanied by newly updated multimedia imagery and video, curated by Motl Didner, that reflects the ongoing need for unity and healing in today's socio-economic climate.

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