National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Announces Cast And Cameos In: A YIDDISH RENAISSANCE

This July, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will bring together more than 140 actors, singers and musicians from across globe for a sensational, one-time event - A Yiddish Renaissance: A Virtual Concert Celebration - filled with music and appearances by some of the most renowned Yiddish performers, and featuring special greetings from Emanuel (Manny) Azenberg, Judy Blazer, Joel Grey, Barry Manilow, Mandy Patinkin, Itzhak Perlman, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

The benefit concert - debuting on Monday, July 26th at 2:00 PM (ET) and available to view through Friday, July 30th at 2:00 PM (ET) - will feature excerpts from some of the most memorable hits from NYTF's critically acclaimed and award-winning productions as well as sneak peeks of upcoming productions. Stars from across the United States, Israel, England, Germany, Scotland, and the Netherlands will share the screen together.

Registration is required at www.nytf.org/renaissance. Donations are not required but suggested to help support National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's programming.

A Yiddish Renaissance: A Virtual Concert Celebration features four generations of performers from 8 to 89 years old. Among those directing and editing the special presentation are: Joanne Borts, Ben Liebert, Stephanie Lynne Mason, Elisha Mlotek, Merete Muenter, Tony Perry, Eleanor Reissa, Allen Lewis Rickman, and Adam B. Shapiro. The event features musical arrangements by Frank London and D. Zisl Slepovitch. The entire event is produced by NYTF's Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner, creator of the hit online show "15 Minute Yiddish."

Audiences who either saw our productions or who never saw our productions will be treated to short segments especially created for this virtual event. For instance, NYTF's most recent production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish will be one of the highlighted shows presented with the original cast coming together just for this event. The audience will see magical moments from Drama Desk nominees On Second Avenue and Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride); Drama Desk Award winner Di Yam Gazlonim (Yiddish Pirates of Penzance); Amerike The Golden Land; and, Kids and Yiddish, as well as other favorites. Many of the numbers will feature a virtual 30-piece orchestra.

The stellar cast to date includes: Bob Ader; Aaron Alexander; Glenn Seven Allen; Michael Alpert; Zoë Aqua; Jennifer Babiak; Nanci Belmont; Alan Bern; Joanne Borts; Alexandrina Boyanova; Stuart Breczinski; Lauren Brody; Mark Broschinsky; Rebecca Brudner; Mendy Cahan; Clyde Daley; Peter DelGrosso; Josh "Socalled" Dolgin; Charlie Dresdner; Johnny Dresdner; Sruli Dresdner; Michael Einav; Lisa Fishman; Cantor Magda Fishman; Audrey Flores; Elise Frawley; Alexandra Frohlinger; Kirk Geritano; John Giesige; Brian Glassman; Abby Goldfarb; Sarah Mina Gordon; Joel Grey; Samantha Hahn; Stephen Mo Hanan; Richard Harrell; Stacey Harris; Cantor Netanel Hershtik; Jordan Hirsch; Avi Hoffman; Jackie Hoffman; Dmitry Ishenko; Maya Jacobson; Cameron Johnson; Josh Johnson; Daniel Kahn; Andrew Keltz; Rebecca Keren; Ben Kiley; Sophie Knapp; Rebecca Levy; Ben Liebert; Daniel Linden; Shura Lipovsky; Frank London; Joseph Mace; Dani Marcus; Stephanie Lynne Mason; Lisa Mayer; Evan Mayer; Laura Melnicoff; Avram Mlotek; Elisha Mlotek; Ravi Mlotek; Sarah Mlotek; Zalmen Mlotek; Rosie Jo Neddy; Oren Neiman; Raquel Nobile; Tony Park; Tony Perry; Rachel Policar; Jonathan Quigley; Daniella Rabbani; Nick Raynor; Bruce Rebold; Eleanor Reissa; Grant Richards; Allen Lewis Rickman; Jenny Romaine; Bruce Sabath; Peter Saleh; Marissa Mlotek Schonbrun; Hannah Scott;

Kayleen Seidl; Drew Seigla; Adam B. Shapiro; Merlin Shepherd; Polina Shepherd; Yelena Shmulenson; Valeriya Sholokhova; Jake Shulman-Ment; Lorin Sklamberg; Steven Skybell; D. Zisl Slepovitch; Dinah Slepovitch; Jodi Snyder; Steve Sterner; James Monroe Števko; Deborah Strauss; Ron Tal; Matt Temkin; Ira Khonen Temple; Lauren Jeanne Thomas; Una Tone, Bobby Underwood; Cantor Jeff Warschauer; Tatiana Wechsler; Michael Winograd; Mikhl Yashinsky; and, Rachel Zatcoff.

Also participating are Alumni of HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir: Liat Abada; Benjamin Atwater; Shachar Avraham; Nathaniel Bear; Yael Beer; Maya Behiri; Mira Davis; Max DuBoff; Gabi Faye; Joshua Gonzalez; Matthew Gonzalez; Zoe Grossman; Sam Joffe; Sophie Lee Landau; Devra Laserson; Talia Lefkowitz; Juliana Lynch; Emma Maier; Dena Kaye Phillips; Samuel Rosner; Joshua Sauer; Benjamin Sokol; and, March Szechter.

The event's promotional partners to date are: Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Jewish Community Relations Council, The Forward, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, YIVO, Yiddish Book Center, The Workers Circle, American Society for Jewish Music, Zamir Choral Foundation, Cantors Assembly, Yiddish Artists and Friends Actors Club, Yiddish Theatrical Alliance, Yiddishpiel Theater (Israel), TES (State Jewish Theater, Bucharest, Romania), Yung Yiddish (Israel), SKIF (Australia), Sholem Aleichem College (Australia), Kadimah (Australia), Yiddishkayt, Ashkenaz Foundation (Canada), KlezKanada (Canada), Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany), CYCO, and Hebrew Actors Foundation.

The concert celebrates the "Yiddish Renaissance," which began with the children of Holocaust survivors who grew up in Yiddish speaking homes and attended Yiddish summer camps. Members of this generation went on to become leaders and educators at the forefront of the klezmer and cultural revitalization which began in the 1970s and continues to grow with the flowering of online classes and the recently released Duolingo Yiddish language app; online Yiddish short films; Yiddish in mainstream films and drama series Shtisel and Unorthodox; new generations of Yiddish performers who have appeared in Yiddish theater productions in New York, Tel Aviv, Montréal, Bucharest, Warsaw, Melbourne and Paris; and, NYTF's presentation of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, which won multiple awards and went on to become the most popular production in its history.

A Yiddish Renaissance: A Virtual Concert Celebration also will pay tribute to NYTF Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek in celebration of his 70th birthday and 50-year career dedicated to Yiddish music and theatre. As he developed new productions and introduced young actors and singers to Yiddish theatre, Mlotek has brought NYTF to new heights as one of New York's premiere off-Broadway theatre companies and to international recognition, including bringing Joel Grey-directed Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish to life at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, and then moving it uptown to Stage 42 Off-Broadway.

The mid-summer celebration caps off an incredibly successful year of virtual performances and events amid the pandemic, from a Chanukah celebration and Yiddish Women's Playwrights Festival to living room concerts and "15 Minute Yiddish" lessons.

To post a comment, you must register and login.