National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Launches Folksbiene LIVE!

If audiences cannot go to Broadway right now, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (Folksbiene) will bring the stage to them. Starting this week, the longest consecutively producing theatre in the U.S. and the world's oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company is launching Folksbiene LIVE!, an online celebration of Yiddish culture featuring livestreamed theater, American Jewish performers, workshops, and other events-including a talkback with the cast of the award-winning Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish-to entertain audiences young and old.

The Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning Folksbiene-led by Zalmen Mlotek, Artistic Director and Dominick Balletta, Executive Director, and headquartered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Battery Park City-will present the series while many Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters temporarily suspend productions amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

"We recognize that in times such as these, as people are socially distancing themselves, arts and culture can serve as a tonic, and we are doing what we can to bring solace and a modicum of joy to our audience and foster connection and community," Zalmen Mlotek said. "During these troubling times, we look to inspirational or humorous songs, and celebrate our Yiddish culture, its influence, and how it manifested itself in America in the creative minds of people like Mickey Katz, Allan Sherman, and Tom Lerer, among many others."

"We also will invite our audience to recommend what they want to see and hear, whether music and song, dance, or inspirational dialogues," added Dominick Balletta. "Yiddish has always been a way of connecting with friends and communities. As we witnessed with Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, it provides a window into a whole people and culture. As global citizens during this time of crisis, we want to help the community and the world around us; and we have been incredibly moved by those who have contacted us to ask what they can do to help."

Folksbiene LIVE! will appear on Folksbiene's Facebook platform -

https://www.facebook.com/folksbiene/-starting this Tuesday, and the upcoming schedule can be found on Folksbiene's website at www.nytf.org.

Week One

· Tuesday, March 17 (7:00 PM) - Folksbiene Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek's Living Room Concert

· Wednesday, March 18 (1:00 PM) - Folksbiene Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner presents Yiddish Theater: Past, Present and Future (Part 1)

· Thursday, March 19 (1:00 PM) - Folksbiene Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner presents Yiddish Theater: Past, Present and Future (Part 2)

· Friday, March 20 (5:00 PM) - Allan Sherman on a Friday Early Evening, with Ben Liebert (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish) and Blair Alexis Brown (Goldstein)

Week Two

· Monday, March 23 (2:00 PM) - Fiddler on The Roof in Yiddish's Stephanie Lynn Mason and Drew Siegla present Love Duets Lunchtime Concert, followed by a Q&A with online audience members.

· Tuesday, March 24 (7:00 PM) - The Sorceress' Dylan Seders Hoffman presents Lider un Mayses far Zise Khaloymes - Stories and Songs for Sweet Dreams: An Event for the Whole Family"

Folksbiene will announce the dates and times of additional presentations - involving notable Yiddish celebrities and performers such as the cast of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and Avi Hoffman-in the coming days. Fans should visit Folksbiene's website and follow the theatre on Twitter and Instagram at @folksbiene for additional content and messages. They can also sign up at www.nytf.org for Folksbiene LIVE! e-news alerts about upcoming presentations.

"The Folksbiene has produced performances in every season since 1915. We have inspired and lifted spirits through many ups and downs. And we are so proud of our family of performers who are dedicated to sharing their talents in the service of others. The show must go on," said Motl Didner.

-Folksbiene's Presentation of The Tenth Man Begins Previews on May 17-

Later this spring, NYTF will present The Tenth Man, the Tony-nominated play by Paddy Chayefsky (the three-time Academy Award-winning author of Network, Marty, and The Hospital) in a newly commissioned Yiddish translation, directed by Tony Award-nominated director Eleanor Reissa.

NYTF continues to monitor the virus' impact on New York, but currently, The Tenth Man is set to be performed in previews from May 17 to 21 (matinee) and performances from May 21 (evening) to June 11, Off Broadway at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, NYC.

The Tenth Man, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, is an American retelling of the dybbuk story as a touching human comedy in which we must question who is really possessed: the young passionate religious granddaughter of one of the elderly congregants, or the successful yet cynical Manhattan lawyer? This play captures the struggle between Jewish generations, youth and old age, cynics and believers, and scientists and mystics-with a moving and surprising outcome.

Tickets start at $39 for previews and $49 for regular season-and are available at www.NYTF.org. The Tenth Man will be performed in Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles. Visit NYTF.org or call 866-811-4111. For group sales and membership, call 212-213-2120 Ext. 204.

The Tenth Man is part of NYTF's season of "Spiritual Resistance," which features artistic and theatrical works that explore themes of struggle against oppression. The programming provides artistic expression concurrent with the exhibition Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away. being presented at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

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