National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Presents Early Yiddish Theatre And Vaudeville And From The Yiddish Rialto To The Silver Screen

Two concert productions that explore the Yiddish theatre's golden age will be presented by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) this season. Early Yiddish Theatre and Vaudeville will be presented on February 11 at 2 pm. From the Yiddish Rialto to the Silver Screen will be performed on March 11 at 2 pm. Both will be performed Off Broadway at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, NYC.

Both concerts are part of a series featuring familiar songs performed alongside newly rediscovered hits with restored orchestrations. The series is brought to life under NYTF's Global Yiddish Theatre Restoration Project. This initiative brings history to life by reviving the lost and forgotten pieces of the Yiddish stage, rebuilding the production from the ground up. The restoration concerts are curated by Motl Didner, with Zalmen Mlotek. Arrangements and orchestrations are by Zalmen Mlotek, and Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch. As with other NYTF events, all Yiddish is accompanied by English supertitles.

On February 11, Early Yiddish Theatre and Vaudeville features rarely heard songs from earliest stirrings of Yiddish theatre in the taverns of Romania in the 1870s through the operettas, operas and musicals that filled 2,000-seat theatres along Second Avenue during its Golden Age in the 1910s and 1920s. The repertoire includes hits by Goldfaden and Rumshinsky, Starring Daniel Greenwood (The Mikado), Cameron Johnson (The Golden Bride), Raquel Nobile (Amerike - The Golden Land), Rachel Policar (The Golden Bride), Daniella Rabbani (The Golden Land) and Adam Shapiro (The Golden Bride), and featuring the Uptown Downtown Orchestra conducted by Zalmen Mlotek.

The musical rediscovery continues on March 11 with From the Yiddish Rialto to the Silver Screen. The audience will enjoy songs from jazz-infused Yiddish musicals, hits made popular on the Yiddish radio, and melodies accompanied by film clips from the Yiddish musical cinema of the 1930s and 1940s. This restoration concert stars: Daniel Greenwood (The Mikado), Cameron Johnson (The Golden Bride), Raquel Nobile (Amerike - The Golden Land), Rachel Policar (The Golden Bride), Daniella Rabbani (The Golden Land), and Steve Sterner (The Sorceress), and features the Uptown Downtown Orchestra conducted by Zalmen Mlotek.

"National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is a living, evolving force in the performing arts. With these concerts, we are honoring Yiddish theatre's golden legacy, while at the same time connecting the audience to themes and human emotions that resonate, whether that is the loneliness of living in an adopted land or the joys and pains of love," said Christopher Massimine, CEO of NYTF.

Tickets to Early Yiddish Theatre and Vaudeville and From the Yiddish Rialto to the Silver Screen start at $35. Series ticket packages are available. For tickets call 866-811-4111 or visit www.NYTF.org. For groups and membership call 212-213-2120 Ext. 204. All performances are accompanied by Yiddish supertitles.

Now celebrating its 103rd season, Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk 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. Led by CEO Christopher Massimine and Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek, 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 general 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.

Upcoming events with NYTF include Song of the Lodz Ghetto with Brave Old World on April 18 at 7:00 pm. A rare New York appearance by one of the world's leading klezmer groups starring four internationally renowned musicians who have expertly curated a collection of songs, at once moving and rousing, which sustained the spirits of the Jews in the notorious Lodz Ghetto. Don't miss the American Premiere of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish beginning July 4 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Experience Fiddler on the Roof in a new way- in Yiddish, the language of Tevye and his family! The rich Yiddish translation (with English and Russian supertitles) adds new depth and dimension to the most well-known Jewish musical in the world. More information can be found at www.NYTF.org.

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