Photos: Inside Opening Night of AMID FALLING WALLS at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Check out photos from opening night of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's Amid Falling Walls!

Witness the resilience and hope that prevailed amid unimaginable darkness. Amid Falling Walls (Tsvishn Falndike Vent) is a groundbreaking musical, portraying the indomitable Jewish spirit during the Holocaust through Yiddish song.

Curated and arranged by Zalmen Mlotek, with a compelling libretto by Avram Mlotek, and directed by Motl Didner, this Off-Broadway production delves into the songs created and performed in ghettos, cabarets, partisan encampments, concentration camps, and clandestine theaters.

The musical weaves in first-hand testimony of Holocaust survivors through their poetry and music, preserving their authentic voices. Despite the tragic loss of many of the young creators, their songs come alive in this unprecedented Off-Broadway theatrical production. It stands as a tribute, narrating the true story of resistance and hope through the words and melodies of those who endured those harrowing times.

A substantial portion of the material we witness today is due to the tireless efforts of Shmerke Kaczerginski, a poet, partisan, and a member of the famed YIVO Paper Brigade. He dedicated years of his life post-war to collect the songs of those who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust.

The phrase “Tsvishn Falndike Vent” is a fragment of the “Partisan Hymn,” a poignant song written in 1943 in the Vilna Ghetto. Its powerful lyrics quickly spread through the forests, ghettos, and camps, becoming a rallying cry for many.

Many of the songs featured in Amid Falling Walls (Tsvishn Falndike Vent) were carefully curated by Yosl Mlotek, who served as the education director at the Jewish cultural organization, The Workers Circle, and Chana Mlotek, an ethnomusicologist and folklorist who served as the longstanding music archivist for The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Photo Credit: Daniel Rader

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