STAGE TUBE: NYTF Welcomes State Jewish Theater of Warsaw Live in NYC

On November 18th, the Jewish State Theater of Warsaw performed in NYC for the first time since the 1980s. Below, watch a post-event synopsis of the event! The troupe hopes to return to NYC again in 2015.

The Shalom Organization and The National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene sponsored members of The State Jewish Theater of Warsaw and a Gala Concert called Mazel Tov, featuring popular Yiddish songs and comedic sketches with English translation supertitles. The show at the Museum of Jewish Heritage included an 8-piece orchestra with guest conductor Zalmen Mlotek of The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and other guest artists.

Members of The Ester Rachel and Ida Kaminska State Jewish Theater (also known as The State Jewish Theater) was named in honor of Polish mother and daughter stage stars Ester Rachel and Ida Kaminska. The New York visit was called Singer's New Yorkand was part of Singer's Warsaw Festival of Jewish Culture (named for Warsaw native and Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer) created by Golda Tencer and organized by the Shalom Foundation. It was part of a whirlwind tour that included sold out performances in Mexico City, LA, SF and one in Boston.

The Ester Rachel and Ida Kaminska Jewish Theater was founded in 1950, formed by a union of two of the only remaining Yiddish theater companies whose traditions were carried on by survivors of the then recent holocaust. In 1955 the fledgling company was granted a permanent home in the nation's recently rebuilt capital, Warsaw. Since then, the company has endured 45 years of communism and thrived under the westernization of Poland and stands today as a symbol of pride in 1,000 years of Jewish history in Eastern Europe. The theater cultivates the creativity of great Jewish drama. Its repertoire features the best works by Abraham Goldfaden, Mendele-Moykher Sforim, Sholom Aleichem, Isaac Leib Peretz and Jacob Gordin. The company was led by actor Szymon Szurmiej from 1970 until his recent passing. Leadership of the theater has been taken up by his wife Golda Tencer.

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