Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel! Begins Previews Off-Broadway on March 15

Three one-acts of recent vintage by the Tony and Oscar-nominatEd Murray Schisgal will be presented by the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene in a unique evening celebrating the Jewish experience through the richly evocative prism of the Yiddish language. The world premiere of "Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!" begins previews Off-Broadway on Sunday March 15 at 2pm, and opens Thursday March 19 at 7pm. The show's limited 3-week engagement at The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue, runs through Sunday April 5. Tickets are on sale now and are available by phone at (800) 595-4849, or online at www.folksbiene.org

Comprised of the comic plays -- "The Pushcart Peddlers," "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Crying" and "74 Georgia Avenue" -- "Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!" chronicles the Jewish-American experience across three generations, in a sweeping panorama spanning early 20th century immigration through mid-century assimilation to the present day. The three -time Tony winning director Gene Saks, the stage and television actor Bob Dishy and Motl Didner direct one play each while pooling their talents with the translator Moishe Rosenfeld, a cast of eight, and with musical director Zalmen Mlotek who conceives the musical inter-actes.

As with all Folksbiene productions, "Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!" is fully accessible to non-Yiddish speakers through the use of simultaneous English and Russian supertitles whenever dialogue is in Yiddish. (Russian supertitles run throughout whether the action is in Yiddish or English.)

In "The Pushcart Peddlers," first performed in the early 80's, an off-the-boat-greenhorn getting his first glimpse the "gold-paved streets" of the Lower East Side is taught the ropes by an old hand who arrived two days earlier. Life moves quickly and so do both men's illusions. In "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Crying," which receives its world premiere here, a successful camera store owner finds something to cry about in every thing he sees. In "74 Georgia Avenue," which will be performed in both English and Yiddish, an older=2 0man visits the once Jewish Brooklyn of his youth and is surprised to see how much of the past has actually endured in the apartment where he lived. First published in the early 90's, "74 Georgia Avenue" has never been performed in the U.S. -- in English or in its unique Folksbiene adaptation combining both languages.

A native New Yorker, Murray Schisgal burst on the scene in 1963 with the Off-Broadway premiere of "The Typists and The Tiger" which earned him an Outer Critics Circle Award. His Broadway debut, "Luv" in 1965 earned him a Tony nomination for Best Play and Best Author. His other Broadway successes include "The Chinese & Doctor Fish," "All Over Town," "Twice Around the Park" and "An American Millionaire." His screenplay for the classic comedy "Tootsie" starring Dustin Hoffman, co-written with Larry Gelbart, took home a truckload of awards and honors, including the New York Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Screenplay.

Now in its record 94th consecutive se ason, the National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene is the longest-continuously-producing Yiddish theatre company in the world. Folksbiene received its Drama Desk Award in 2007 (for special achievement). A string of critically acclaimed crossover hits (including the Drama Desk-nominated "On Second Avenue" and Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" in Yiddish), as well as this season's widely praised "Gimpel Tam," continue to help the company broaden and diversify its audience.

Exposing three distinct snapshots of Jewish-American life in new York, "Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!" performs 23 times. Performances begin Sunday March 15 at 2pm. Schedule as follows: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2pm & 8pm, Saturdays at 8:30pm and Sundays at 2pm & 6pm. Tickets, which are $55 and $45, can be purchased by phone at (800) 595-4849, or online at www.folksbiene.org. Tickets to the red carpet opening on March 19 at 7pm are $100. For more information visit www.folksbiene.org. The state-of-the-art JCC in Manhattan, where Folksbiene is in residence for a sixth straight season, is located at 334 Amsterdam Avenue (76th Street).

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