SACRED RIGHTS, SACRED SONG, A SERVICE FOR THE SACRED CENTER Makes Off Broadway Debut

Mourning Doves Rising in association with Amas Musical Theater, Donna Trinkoff Artistic Producer, Jonathan S. Cerullo / JSCTheatricals and Sharon Litwinoff will present Sacred Rights, Sacred Song, A Service for the Sacred Center on Wednesday September 11 and Sunday September 22 at 7:00 pm.

Created by artist/activist and Broadway producer, Francine M. Gordon in collaboration with Dr. J. A. Kawarsky, Sacred Rights, Sacred Song - A Concert of Concern, premiered in Cleveland, Ohio on November 6, 2010. Between 2010 and 2016, concerts of concern were produced in Atlanta, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and in the Israeli cities of Jerusalem, Kfar Saba, and Beit Shean. These concerts asked difficult questions about the obvious conflicts within Israeli society between right-wing Public Jewish law and the aspiration to live by liberal democratic values.

Now, 14 years later, Israel's existence as a sovereign state, defined by both liberal democratic values and core Jewish values, is under the greatest threat since Her founding 76 years ago. The ongoing armed conflict between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran's heavily armed proxies at Israel's borders has been toxic for all people of goodwill in the Holy Land. The hatred and fear of the past 24 years, exacerbated by excessive right-wing ideologies in both Palestinian and Israeli civil societies, has taken the great project of the Jewish People off course.

Composed by Gerald Cohen, J. A. Kawarsky, Naomi Less, Elliot Z. Levine, Benjie Ellen Schiller and featuring artists Naomi Cohen, Francine M. Gordon, Glenn Grossman, Shy Kedmi, Naomi Less, Sharon Litwinoff, and David Steinberg, Sacred Rights, Sacred Song returns to the stage using choral music and spoken word to bring the voice of the Moral Middle to the conversation about the future of the Holy Land in a concerted and harmonious way. Music Consultants are Matt Castle and Frank Galgano and the staged work is directed by Jonathan S. Cerullo.

The concert on Wednesday, September 11 @ 7:00 PM will be at Theater 555 located at 555 West 42nd St. NYC. Reservations required. Please use the link for this performance. FREE ADMISSION https://www.eventbrite.com/e/976081464937

The concert on Sunday, September 22 at 7:00 pm will be at Ansche Chesed located at 251 W 100th St, NYC. No Reservation required for this performance. FREE ADMISSION

Francine M. Gordon (Producer) is an artist/activist, philanthropist, writer, lyricist, singer, investor, producer, and community volunteer. Prior to moving to New York City from Cleveland in 2014, Ms. Gordon spent decades as a professional volunteer with a primary focus on Jewish and Israel-related issues. As a result, she has a nuanced and sophisticated view of the complicated situation between Israel and Palestine. In 2010, Ms. Gordon wrote and produced a multi-composer oratorio, "Sacred Rights, Sacred Song" which has been presented in the United States and Israel. In collaboration with the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, she co-wrote the narration for "We Are Still Here", an exploration of the Holocaust through Music and Memory. Sung by the Western Wind and narrated by Tony Award-winner Danny Burstein and the Tony Award-nominated actress, Jessica Hecht. The program became available for distribution by Public Radio International in November 2016. Since Ms. Gordon began her role as an investor in 2013, her investments have won a total of 21 Tony Awards, notably the revival of Pippin, Something Rotten, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Hadestown, Funny Girl and Parade. As an enhancer, Ms. Gordon very proudly brought The Scottsboro Boys, the provocative musical by David Thompson, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, to The Beck Center in Lakewood, Ohio. The production, presented in February of 2020, was the annual collaboration with the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music's Music Theater program under the direction of Victoria Bussert, the award-winning American theatre director. It was the Beck Center's last production before Covid-19 shut down the theater and George Floyd's murder spotlighted the tragic trajectory of America's acceptance of systemic injustice. Francine is a graduate of The University of Michigan, the Boston University School of Law as well as the Commercial Theater Institute. She is an active participant as a donor and volunteer with the UJA-Federation of New York, sits on the Boards of the Zamir Choral Foundation, and Amas Musical Theater, and served as the Board Chair of the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble. Ms. Gordon sings in the Zamir Chorale, Shirei Chesed and the Shireinu Choir of Long Island and performs with AfterWork Theater. On a final note, Ms. Gordon has found her spiritual home at Congregation Ansche Chesed on the Upper West Side.

JSCTheatricals LLC (Executive Producer & Director) specializes in special events, fundraising galas, large-scale events, staged readings, and award ceremonies. They have executive produced, Feinstein's | 54 Below & NYPL Lincoln Center, Legs Diamond Reunion Concert, associate producer and dance consultant, "En Pointe" National Society of Arts and Letters, Conrack (York Theatre Development Staged Reading) producer, 27th Annual "Joe A. Callaway Awards For Excellence In The Craft And Art Of Directing And Choreography" (Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation), executive producer and director, "American Circus Awards 2nd Annual Celebration of American Circus" honoring Bill Irwin (Lincoln Center 2016), executive producer, Orphan Train, The Musical Centennial Celebrations (Grand Central Terminal 2013). Clients have included Columbia University, Wynton Marsalis, Buglisi Dance Theatre, The Theatre Museum, Fes Festival Morocco, Sam Waterston, Abigail Disney, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Leymah Gbowee, Philip Glass, Interfaith Center of NY.

Sharon Litwinoff (Associate Producer/Artist) is an artivist aiming to help people connect and join her in building a more empathetic world. Highlights: An Interpretation of Anna (Neurodivergent New Play Series); Body of Women (4thU Artivists). She has written, produced, and performed two Sharon Shows at the Triad Theater - TENSE and Tangent. www.sharonlitwinoff.com

Amas Musical Theatre is a non-profit, multi-ethnic theatrical organization founded in 1968 by Ms. Rosetta LeNoire. Amas ("you love" in Latin) is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals through the celebration of diversity and minority perspectives, the emergence of new artistic talent, and the training and encouragement of undeserved young people in the New York area. Amas celebrates its impact in pioneering multi-ethnic casting in the American Theatre and reiterates its commitment to this reflection of our diverse society.

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