While Broadway stages and other theaters have closed due to coronavirus, one theater is looking to bring New Yorkers live theater experiences without having to leave your home.
Starting on Tuesday, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present Folksbiene LIVE!, an online celebration of Yiddish culture. Led by Zalmen Mlotek, Artistic Director and Dominick Balletta, Executive Director, and headquartered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the program will include livestreamed theater, American Jewish performers, workshops, and other events.
The plays will be livestreamed on facebook.com/folksbiene.
“We recognize that in times such as these, as people are socially distancing themselves, arts and culture can serve as a tonic, and we are doing what we can to bring solace and a modicum of joy to our audience and foster connection and community,” Mlotek said. “During these troubling times, we look to inspirational or humorous songs, and celebrate our Yiddish culture, its influence, and how it manifested itself in America in the creative minds of people like Mickey Katz, Allan Sherman, and Tom Lerer, among many others.”
The schedule of livestreams is as follows:
Week One
· Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m. – Folksbiene Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek’s Living Room Concert
· Wednesday, March 18, 1 p.m. – Folksbiene Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner presents Yiddish Theater: Past, Present and Future (Part 1)
· Thursday, March 19, 1 p.m. – Folksbiene Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner presents Yiddish Theater: Past, Present and Future (Part 2)
· Friday, March 20, 5 p.m. – Allan Sherman on a Friday Early Evening, with Ben Liebert (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish) and Blair Alexis Brown (Goldstein)
Week Two
· Monday, March 23, 2 p.m. – Fiddler on The Roof in Yiddish’s Stephanie Lynn Mason and Drew Siegla present Love Duets Lunchtime Concert, followed by a Q&A with online audience members.
· Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m. – The Sorceress’ Dylan Seders Hoffman presents Lider un Mayses far Zise Khaloymes – Stories and Songs for Sweet Dreams: An Event for the Whole Family”
Folksbiene will announce the dates and times of additional presentations – involving notable Yiddish celebrities and performers such as the cast of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and Avi Hoffman—in the coming days.
“We also will invite our audience to recommend what they want to see and hear, whether music and song, dance, or inspirational dialogues,” added Balletta. “Yiddish has always been a way of connecting with friends and communities. As we witnessed with “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, it provides a window into a whole people and culture. As global citizens during this time of crisis, we want to help the community and the world around us; and we have been incredibly moved by those who have contacted us to ask what they can do to help.”
For more information, visit www.nytf.org.
