(Courtesy of Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
The National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene will begin its 97th season with the concert Soul to Soul, which explores the intersections between Yiddish and African-American musical folk traditions with an inter-racial cast.
Created by Zalmen Mlotek, and starring Lisa Fishman, Elmore James and Tony Perry, the concert kick off the sixth season of Folksbiene’s highly praised City University of New York outreach series with performances on four CUNY campuses (Lehman, Brooklyn College, Queens College, CUNY Graduate Center), September 19-22.
The company’s Fall Mainstage production is the first New York revival of the klezmer musical Shlemiel the First, conceived and adapted by Robert Brustein from Nobel Prize laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s folktale. Lyrics are by Arnold Weinstein, with music composed, adapted and orchestrated by Hankus Netsky; arrangements and additional music by Zalmen Mlotek and editorial supervision, direction and choreography by David Gordon.
The piece follows the naive beadle Shlemiel, who is sent on a pilgrimage to spread the wisdom of the local sages. His simple-minded folly turns an already absurd world hilariously, and redemptively, topsy-turvy. As previously reported, the work is co-produced by Theatre for a New Audience, and will play New York University’s Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, December 13-31.
For tickets and more information, click here.
