East Towards Home

East Towards Home by Billy Yalowitz brings to life three generations of Jewish left-wing culture in New York City, combining tales of radical choreographers of the 1930’s and 40’s, texts and songs from Woody Guthrie, and first-person stories of the author’s NYC Jewish left-wing childhood in the 1960’s and 70’s. With loose-limbed storytelling, visual projections, animation, modern dance and live music, it offers a personal and impassioned look at the culture and history of the American Jewish radical left-wing community at a time when this legacy is in danger of passing into obscurity.

At its heart, “East Towards Home” is a coming of age tale that starts out in the author’s boyhood, in an era when Jewish left-wing urban culture was fading. It zigzags back and forth in time, juxtaposing memories of his cross-country hitchhiking journey in the 1970’s with scenes