Jump to content

Folksbiene

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the German theater, seeVolksbühne.
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
AddressEdmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place
New York City
United States
TypeYiddish Theatre,Performing Arts
Opened1915
Website
www.nytf.org

TheNational Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene,commonly known as NYTF, is a professional theater company in New York City which produces bothYiddish playsand plays translated intoYiddish,in a theater equipped with simultaneous superscript translation into English. The company's leadership consists of executive directorDominick Ballettaand artistic directorZalmen Mlotek.The board is co-chaired by Sandra Cahn and Carol Levin.

History

[edit]

Folksbiene(Yiddish:פֿאָלקסבינע,IPA:[ˈfɔlksˌbɪnə],People's Stage) was founded in 1915, under the auspices of thefraternaland Yiddish cultural organizationWorkmen's Circle,[1]on New York City’sLower East Side,as anamateur theatregroup with high artistic ideals.[2]It is the oldest consecutively producing theater company in the United States, English or Yiddish, commercial or not.[3]The era when it was founded is considered to be the height ofYiddish theater;at the time there were 15 Yiddish theatre companies in theYiddish Theater Districtin New York and many more worldwide. Due to the destruction ofEuropean Jewryby theGerman Nazis,the Folksbiene is one of only five professional Yiddish theatre companies still in operation; also in New York City is the New Yiddish Rep, and the others are inBucharest,WarsawandTel Aviv.[1]

In late 2017, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene announced that it would stage the American premiere ofFiddler on the Roofin Yiddish, which has not been staged since its world premiere production in Israel more than 50 years ago.[4]It was announced in a March 2018 issue of Forbes Magazine that Academy Award winner-and-Tony Award winnerJoel Greywould direct the production.[5]Their productionFidler Afn Dakhhad its first preview on July 4, 2018.[6]The opening performance was July 15, 2018.[6]The production won the 2019 Drama Desk Award For Best Musical Revival.

The company's 2006 production ofDi Yam Gazlonim,a Yiddish adaptation ofThe Pirates of Penzance,by Al Grand, was nominated for the 2007Drama Desk Awardfor Outstanding Musical Revival, and their 2012/13 Off Broadway production ofThe Golden Landwas nominated for the 2013Drama Desk Awardfor outstanding Musical Revival. In the summer of 2012, Folksbiene announced their plans to create an international Festival of new works in celebration of their Centennial in 2015. A play contest accompanying the festival was juried by producer Emanuel Azenberg; the Tony Award-winning composer and songwriter Jason Robert Brown ( "Parade" ), and the playwrights Joe DiPietro (Tony Award for "Memphis" ); Obie Award-winning Israel Horovitz, and Pulitzer Prize finalist Jon Marans ( "Old Wicked Songs" ).

A revival of the 1923 operettaThe Golden Bridein 2015/16 drew press attention as aNew York TimesTheatre Critics Pick and garnered Drama Desk awards as well.[7][8]The Folksbiene was a producer on the 2015/16 Broadway play "Indecent."

In the Fall of 2017, the company staged an enhanced production of Abraham Goldfadn'sThe Sorceressas part of their restoration project – an endeavor that will restore lost or nearly lost Yiddish works to the canon of Yiddish culture.[9]A fully stage production was mounted two years later in December 2019.

In 2022, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene presentedHarmony: A New Musical,the New York debut of the musical byBarry Manilowand his longtime collaboratorBruce Sussman.The musical tells the true story of theComedian Harmonists,an ensemble of six talented young men in 1920s Germany who took the world by storm. The show ran at theMuseum of Jewish Heritagefrom March 23 to May 8, 2022.[10]

Production history

[edit]
  • 2019: Hannah Senesh,The Sorceress,Harmony: A New Musical,The Tenth Man
  • 2018: Early Yiddish Theatre and Vaudeville Concert,Fidler Afn Dakh
  • 2017:Amerike the Golden Land,The Sorceress
  • 2016:Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride)
  • 2015:The Dybbuk,Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride)
  • 2014:The Megile of Itzik Manger
  • 2013:The Megile of Itzik Manger,Lies My Father Told Me
  • 2012:Shlemiel The First,The Golden Land
  • 2011:The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer
  • 2010:Fyvush Finkel Live!,New Worlds: A Celebration of I. L. Peretz. A Gilgul Fun a Nigun (The Metamorphosis of a Melody),The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer
  • 2009:Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears,Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!]
  • 2008:Gimpel Tam,Di Ksube (The Marriage Contract)
  • 2006:Di Yam Gazlonim! (The Yiddish Pirates of Penzance), Bruce Adler in In a Guter Sho: A Yiddish Vaudeville
  • 2005:On Second Avenue
  • 2004:Di Kaprizne Kale (A Novel Romance),On Second A
  • 2002:Yentl,The Mazldiker Mystery Tour: A Kids and Yiddish Adventure
  • 2001:Kids and Yiddish 2001: A Space Mishegas – Spinning off in New Directions, Songs of Paradise: A Yiddish-English Musical
  • 2000:An American Family: A Musical Saga
  • 1999:Yoshke Muzikant (A Klezmers Tale)
  • 1998:Zise Khaloymes (Sweet Dreams)

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ab"HistoryArchived2019-03-06 at theWayback Machine".National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. nytf.org. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  2. ^Sandrow, Nahma (1996).Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater.Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press (first published 1977 by Harper & Row).ISBN9780815603290.p. 258.
  3. ^Shephard, Richard F. and Levi, Vicki Gold (2000).Live & Be Well: A Celebration of Yiddish Culture in America.Rutgers University Press. p. 56.
  4. ^Passy, Charles (2017-12-21)."N.Y. Theater Company Will Present an All-Yiddish 'Fiddler'".The Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Retrieved2018-02-11.
  5. ^Levere, Jane (2018-03-16)."Joel Grey To Direct US Premiere Of 'Fiddler On The Roof' In Yiddish In New York This Summer".Forbes Magazine.Retrieved2018-03-20.
  6. ^abSoloski, Alexis (2018-06-28)."7 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend".The New York Times.Retrieved2018-07-06.
  7. ^Schleier, Carl (8 December 2015)."A classic Yiddish operetta, revived for a new generation".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.Retrieved23 February2016.
  8. ^Barone, Joshua (28 August 2015)."A Yiddish Operetta, Once Lost, Will Receive Its Full First Staging in 70 Years".The New York Times.Retrieved23 February2016.
  9. ^"National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to Revive Lost Yiddish Operetta The Sorceress".TheaterMania.Retrieved2017-11-09.
  10. ^Gans, Andrew (13 April 2022)."Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's Harmony Opens Off-Broadway April 13".Playbill.Retrieved6 May2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toFolksbiene.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Folksbiene&oldid=1222512090"