Inspire, Fulfill and Engage – Your Home for Jewish life in Jacksonville
Inspire, Fulfill and Engage – Your Home for Jewish life in Jacksonville
Now in its eleventh year, this audience favorite plays annually to sold out houses in New York, and has performed across the country (Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Denver, Baltimore, Chattanooga) and internationally (Bucharest, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg). The concert is a combination of spirituals in English, civil rights songs, Yiddish folk songs, and theatre songs. All Yiddish songs will include English translation subtitles.Conceived in 2010 by Zalmen Mlotek, Soul to Soul has evolved to include updated multimedia imagery and video, curated by Motl Didner, that reflects the ongoing need for unity and healing in today’s socio-economic climate.
The performance features a star-studded cast: Cantor Magda Fishman; Lisa Fishman (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish); Broadway veteran Elmore James (Disney’s Beauty and The Beast on Broadway; Big River); and, Tony Perry (NYTF’s Shpiel! Shpiel! Shpiel!), along with an all-star ensemble including Dmitri Zisl Slepovich, Brian Glassman and Matt Temki.
Lisa Fishman Singer, actress, songwriter, and guitarist Lisa Fishman has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe – starring in Off-Broadway and Regional Musical Theater, singing and recording her own original music, performing Jewish music, starring in Yiddish Theater productions, and concertizing in a broad range of musical styles. Highlights: “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish – dir. Joel Grey, “The Golden Bride” (Toybe), “Cabaret” (Sally Bowles), “On Second Avenue” (Principal), “Oliver” (Nancy), “Tintypes” (Fanny Brice/Emma Goldman), “Bruce Adler, A,B,C” (principal). Singer – Chicago’s Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Concert Highlights: Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Barbican Centre (London), Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna). Singing featured in the film, “Dummy,” starring Adrien Brody. www.LisaFishman.com / www.LisaFishmanJewishMusic.com
Cantor Magda Fishman, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s H.L. Miller Cantorial School in New York. As cantor and singer-musician, Cantor Fishman, a mezzo-soprano, brings a vibrant and unique experience to Jewish music and synagogue life through a unique blend of traditional and contemporary styles. Over the years, she has built a large and loving following among a wide spectrum of audiences. Her repertoire includes liturgical masterpieces, Israeli songs, jazz, musical theater and her own compositions. Prior to her investiture in May 2011, Cantor Fishman served in the Israeli Army Orchestra as vocal soloist and trumpet player. She has performed extensively in Israel and Europe, the United States and Canada including the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Canada, the 92nd Street Y Festival, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Walter Reade Theater, Prague State Opera, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Rose Theatre-Lincoln Center and Central Park summer stage. She is part of the group: Divas on the Bimah and Soul to Soul of the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater with maestro Zalmen Mlotek. She is the recipient of the prestigious America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship. Cantor Fishman lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she is the senior cantor of B’nai Torah congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Florida.
Elmore James has spent a lifetime in the theater as an actor, Broadway musical performer, international opera singer, and director. He has performed at all the major musical venues in New York City, including the Metropolitan Opera House and Carnegie Hall, as well as in the opera houses of Europe.
Zalmen Mlotek is an internationally recognized authority on Yiddish folk and theater music as well as a leading figure in the Jewish theatre and concert worlds. For the past 20 years, he has been the Artistic Director & conductor at National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. He brought Yiddish-Klezmer music to Broadway and Off-Broadway stages with the Tony-nominated Those Were the Days and Drama Desk Nominated Amerike – The Golden Land. He serves as Music Director for most NYTF productions, including the Drama Desk Nominated musical, THE GOLDEN BRIDE. His music can be heard in over two-dozen recordings and films, has taught & performed all over the world and worked with countless singers including Jan Peerce, Theodore Bikel and Mandy Patinkin. He is currently the musical director and conductor of critically acclaimed, award-winning Fidler Afn Dakh (Fiddler on the Roof – In Yiddish), directed by Joel Grey. He received his musical training at the Juilliard School of Music and studied under Leonard Bernstein.
ABOUT NATIONAL YIDDISH THEATRE FOLKSBIENE:
Now in its 109th season, the award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the US and the world’s oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF is in residence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek and Executive Director Dominick Balletta, NYTF is dedicated to creating a living legacy through the arts, connecting generations and bridging communities.
NYTF aims to bring history to life by reviving and restoring lost and forgotten work, commissioning new work, and adapting pre-existing work for the 21st Century. Serving a diverse audience comprised of performing arts patrons, cultural enthusiasts, Yiddish-language aficionados and the public, the company presents plays, musicals, concerts, lectures, interactive educational workshops and community-building activities in English and Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying performances. NYTF provides access to a century-old cultural legacy and inspires the imaginations of the next generation to contribute to this valuable body of work.
