Batsheva Concert and Play Reading Highlight Hanukkafest ’22
Next week, Hanukkah will be celebrated by the YI Love Jewish organization at the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center in the third annual HanukkahFest ’22 with a staged reading of the play “Nobel Laurente: Mr. Singer And His Demons” by co-authors Miriam Hoffman and Rena Berkowicz Borow.
That’s set for Wednesday, Dec. 21 and then a concert featuring songs in English, Hebrew, Ladino and Yiddish by Batsheva on Thursday, Dec. 22.
The third annual HanukkahFest staged reading at the Miami Beach JCC will also be performed at the Levis Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton on Tuesday, Dec. 20 and the concert by Batsheva will be at the Levis JCC on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Batsheva
HanukkahFest ’22 and the YI Love Jewish organization is founded, guided and inspired by actor Avi Hoffman, known to South Florida audiences for decades for his one-man funny music shows such as “Too Jewish”, Too Jewish Two” and “Still Jewish After All These Years”, all which he wrote and performed, among other plays in South Florida.
The 64-year-old actor is especially enthusiastic about the growth of Yiddish and it use in both Miami Beach JCC events at HanukkahFest ’22..
“Yiddish is my mother tongue. Being a child of Holocaust survivors, I was brought up with the depth of Yiddish culture, language which is a legacy which will continue to grow and flourish,” says Hoffman.
“Hanukkah is a time of miracles. What we are doing is bringing together Batsheva, who performs songs in Yiddish and the play reading co-written by my mother (Miriam Hoffman) and Rena Berkowicz Borow, about the great Yiddish writer and Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer,” he says.
Fighting Antisemitism through the Arts: Yi Love HANUKKAHFEST ‘22
YI Love Jewish (Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc) will celebrate Hanukkah by presenting live events in South Florida with a ‘miraculous’ gathering of Jewish celebrities.
Almost everyone knows the ancient miracle of Hanukkah: a drop of oil that should have lasted only one day but instead lasted for eight days to light the menorah in The Holy Temple after the Maccabees re-claimed it from the Greeks.
As Hanukkah is a season of miracles for Jews all around the world, YILoveJewish.org, is presenting their 3rd annual YI Love HanukkahFest from December 20-December 24 with a LIVE lineup of entertainment and educational programming that is nothing short of miraculous after the long Covid winter.
“Hanukkah is a time of miracles,” said Avi Hoffman, YI Founder and CEO. “What we are doing is bringing together leading Jewish and Yiddish cultural figures from all over the world for this year’s YI Love HanukkahFest ‘22. Some of the festival’s events are free to the public because our mission is to fight antisemitism through the arts.”
The festival opens with a reading of the play “Noble Laureate: Mr. Singer & His Demons” by Miriam Hoffman & Rena Berkowicz Borow, starring Avi Hoffman as the Nobel prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer, who spent the last and most productive years of his life on Miami Beach. This play explores the parallels between Singer’s family members and some of his fictional characters while navigating the complex mindset which gave rise to Singer’s creative genius.
The headliner for this year’s festival is award-winning singer/songwriter/musician Batsheva who will be performing her internationally acclaimed one-woman concert. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Batsheva performs music in Yiddish, Ladino Hebrew and English and is frequently featured on Raquel Zucker’s Yiddish radio and other Jewish radio shows in the USA while touring and performing around the world.
The festival closes with an encore performance of “Stars of David” presented by YI Love Jewish and Temple Torat Emet in Boynton Beach. The concert, based on the best-selling book, “Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish” by Abigail Pogrebin, features Musical Director Caryl Fantel and singers Shira Ginsburg, Eytan Deray and Avi Hoffman. “Stars of David” adapts the stories of well-known Jewish personalities into humorous and touching songs.
From Miami Beach To Boca, ‘Yiddish Fest ’22’ Celebrates A Culture For Both Young and Old
“Yidlife Crisis” duo Eli Batalion, Jamie Elmance on the beach with computer laptops from the YouTube “Yidlife Crisis” video web series.
The fourth annual, six-day YiddishFest ’22 kicks off Tuesday with multiple events celebrating the Yiddish language through concerts, staged readings, comedy sketches on stage and video plus comic monologues. The events begin on Tuesday, Aug. 30 and run through Sunday, Sept. 4 at venues in Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, Boca Raton, and Coral Springs.
The YiddishFest is founded, guided and inspired by actor Avi Hoffman, known to South Florida audiences for decades of his one-man shows such as “Too Jewish, Too Jewish Two,” which he both wrote and performed in addition to productions across South Florida.
The 64-year-old actor is especially enthusiastic about the growth of Yiddish. “Yiddish is my mother tongue. Being a child of Holocaust survivors, I was brought up with the depth of Yiddish culture, language which is a legacy which will continue to grow and flourish,” said Hoffman.
“As I joked in ‘Too Jewish,’ over 300 years ago, historians predicted the death of Yiddish. Those historians are dead. Yiddish is thriving. The future of Yiddish is bright.”
The 4th Annual Yi Love Yiddishfest ’22 Returns Live This Year!
August 30th – September 4th, 2022
The event brings six days of cultural events, including concerts, plays, lectures, and live entertainment, after two years of online events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founded by actor/comedian and Coral Springs resident Avi Hoffman (known for his “Too Jewish” trilogy) who’s CEO of the Yiddishkayt Initiative and YI Love Jewish, the first event was held in 2018 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach. This year’s events will take place Broward County, Boca Raton, and Miami Beach.
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The 4th Annual Yi Love Yiddishfest ’22 Is Live In South Florida
August 30th – September 4th, 2022
South Florida, FL – The 4th Annual YI Love YiddishFest ’22 (yiddishfest.org) is a six-day extravaganza of comedy, concerts and plays with contemporary Jewish celebrity headliners such as YidLife Crisis, Kosha Dillz, Avi Hoffman and a concert version of the NY hit musical Stars of David. With over ten events in all three South Florida counties, there’s something for the entire mishpukhe (family) to enjoy!
YidLife Crisis and Kosha Dillz are contemporary Jewish personalities and performers who have gone viral with their comedy and music videos.
Viewed by millions, Yidlife Crisis has collaborated with Mayim Bialik, Howie Mandel and many other Jewish celebrities. Kosha Dillz has performed with some of the top names in the world of Hip-Hop and Rap, including Fat Joe, Nissim Black and many others. His unique Jewish take on hip-hop has him participating in many shows including Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out, Madison Square Garden TV and international festivals and venues.
YiddishFest ’22
The 4th Annual YI Love YiddishFest ’22 (yiddishfest.org) is a six-day extravaganza of comedy, concerts and plays with contemporary Jewish celebrity headliners such as YidLife Crisis, Kosha Dillz, Avi Hoffman and a concert version of the NY hit musical Stars of David.
With over ten events in all three South Florida counties, there’s something for the entire mishpukhe (family) to enjoy!
YidLife Crisis and Kosha Dillz are contemporary Jewish personalities and performers who have gone viral with their comedy and music videos. Viewed by millions, Yidlife Crisis has collaborated with Mayim Bialik, Howie Mandel and many other Jewish celebrities. Kosha Dillz has performed with some of the top names in the world of Hip-Hop and Rap, including Fat Joe, Nissim Black and many others. His unique Jewish take on hip-hop has him participating in many shows including Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out, Madison Square Garden TV and international festivals and venues.
Yi Love Jewish Presents JEWSICAL! BROADWAY’S JEWISH COMPOSERS FROM SONDHEIM TO SCHWARTZ With Joshua Turchin
Yi Love Jewish Presents JEWSICAL! BROADWAY’S JEWISH COMPOSERS FROM SONDHEIM TO SCHWARTZ With Joshua TurchinThe virtual show will stream on July 12 at 7:00pm EST.
Enjoy a musical journey of influential Jewish composers who have left indelible marks on the history of Broadway with performer, musician, and composer Joshua Turchin. Hosted by YILoveJewish, the approximately 45 minute virtual show curated, written, sung, and played by Turchin is a delight for all ages to enjoy.
GableStage presenting BOCA a not-to-be-missed comedy
GableStage is presenting Boca by Jessica Provenz, a not-to-be-missed comedy about how a group of saucy retirees come together in the fictional gated community of Royal Oasis in Boca Raton.
Directed by Julianne Boyd, the legendary artistic director of the Berkshire’s Barrington Stage Company, Boca continues to May 22 and is available for streaming from Apr. 27 to May 22.
Described as “funny and… surprisingly touching” by The Wall Street Journal, Boca delivers laughs.
Pictured (l-r) are cast nembers: Deborah Kondelik, Barbara Bonilla, Robert Zukerman, Beverly Blanchette and Avi Hoffman.
(GableStage photo by Magnus Stark)
ROM 2ND AVENUE TO TIMES SQUARE – HOW THE YIDDISH THEATER INFLUENCED BROADWAY
On this episode my guest is acclaimed actor, singer, writer, producer and director Avi Hoffman who specializes in Jewish culture and Yiddish theater. His long running off-Broadway “Too Jewish” trilogy has been seen by millions on PBS and at theater venues around the world, and in 2016 he received rave reviews and a Drama Desk nomination for his performance as “Willy Loman” in the Yiddish language production of Death of Salesman. He is also the founder and CEO of the Yiddishkayt Initiative — a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Jewish culture.
‘Joe Papp at the Ballroom’ offers an up-close look at a legend
Joe Papp would have turned 100 this year, it is a good time to pay homage to the late legendary producer. His philosophical tenant was “theater for all.” Actually, Papp believed that live theater should be like the public library — free and open to all.
THEATER LEGEND SINGS AND REMINISCES IN GABLESTAGE WORLD PREMIERE
The GableStage world premiere of “Joe Papp at the Ballroom” aims to remind audiences of the influential impresario’s legacy. (Graphic courtesy of GableStage)
Just looking at actor-singer Avi Hoffman — creator and star of the popular “Too Jewish” shows, as well as a Carbonell Award winner for playing the adoring hubby in “Hairspray” at Actors’ Playhouse — you wouldn’t necessarily think of casting him as visionary New York Shakespeare Festival founder Joseph Papp.
L'Chaim
Celebrating ‘Yosl’: Joe Papp at 100
Players Circle Performing Arts Center at the Shell Factory is proud to announce its partnership with the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties and YI
Jewish (a Division of Yiddishkayt Initiative) to begin a series of Jewish themed programming at PLAYERS CIRCLE.
Avi Hoffman plays Papp in “Joe Papp at the Ballroom,” which is showing at the Players Circle theater at the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers from June 25-26.
THEATER ICON JOE PAPP, CREATOR OF NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AND THE PUBLIC THEATER, TO BE REMEMBERED AND HONORED AT 100TH BIRTHDAY COMMEMORATION
YI Love Jewish to Host “Celebrating ‘Yosl’: Joe Papp at 100” featuring a full day of live and virtual star-studded events and celebrity testimonials
Celebrating ‘Yosl’: Joe Papp at 100 Will Feature Renowned Actor/Singer Mandy Patinkin, The Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Papp Biographer Helen Epstein, among others on June 22, 2021