NYTF Sets Fall 2015 Season

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene [NYTF] will begin its residency this Fall at Museum of Jewish Heritage where 101 year-old NYTF will present a lavish new production of the romantic comedy Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride), an American operetta set to play December 2 - 27, 2015. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling (212) 213-2120 x204.

Garnering critical acclaim following its 1923 debut at Kessler's Second Avenue Theater, Di Goldene Kale was widely produced over the following two decades only to be lost to time in the aftermath of World War II. Composed by world-renowned Yiddish music virtuoso Joseph Rumshinsky with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Louis Gilrod and text by Frieda Freiman, it was not until a half-century after its final curtain, that the remnants of Di Goldene Kale's score and libretto were discovered by Music Archaeologist Michael Ochs. Ochs would spend several years hand-transcribing the piece back to its original form. Over the past three seasons NYTF has collaborated with Ochs on staging developmental presentations of Di Goldene Kale in preparation for the Operetta's imminent return to the New York stage.

The new production will feature a 14-piece orchestra and cast of more than 20. Songs and dialogue will be presented in Yiddish and accompanied by English and Russian supertitles.

Di Goldene Kale's plot revolves around Goldele, a beautiful young woman abandoned as a child and raised in poverty, who receives an unexpected inheritance. With the exorbitant fortune she embarks upon a grand journey across the sea to claim her birth father's estate and search out her long-lost mother, offering her hand to the lucky suitor able to reunite them.

"The US was in the midst of the Great Depression and the country needed to believe in the American Dream more than ever- and who needed it more than the immigrants of the Lower East Side who left their homelands in search of better lives," says NYTF Executive Director Bryna Wasserman who will direct. "At the time of its debut Rumshinsky could've played Di Goldene Kale to any major exclusive New York house. He didn't. It played on 2nd Avenue. And as a result of that choice Di Goldene Kale did here in New York what Gilbert and Sullivan had done overseas."

"The Operetta was accessible to everyone," adds Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner who will co-direct. "It's with that same intention that we present it today."

NYTF Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek will serve as the Di Goldene Kale's Music Director/Conductor. Merete Muenter will choreograph and Izzy Fields will costume the production. The show will be produced by Christopher Massimine and cast by Jamibeth Margolis, C.S.A., with more of the creative team to be announced in the coming weeks.

Other NYTF events this season include the whimsical family musical The King of Chelm, returning by popular demand November 14 - 29, at the Kraine Theater. The King of Chelm tells a story of a timid boy who dreams about becoming a super-hero. One day he wakes to find himself in a magical world where he will learn what it is to be brave. Presented by FolksbieneRU: a partnership initiative of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and Genesis Philanthropy Group.

On Sunday, December 13 at 11am, NYTF will present a FREE Chanukah Concert at the Museum of Jewish Heritage featuring the Folksbiene Youth Academy Ensemble and special guests. Under the direction of Maestro Itzchak Haimov, the Folksbiene Youth Academy provides vocal and performance training for the next generation of Yiddish theatrical artists. And on Saturday, December 26 at 8pm, also at MJH, NYTF will host Dreaming in Yiddish, the 4th annual Adrienne Cooper (z'l) memorial concert. Performers include Grammy Award winner Frank London, Sarah Gordon, Michael Winograd, SoCalled and Daniel Kahn who will present an evening of music from In Love and In Struggle: The Musical Legacy of the Jewish Labor Bund, an album that featured Cooper. All proceeds go to the Adrienne Cooper Fund for Dreaming in Yiddish, which supports artists working in Yiddish. Co-sponsored by YIVO, in association with Yiddish New York, GOH Productions, and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

For more information about NYTF's Fall Season visit www.nytf.org or call (212) 213-2120