Michael Tilson Thomas Brings The Lower East Side To The Berkshires With His Original Music, The Thomashefskys 8/19-20

San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas will take the stage at Tanglewood on Wednesday, August 19 and Thursday, August 20, to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a production of his original musical, The Thomashefskys.  Inspired by his grandparents, Boris and Bessie, The Thomashefskys tells the story of the early 20th-century birth of Yiddish theater in New York.  Extensive research over the past decade has revealed thousands of documents related to their story.  Acting as host for the evening, Tilson Thomas presents these stories via musical performances, film, audio clips and projections of archival materials.

Its 2005 premier at Carnegie Hall met with rave reviews, as did its 2008 Los Angeles production at Disney Concert Hall.  The performances are directed by Pat Birch and star Judy Blazer as Bessie, and Neal Benari as Boris.  Additional cast members include Ronit Widmann-Levy and Eugene Brancoveanu.

This summer marks Tilson Thomas’ first appearance at Tanglewood in more than twenty years and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the maestro’s debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  The orchestra includes five alumni from MTT’s New World Symphony—Elizabeth Rowe, Glen Cherry, Jason Horowitz, Wendy Putnam, and Keisuke Wakao—who will join MTT on the Tanglewood stage.  Tilson Thomas founded the New World Symphony in 1987, inspired by his own experience as a Tanglewood fellow 40 years ago.

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