National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene To Honor Joel Grey At Summer Benefit Concert This Monday

This coming Monday, July 15, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) will present its annual Summer Benefit Concert, presenting Tony- and Academy Award-winning actor Joel Grey, who directed NYTF's Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work in film, television, and theatre. The event will feature appearances by the cast and orchestra of the critically acclaimed Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, currently running at Stage 42.

The benefit-which supports the oldest Yiddish theatre in the world and longest consecutively-producing theatre in the United States-is held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, New York, starting with a cocktail reception at 6 PM, a concert and awards ceremony at 7 PM, and a dessert reception at 9 PM.

NYTF also will honor Mark and Audrey Mlotek for their unwavering support of NYTF's mission. Mark Mlotek is the President of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. He also is the Chief Strategic Officer and Executive Vice President of Henry Schein, Inc. Mark and his wife Audrey have been among the most generous supporters of NYTF for the past 20 years.

The Fiddler on the Roof cast members performing at the concert are: Steven Skybell, Jennifer Babiak, Joanne Borts, Lisa Fishman, Kirk Geritano, John Giesige, Abby Goldfarb, Samantha Hahn, Cameron Johnson, Ben Liebert, Moshe Lobel, Stephanie Lynne Mason, Evan Mayer, Rosie Jo Neddy, Raquel Nobile, Jonathan Quigley, Nick Raynor, Bruce Sabath, Kayleen Seidl, Drew Seigla, Adam B. Shapiro, Jodi Snyder, James Monroe Števko, Bobby Underwood, Mikhl Yashinsky, and Rachel Zatcoff. The concert also will feature special appearances by former Fiddler cast member Daniel Kahn and star of NYTF's upcoming production of Hannah Senesh Lexi Rabadi.

Throughout the 2019-2020 season-its season of "Spiritual Resistance"-NYTF is featuring artistic and theatrical works that explore themes of struggle against oppression. The programming provides artistic expression concurrent with the exhibition Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away. being presented at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

"This past year has truly been one for the ages at National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene," said NYTF Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek. "Our honorees-Mark and Audrey Mlotek and Joel Grey-have been instrumental in NYTF's success, and we are proud to honor such hard-working individuals, as well as the achievements of the entire NYTF, with a fabulous evening of music, food, and festivity."

Joel Grey, best known for his Tony- and Academy Award-winning performance as the Emcee in Cabaret, is the multi-award-nominated director of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and a co-director of the Tony Award-winning production of The Normal Heart. Other Broadway credits include George M, Chicago, Wicked, and Anything Goes. Joel is also an internationally exhibited photographer with five published books, and his work is part of the permanent collection of The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish sold out for six months before moving to an Off-Broadway theater uptown. It has won a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, an Off-Broadway Alliance Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a NY Drama Critics' Circle Award special citation, and has been nominated for Drama League Awards and a Chita Rivera Award. To purchase ticket packages for the Summer Benefit Concert, contact Ramona Luka at 212-213-2120 ext. 208.