Leah Forster's THAT'S YENTATAINMENT! Now Open At Theater for the New City

The groundbreaking Jewish comedy satirist Leah Forster, who boasts a fast-growing social media following over 100,000 strong, stars in her first solo stage show, “That's Yentatainment!” now open at Theater for the New City. 

The show's limited engagement began on Wed Nov 27 and runs to Sun Dec 15.   A daring mix of stand-up, song and flashes of digital media, “That's Yentatainment!” is produced by New Yiddish Rep, a contemporary theater company that adds new ideas and perspectives to the great legacy of the Yiddish theater in New York.

“That's Yentatainment!” plays a total of 10 performances on Nov 27, 30, Dec 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, and 15.  All shows are at 8pm except for Sunday Dec 1 and 15, which are both at 3pm.  (No shows on Fridays, and no show on Sun Dec 8.)  Tickets, which are $25, are available online at www.theaterforthenewcity.net Theater for New City (Crystal Field Executive Director) is at 155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Streets).  Box office is 212/254-1109

Something of a genie out of the bottle, Forster started performing stand-up in her Borough Park Hasidic community, where she was only allowed to perform for girls and curious housewives.  "I was basically the Jerry Seinfeld of Borough Park," Forster observes. "Just with skirts and more supervision. My DVDs were hidden under more mattresses than a Princess and the Pea convention."  As her reputation in the frum community grew, Forster continued her journey into performance, adding singing, and more writing, (and mixing English and Yiddish).  Her inevitable break with the community came when she came out as a lesbian on social media.

As she portrays a number of her kooky doppelgangers – Tichel and Baily among them – the blonde and blue-eyed Forster (“no, those are not contacts, and yes, I'm a natural blonde!”) explains the Yenta in the title: "A yenta is traditionally a gossip, a busybody. But you know what yentas really do? They tell the stories nobody else will tell. They keep our history alive through storytelling. This show is my way of being a modern yenta – telling the stories that need to be told, just with better lighting and more sequins."

“The Yiddish speaking world in New York is evolving in interesting ways,” David Mandelbaum, New Yiddish Rep's artistic director, points out.  “Leah provides striking evidence of this!  I mean how many shomer shabbos Lesbian, Orthodox singer-comedians do you know?” 

“The break between religious and secular is becoming less definitive, which is so interesting,” adds Mandelbaum.  “Leah's one-of-a-kind positivity is unmistakable… and in truth her fan base spans the religious and secular.  Its really quite amazing, given the traditional chasms.”

After being shunned by her community, Forster has found unexpected redemption through social media, where her "Tichel Tuesday" videos are much-shared viral sensations. "This show is my love letter to all the pieces of who I am -- the Jewish humor, the Yiddish soul, the modern woman. It's pure 'YENTATAINMENT!'"

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