Mother-Daughter Team Stars in THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, 9/28-29

The mother-daughter team of Mimi Stern-Wolfe and Laura Wolfe, longtime residents of the Lower East Side, will both appear in the upcoming production of Marc Blitzstein's historic musical "The Cradle Will Rock," presented by Howl Festival and the Actor's Fund.    The four performances are September 2 & 3, and September 28 & 29 at Theatre 80 St. Mark's.   Mimi Stern-Wolfe is a well known presenter and director of Downtown Music Productions, and will accompany the show on piano.   Her daughter Laura Wolfe will appear in the role of Moll, the down-and-out streetwalker.
 
The rarely seen work garnered critical praise in Downtown Music Productions' showings in 2009 at both St. Mark's Church and on the Howl Festival.   Anthony Tommasini, reviewing in The New York Times, remarked that "Blitzstein's vision and the ingenuity of his music came through in this performance."  (February 10, 2009)   Paul Turok called it "...a quality production, enormously entertaining."  (Turok website, February 9, 2009)
 
Mimi Stern-Wolfe is a native New Yorker and  founder/director of Downtown Music Productions (DMP).  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Queens College, earned a Masters in Music Degree from The New England Conservatory, and studied piano with Ray Lev, Leonid Hambro, and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger.   She worked as conductor and vocal coach at the Lake George Opera Festival and the Aspen Music Festival. and has initiated and participated in countless New York projects over the years.   DMP has presented an amazing variety of concerts, including Composers of the Holocaust, Dial M for Mother (music by woman - Amy Beach, Clara Schuman, others), original operas by Marshall Coid and Martin Halpern, an annual World AIDS Day Concert of music by composers lost to AIDS, and many others.
 
Laura Wolfe, daughter of Mimi, has been performing since she was very young, often as a member of Children's Downtown Musical Theater, directed by her mother.   The youngsters appeared in many shows, including George Kleinsinger's Brooklyn Baseball Cantata and Nicholas Scarim's Don't Park in Our Park.  A graduate of Oberlin College and LaGuardia School of the Arts, Laura currently works as a vocalist, recording and performing artist, guitarist, composer and klezmer violinist.  
 
www.downtownmusicproductions.org