Fiddler on the Roof  is the story of Tevye the Milkman and his struggles to adapt to changing traditions in his little village of Anatevke. But who’s motivating him to adapt to these changes at all? Tevye has six opinionated, intelligent, and independent women in his life — his wife, Golde, and his five daughters: Tsaytl, Hodl, Khave, Shprintze, and Bielke. Their wits and whims shepherd Tevye through his development and open his eyes to the wide world outside of his established routines and rituals. He is forced to respect new traditions because they are brought to him by people he respec ..read more

Today's episode is all about the life and works of Arom Goldfaden, the father of Yiddish Theatre. We are joined by Professor Joel Berkowitz from the University Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We learn about the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment, and how it shaped his upbringing. We discuss his time in Iași, Romania where he founded the first professional Yiddish Theatre company. Then, we explore his time in NYC until his death in 1908. SUBSCRIBE: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts. www.nytf.org/radio ..read more

In the latest edition of NYTF Radio, we invite you to meet the creative team behind The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, opening in less than one week and running from Jan. 27 – Feb. 6. What makes a production happen? Who are the people that create a world-premiere opera where there never was one before? In this series of interviews with representatives from NYTF and the New York City Opera’s latest production, get behind-the-scenes scoop on the creative process that brought The Garden of the Finzi-Continis to life over the past few years.  For tickets to The Garden of the Finzi Continis ple ..read more

On today’s episode, we pay tribute to the forgotten stars of the Yiddish Theatre by learning about the actor Samuel Goldenberg. We will learn about his life, his famous roles, his contemporaries, and wonder, “How did he perhaps get lost to time?” We are joined on the program by scholar  Zachary Baker. Zachary Baker is the Reinhard Family Curator Emeritus of Judaica and Hebraica Collections in the Stanford University Libraries. He has two pieces about the life of Samuel Goldenberg published at the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project. One article is titled “Enough about Strindberg! Let’s talk a ..read more

Today’s episode guest is stand up comedian Modi Rosenfeld. Voted one of the top 10 comedians in New York City by The Hollywood Reporter, MODI is one of the comedy circuit’s most sought after performers. Featured on HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, and E! Entertainment, MODI has received rave reviews in The New York Times, Time Out NY and The New York Post. In the episode, Modi talks to NYTF's Bobby Underwood (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Amerike: The Golden Land) about his career in standup, his favorite yiddish songs, what it’s like being a Jewish Comedian, his audition wi ..read more

On today’s episode, we interview NYTF Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner who, along with Zalmen Mlotek, are in the midst of putting together A Yiddish Renaissance, A Virtual Concert Celebration.  Motl took the time out of his day to conversation titled “Putting It All Together” is a full on in depth background of the Yiddish Renaissance, the rise of Yiddish in our pop culture, and a behind the scenes look at piecing together a full scale online concert featuring over 140+ artists. So let’s take it away to Motl Didner.  ..read more