Strauss/Warschauer Duo, Philadelphia, PA, Jun 5
A Bintl-Lebns (A Bundle of Lives), an event of the First Person Festival; June 2-12, 2005
Multi-media event of readings, poetry music, dancing, and noshing
WHO: Dr. Kathryn Hellerstein, Strauss/Warschauer Klezmer Duo, Leah Walton, Davy Raphaely
WHEN: Sunday, June 5, 2:00pm
WHERE: Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St.
Celebrate Yiddish life and culture at a special event featuring autobiographical readings, letters, poetry, and music by the Strauss/Warschauer Klezmer Duo. Rising stars Leah Walton and Davy Raphaely enact selections from The Forward's hilarious and heartwarming advice column, "A Bintl Brief." Penn professor and Yiddish expert Dr.Kathryn Hellerstein hosts and reads selections in English and Yiddish. Dancing and noshing follow. In collaboration with Free Library of Philadelphia.
TICKET INFO: $15.00 - Tickets for this event can be purchased through UpStages at 215-569-9700 or at the Prince Music Theater box office. For complete event listings and other ticketing information, go to www.firstpersonfestival.org or call 267-402-2057 to request a Festival brochure.
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:
Dr. Kathryn Hellerstein is the Ruth Meltzer Senior Lecturer in Yiddish and Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Educated at Wellesley, Brandeis, and Stanford, Hellerstein is known as a poet and a translator, as well as a scholar of Yiddish poetry. Hellerstein's many scholarly articles on Yiddish literature, and most recently, on women poets in Yiddish, are published in journals, anthologies, and encyclopedias, and her own poems have appeared in numerous journals.
Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer of the Strauss/Warschauer Duo are two of the most astonishing and popular performers and teachers in the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. They were both long-time members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and have performed with violinist Itzhak Perlman on film and in concert.
As the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, they have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Amsterdam International Yiddish Festival, the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, and the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater in New York City. They lead workshops and classes throughout North America and Europe, are on the faculty of the KlezKamp and KlezKanada Yiddish culture programs, and are frequent instructors for the Jewish Music Institute/SOAS at the University of London.
Leah Walton hails from Niskayuna, NY. Recent work includes performances at the Walnut Street Theatre, Delaware Theatre Co. Young Playwrights Fest, Theatre Ariel, Tribe of Fools, Madhouse Theatre Co, Brick Playhouse, Philadelphia Dramatists Center, Living End Theatre, Gurus of Guffaw. Training: Moscow Art Theatre, National Theatre Institute, Ithaca College, Michael Chekhov Association.
David Raphaely recently appeared in The Ballad of John Wesley Reed with Theater Catalyst and in The Credeaux Canvas with the Flashpoint Theatre Company. He was seen in numerous productions with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival which include: Cymbeline, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and Julius Ceasar. Other credits include: Writing Aloud (InterAct Theatre Co.), A Story Involving Mittens (Young Playwrights Festival 2004 & PTC), The Merry Wives Of Windsor, The Winter's Tale (Classic Shakespeare Co.), and Dolka (Theatre Catalyst). David is a graduate of The University of the Arts where he earned a B.F.A. in acting and won the Outstanding Performance Award.
PRESS: For The Strauss/Warschauer Duo:
"Terrific" - New York Times
"Phenomenal" - Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland)
"Irrepressible" - Jewish Chronicle (London)