METROPOLITAN NEW YORK
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah)
Coming Together: The “Annual Gathering of Remembrance” draws together the survivor community and the community at a large for an event in commemoration of the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust and is sponsored by the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization in association with the Anti-Defamation League, the Consulate General of Israel, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the UJA-Federation of New York. Temple Emanu-El, 1 E. 65th St.; April 27, 3:30 p.m.; free, reservations required. (212-968-4800, ext. 113)
David Harris Speaks: For its Warsaw Ghetto-Yom Hashoah commemoration, the interdenominational Westchester Jewish Conference’s keynote speaker is David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee and author of “In the Trenches; Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, 1979-1999,” among others. A ceremony with survivor families and others serves as the commemoration’s centerpiece. Also, Roman Polanski’s Oscar Award-winning “The Pianist” is screened and Yiddish chanteuse Adrienne Cooper and a string quartet directed by Arnold Gamson perform. Congregation Sons of Israel, 1666 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor; April 27, 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.; free. (914-328-7001)
Our Families Taken: Following a reading of the names of family and friends killed during the Holocaust, B’nai Jeshurun screens “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport,” Mark Jonathan Harris’s documentary about the rescue of some 10,000 mainly Jewish children who were sent to Britain from Europe to escape World War II. Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, 257 W. 88th St.; April 28, 6:30 p.m.; free. (212-787-7600)
Primo Levi’s Legacy: As a tribute to Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Brooklyn Public Library presents a two-part program at its central branch. Historian Susan Zuccotti, author of “The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival,” discusses “The Spiritual Legacy of Primo Levi,” whose role in the resistance led to his 1944 deportation to Auschwitz. Afterward, film historian Annette Insdorf, author of “Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust,” addresses depictions of the Holocaust in film, including the frequent misrepresentation of both survivors and rescuers. Central Library, auditorium, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn; April 27, Zuccotti 2 p.m., Insdorf 3:30 p.m.; free. (718-230-2100 or www.brooklynpubliclibrary.com)
All-night Names: Congregations and communal organizations from the Upper West Side — including the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan and Congregation B’nai Jeshurun — come together for an interdenominational all-night, all-day reading of the names of the Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Individuals — and school groups — are welcome to participate or attend for the duration or only briefly. A commemoration comprising poems, prayers, songs and readings precedes the all-night event. West End Synagogue, 190 Amsterdam Ave.; commemoration April 28, 8:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.; vigil begins April 28, 10 p.m., ends April 29, 6 p.m.; free. (212-579-0777 or www.westendsynagogue.org)
Artful Reflections: Austrian artist Luise Kloos gives a gallery talk in conjunction with the Yeshiva University Museum’s exhibit “A Memorial to Lost Souls: Threads of Light by Luise Kloos,” a glass-fiber-optic installation in the museum’s outdoor sculpture garden dedicated to those killed during the Holocaust as well as to those who have suffered in the face of antisemitism. For Yom Hashoah, the museum also screens the documentary “Luboml: My Heart Remembers.” Also on view at the museum are “A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life,” “Stage & Page: Jewish Theater and Book Designs of Emanuele Luzzati,” “Children of the Lost Tribe of Dan: Portraits of Ethiopian Jewry by Win Robins” and “Gan Eden Hadash — A New Paradise: An Installation By Ilana Lilienthal.” Yeshiva University Museum, Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St.; talk April 29, 1 p.m.-2 p.m., screening 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; sculpture garden Sun.-Thu. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., museum Tue.-Thu. and Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $6, $4 students and seniors. (212-294-8330)
Songs in Memory: Under the baton of Binyumen “Ben” Schaechter, the Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus — at 80, the world’s oldest continually performing Yiddish chorus — performs as part of the Civic Center Synagogue’s Yom Hashoah programming. Civic Center Synagogue, 49 White St.; April 28, 7 p.m.; free. (212-966-7141 or www.civiccentersynagogue.org)
The Murderers Next Door: Following a commemorative candle-lighting, Jan Gross, author of “Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community of Jedwabne,” discusses the 1941 massacre of half of a small Polish town’s inhabitants — some 1,600 Jews — by the town’s other half. Gross is a professor of politics and Eastern European studies at New York University. Central Queens YM & YWHA, 67-09 108th St., Forest Hills; April 29, 1:30 p.m.; $3 suggested, free members. (718-268-5011, ext. 218)
Second Generation Panel: Melvin Jules Bukiet, editor of “Nothing Makes You Free: Writings by Descendants of Jewish Holocaust Survivors”; Nessa Rapoport, author of “Preparing for the Sabbath” and “A Woman’s Book of Grieving,” and Joseph Skibell of Emory University, author of “A Blessing on the Moon,” come together for “The Second Generation Speaks.” The commemorative discussion — moderated by Lawrence Weschler, director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University — focuses on the role of the second generation as guardians of historical memory for whom the Holocaust is ever-present yet simultaneously an indirect experience. The 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave.; April 29, 7:30 p.m.; $18. (212-415-5500 or www.92y.org)
First-person Second Generation: Joseph Berger, author of “Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust,” delivers a Remembrance Day lecture. Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Ave. at 27th St.; April 29, 1 p.m.-2 p.m.; free. (212-217-7642)
Lecture
Shuls in the Eternal City? The editor of “The Most Ancient of Minorities: The Jews of Italy,” Stanislao G. Pugliese, discusses the Jewish community of Rome — whose roots reach back to 200 BCE — with Holocaust survivor Lucia Servadio Bedarida and Fabio Girelli-Carasi, a professor of modern languages at Brooklyn College, in an exploration of two millennia of Italian Jewish identity. New York University, 24 W. 12th St.; April 23, 6 p.m.; free. (212-998-3862)
Performance
Stuck on Shtick? Queens Theater in the Park presents “Jackie Mason… A Work in Progress.” Need we say more? Queens Theatre in the Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park; April 25, 8 p.m.; April 26, 8 p.m., April 27, 3 p.m., April 28-April 29, 8 p.m.; $35, $30 members, reservations required. (718-760-0064)
Music
Snap, Snap: Multi-instrumentalist Rob Burger of Tin Hat Trio celebrates the recent release of “Lost Photograph” (Tzadik, 2003) with Trevor Dunn, Mauro Refosco and Doug Wieselman. Tonic, 107 Norfolk St.; April 23, 10 p.m.; $10. (212-358-7501 or www.tonicnyc.com)
Yale Strom’s Tribute to Resistance: In commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising’s 60th anniversary, the movie-maker and author Yale Strom has composed a commission for the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity: “Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 1943.” The Synergy ensemble performs the tribute piece for its world premiere. Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Boulevard; April 29, 7:30 p.m.; $18, $15 members, $10 students, reservations recommended. (310-772-2452)
MINNESOTA
A Rose in Mourning: The Minnesota Jewish Theatre is bringing its popular one-woman show “Rose” back to the stage, with Randy Latimer in the title role as a woman sitting shiva for a murdered girl who revisits the events of a tumultuous decade. Hillcrest Center Theater, 1978 Ford Parkway, St. Paul; April 26-May 18, Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. and Thu. 7:30 p.m., extra April 27 performance, 2 p.m.; $15-$18, $10 students. (651-647-4325 or www.mnjewishtheatre.org)
NEW JERSEY
Celluloid Tribute: The Holocaust Resource Center at Kean University, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, screens “The Warsaw Ghetto,” “The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising” and “Uprising.” Two days later, the center presents a Holocaust Remembrance Day observance in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. Kean University, Nancy Thompson Library. 1000 Morris Ave.; April 27, 1 p.m.; free; Yom Hashoah, Wilkins Theater, April 29, 7:15 p.m.; free. (908-737-6397)
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MARRIAGE MAKES UNION FOR TAP, MODERN
Seven dancers synthesize the beats of tap dance with the movements of modern dance in the opening of Tap Fusion’s world premiere of a multimedia piece named for the seven blessings said over the wine during a wedding ceremony, “Sheva B’rachot.” The brainchild of Tap Fusion artistic director Barry Blumenfeld, an outlet of sorts for his overflowing joy following his own nuptials, the dance follows the sounds of the dancers’ feet, voices and a live ensemble — with Brazilian percussion, violas, flutes and water bowls — playing a score by Katie Down. A video landscape by Jerry Kolber and April Cantor is complemented by a set piece — replete with a chupah, of course — by Jonathan Blum.
Examining the individual’s awareness of self, connection to one’s beloved and the couple’s role in the community, “Sheva B’rachot” celebrates marriage as a blessing and a time for rejoicing, as well as a rite of passage. The piece is the end result of a collaborative process among the dancers: Blumenfeld, Melanie Aceto, Jeanne Schickler, Courtney Poulos, Jennifer Uzzi, Katy Woitel and John Zullo. Blumenfeld was awarded a choreographer’s fellowship by the New York Foundation for the Arts in 2000.
The Duke on 42nd Street; 229 W. 42nd St., second floor; April 23-April 26, 8 p.m., April 27, 2 p.m.; $20, $15 students and seniors. (212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com)
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