Jewish Partnerships

Inspirational Performance for Students

The Theater at the 14th Street Y
2019-2020 Season

“Ever since I was a child, I can remember sitting in the theater, waiting as the lights go down for the magic to start. From the age of two our mother would schlep us to see new worlds and experience foreign types of movement, sounds and music. She believed in exposing us to all parts of our imagination, building paths towards new unknowns.”
— Ronit Muszkatblit,
Senior Director for Arts + Culture + LABA

The Jewish Culture mission of the 14th Street Y is to make Jewish culture accessible and meaningful to all. The 14th Street Y is a beacon for Jewish life and culture for the East Village and the Lower East Side, the longtime center of American Jewish culture. Our innovative cultural programming features culture makers of all kinds — artists, performers, storytellers, writers. For our 2019-2020 Theater season of Life + Death, we have multiple fantastic works by a variety of Jewish artists and featuring Jewish stories. In order to uphold our mission of making accessible Jewish culture, we have created group sale discounts specifically for Synagogues and other Jewish cultural centers. We invite you to peruse our selection of Jewish work and join us for a new cultural experience!

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Performance Packages

Performances for 100* students and teachers for $1,000 (just $10 a person)

Want an even bigger discount? Buy a package of three performances and get each show for $900 (only $9 a head!)

*Offer is valid only with full purchase of 100 tickets.

To learn more or to book a performance, please email Lilith Bachelder, Box Office and Special Events Coordinator, at LBachelder@14streety.org or call 646-395-4331.

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Бабушка | BAb(oo)shka | Theater

September 26 – October 5

Бабушка | BAb(oo)shka is an interdisciplinary performance that begins
with my grandmother telling a true story chosen by her in Russian
onstage. Her humorous anecdotes about Jewish oppression are then
contemporaneously translated into gibberish, into klezmer music, and
into a puppet melodrama. These retellings weave together to create
a meta-conversation on the act of translation and historicization,
exposing the realities of Jewish life in the Soviet Union and how
those experiences transform across generations and migrations. This
project has been developed as a part of COJECO Blueprint Fellowship
supported by COJECO and Genesis Philanthropy Group.

State of the Jews | Opera

December 5 – December 8

The opera State of the Jews follows Theodor Herzl in the last year of his life, as his efforts to secure a Jewish homeland become increasingly desperate. It includes scenes from the Sixth Zionist congress, in which Herzl proposes Uganda as a possible land for Jewish settlement, and Herzl’s visit with Pope Pius X, in which he seeks the Pope’s support for a Jewish State. Interwoven with this public historical narrative is the more intimate story of Theodor’s conflicted relationship with his wife, Julie Herzl, and the toll his political views and activities took on their family life

A Golem From Buenos Aires | Family Theater | Dance

December 16 – 20
For ages 4 – 11

A Golem from Buenos Aires is a multidisciplinary theater play for the whole family, inspired by the Jewish legend of the Golem of Prague. In this original performance, an unexpected event unfolds a new hilarious, poetic, moving story.

Scenes from Childhood | Theater

January 10 – 25

Set amidst the AIDS crisis in NYC, this semi-autobiographical play reveals a family of performers wrestling with ambition, tragedy, and the stories we tell about who we are. Alongside an ensemble cast, Ari Brand plays two characters based on himself and his late father, the concert pianist Natan Brand.

WonderSpark Puppets Presents:
Esther Saves the Day! | Family Theater

February 22 – 23
For ages 3 & up

When the evil Haman threatens the Jews of Persia, it’s up to the brave Esther and her clever uncle Mordecai to save the day in this Purim Shpiel. Beauty contests, a forgetful King and a lottery of DOOM comprise the traditional story of Purim, based on the Book of Esther. Can our heroes unravel Haman’s plot in time, or will all the Jews of Persia be destroyed? Go, Esther, Go!

Jewish Plays Project Presents:
Abrahamic Americans | Theater

April 2 – April 5

From the Travel Ban to Tree of Life, American Jews and American Muslims have been showing up for each other. At the same time, complex tensions – Linda Sarsour and the Women’s March, Rep. Ilan Omar and civic discourse – have risen. Four brand-new short plays from our hottest Jewish and Muslim playwrights and directors examining what’s changing, how it is positive and how to make it last.

The Olive Tree | Theater | Comedy

April 15 – May 3

A wild new play within a play from Iris Bahr (Curb Your Enthusiasm, DAI) about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s Noises Off meets Fauda with a bit of Oslo for good measure. Please note that this performance features strobe lighting as well as adult content and themes.