A Loving And Incredibly Entertaining Multi-Media Tribute To A Couple Of Theater Legends
While I love theater in general, I had no particular connection to Yiddish theater history and had only a passing familiarity with the Thomashefsky name. Truthfully, I didn't really know whether or not I'd be interested in Michael Tilson Thomas' multimedia tribute to the legacy of his grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashevsky. Well, not only was I fascinated by their engaging story, I was absolutely charmed by this first rate production. Filmed from a live performance at the New World Center in Miami (complete with the New World Orchestra), this rich piece of loving commemoration includes lush music, fantastic singing, astute comedic performances, an entertaining narration, and plenty of supplementary visual material. It is a stage show that is somewhat hard to describe as it seems both straightforward in presentation while structurally succeeding on a number of different levels. This personal history is accessible and fun despite its serious moments, and Tilson Thomas brings...
A joyous event of music, theatre and family stories!
I enjoyed this folkloric telling of Michael Tilson Thomas's grandparents. In his intro, MTT talks of all the different sources that were used to put this story together and I love the parts he would tell us was from the family at dinners or in daily life events. The setting is equally intimate - two large chairs, a rug and side tables with a lamp for each of them (one for each grandparent), MTT's use of actual photos of the time (shades of Ken Burns and a slide show) with MTT talking to us (because the intimacy has moved us away from audience to guests hearing a family story) about what happened next to whom.
Now the music - the history of the Yiddish theatre and hearing the music -as a lover of musicals, operettas, some opera and classical (as well as other music), I could hear and see what influences are in the genre today. As I listen to the music, I could hear elements of Jerry Herman, Gershwin's use of solo instruments giving the feeling of being alone and individual...
The Thomashefskys
A great production, very entertaining and humorous. Have viewed it over and over again. The best Yiddish theatre production we have ever seen.
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