This spotlight is co-presented with the American Society of Jewish Music.

As we prepare to begin performances of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH this Sunday night, it’s important that we look to the living history that surrounds the piece – and its resonance to current events.

As millions of Ukrainians are displaced by brutal Russian military efforts, we are reminded of other expulsions, of other mass refugee-making events. It is important not to downplay the historical echoes that come to mind while we in the United States watch this situation unfold from afar. 

The fact that the fictional town of Anatevka exists in what is present-day Ukraine creates a whole new way to approach the story, as an audience member, actor, or other member of the creative team. It has surely been on our minds.

We’d like to highlight an event commemorating the start of another mass displacement event. “Kristallnacht and its Aftermath” takes place tomorrow night at the Center for Jewish History at 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011.

The event is a musical tribute to those whose lives forever changed by the events leading up to “The Night of Broken Glass,” Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. Some were deported by the Nazis or lost in the Holocaust. Others, such as the composers featured on this program, were forced to re-start their promising young careers as immigrants in new countries.

The Annual Kristallnacht Program is presented by the American Society for Jewish Music, YIVO, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the Center for Jewish History, and, this year, in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. University of Silesia in Poland, and the Karol Rathaus Foundation.

Admission is free. Register here. 

Get tickets to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH here.