New York City's Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre, which the New York Post calls "one of the city's most remarkable cultural institutions," is America's sole surviving professional Yiddish theatre and the longest continuously producing Yiddish theatre company in the world. It is one of just four professional Yiddish theatre companies in operation today; the others are in Montreal, Warsaw and Tel Aviv.

In recent years Folksbiene has popularized Yiddish culture on an increasingly large scale. At Carnegie Hall in June 2004 the rock and pop music legend Neil Sedaka performed traditional Yiddish music with the world-renowned Klezmatics, in a first-of-its kind, sold-out gala concert. In June 2005, the film, stage and television star Mandy Patinkin headlined another tribute to Yiddish in a encore presentation his acclaimed "Mamaloshen" concert. New York's mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York State's governor George E. Pataki have both paid tribute to Folksbiene's great legacy and spreading influence at two other gala events sponsored by Folksbiene -- at The Jewish Museum in 2002, and at the 92nd Street Y in 2003.

"The revival of interest in Yiddish culture that we're seeing and that we are a part of, is deeply moving and encouraging," says Zalmen Mlotek,

Folksbiene's artistic director and a world-recognized conductor and Yiddish music specialist. "It signals that the important traditions of the Yiddish theatre will live on and thrive for generations to come."

True to its name (the People's Stage) the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre is dedicated to producing shows and events that are socially relevant and that foster understanding and cohesion within the broader Jewish community.

When Folksbiene was founded in 1915 on the Lower East Side, New York City fielded 14 other Yiddish theatre companies. Only one remained a constant presence in New York. In 1998 Folksbiene's board of directors ushered in a new era by replacing the company's management and instituting a new mandate to modernize the company and expand the audience beyond its strictly Yiddish-speaking core constituency. Its mission is twofold: to be the custodian of a rich cultural legacy, while developing new works that will add to this legacy.

In the fall of 2004, Folksbiene embarked on its historic 90th consecutive season, ushering in a dramatic expansion of its programming: At that time the company went from producing one mainstage show a year to maintaining a year-round schedule with two mainstage productions and a wide array of other music, literary and theatrical events. (18 separate programs were presented that year.) This past fall Folksbiene brought back by popular demand the runaway hit

musical revue "On Second Avenue" starring Mike Burstyn. Never before had Folksbiene had the opportunity to reprise a hit show on such a scale. In the past year, Folksbiene's audience has increased by 60%, while group sales attendance has tripled and more and more theatergoers with no previous exposure to Yiddish culture flock to the theatre to sample all the excitement.

Through its critically acclaimed staged reading series Hidden Treasures (started in the spring of 2002), Folksbiene mines the vast classic Yiddish theatre repertoire for rarely seen (or overlooked) masterpieces. With Kids & Yiddish, the theatre's smash hit musical extravaganzas for families, Folksbiene introduces youngsters to a magical language and connects them meaningfully and humorously with their cultural roots. This popular program also allows Folksbiene to cultivate a new generation of performers.

This mix of old and new merges the interests and tastes of native speakers and a fast-growing audience segment -- non-native Yiddish speakers, Russian speakers, and Yiddish learners.

It is through important outreach and innovation that Folksbiene will continue to attract ever-increasing numbers of these vital new audiences -- by offering live simultaneous English supertitles at most of its performances, by performing outside of Manhattan for special audiences, by co-sponsoring concerts and other non-theatrical cultural events, and by participating in mentoring programs within the greater Jewish community.