"KIDS & YIDDISH" CELEBRATES ITS 10TH SEASON

FOLKSBIENE WILL BE "PUTTIN' ON THE SHMALTZ" WHEN POPULAR HOLIDAY TREAT PREMIERES DECEMBER 7

(November 19, 2008) This year the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene will be pouring it on thick as it serves up a brand new batch of holiday cheer  beginning December 7. "Kids & Yiddish: Puttin' on the Shmaltz!" the 10th edition of the holiday musical funfest for f amilies, performs on five consecutive Sundays from December 7 to January 4 at The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue.

Renewing what has become a cherished holiday tradition, this year the multi-media holiday show introduces new characters, new songs, up-to-the minute satire of the latest fads on TV, as well as some of the long-running series' greatest hits.

This year's nourishing theme emphasizes the power of food and family to provide us with hope.  But this time, playing off the multiple meanings of shmaltz, our friends on stage are drawn to the appetizing idea that hope, peace and justice are just within reach when a dollop of goodness is thrown into the mix.

"Kids & Yiddish: Puttin' on the Shmaltz!" performs six times on five consecutive Sundays, December 7, 14, 21, 28 and January 4, all at 11am, with an extra show on Sunday January 4 at 2pm.  The JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue, is between 75th and 76th Streets. For tickets, which are $20 for adults and $17 for children 12 and under, call (800) 595-4849, or online at www.folksbiene.org.

Starring founding members Joanne Borts ("Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" "Fiddler on the Roof" on Broadway with Topol and guest appearances with The Klezmatics and Neil Sedaka), Jenny Romaine (Circus Amok and the Obie-winning Great Small Works) and the world-recognized Yiddish music expert and conductor Zalmen Mlotek, "Kids and Yiddish" is directed by Ms. Borts and co-written by Ms. Borts, Michael Fox and Mr. Mlotek (who serves as the music director).  Featured in the cast are the returning small fries Sarah Mlotek, aged 10, Josh Berk, aged 13, and Aaron Mayer, aged 14.  Kids & Yiddish also welcomes a new young cast member, Rachel Yucht, who comes from a long line of prominent Yiddishists.

Kids & Yiddish never spoils and is always fresh.  This year a million new cultural references from high and low and near and far are thrown into the pot.  Among the latest ingredients are the Flying Wack-a-bees, a Latkes Cooking Show, the return of Kalt and Gor Kalt, a mind-bending memory gameshow called Extreme Zikhroynes, and the new talent show that's spreading across the land, Kasrilivke's Got Talent.

Mixing a rich stew of musical styles -- everything from rock, rap, klezmer, calypso and Irving Berlin -- "Kids and Yiddish" gleefully mixes Jewish folk traditions with popular culture.  How else can you explain a show that mixes the Sounds of Lamed, Silly Vov Songs, Dos Naye Lid and We Will Hock You? The New York Times raves "Kids and Yiddish" is "hilarious!" adding that "the show is like a wacky borscht belt-style revue, but much hipper than anything your grandmother might have enjoyed."

"Kids & Yiddish: Puttin' on the Shmaltz" warmly celebrates the classical and contemporary, the old and the new.  90% English and 10% Yiddish, it is a perfectly silly and enriching family tradition that has been hailed for introducing youngsters to the special joys of the Yiddish language and to the culture's rich and still relevant theatrical traditions.