Golden Dreydl, Holyoke, MA, Dec 11
The Golden Dreydl: a Klezmer Nutcracker
Ellen Kushner and Shirim Klezmer Orchestra
December 11, shows at 1:00pm & 3:15pm
The Forum at Holyoke Community College, Holyoke, MA
$18 / kids under 12: $13.
Info & Tix: 413-532-1462
"The Golden Dreydl: a Klezmer Nutcracker" at The Forum, Holyoke Community College
National Public Radio "Sound & Spirit" radio host Ellen Kushner and the Shirim
Klezmer Orchestra will perform their award-winning collaboration, "The Golden
Dreydl: a Klezmer Nutcracker!" at The Forum at Holyoke Community College , Building
C (Holyoke, MA, Info: 413-532-1462) on December 11 at 1:00pm and 3:15pm. Tickets are
$18 (adults), $13 (kids under 12). This is a benefit for the Theraputic Equestrian
Center of Holyoke which provides Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy for people
various disabilities of all ages.
"The Golden Dreydl: a Klezmer Nutcracker!" is a Chanukah-inspired fantasy-adventure
tale: 'Tchaikovsky meets Harry Potter and they go to a Jewish wedding! Kushner's
enchanting storytelling is woven into a live musical performance of Shirim's
ingenious klezmer adaptations of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The whole family
will enjoy this multifaceted performance: a new twist on an old favorite. It is
available on CD by Rykodisc and has won radio's prestigious Gracie Allen Award.
Ellen Kushner writes and hosts the nationally distributed PRI show "Sound & Spirit"
and is also an award-winning fantasy writer with three novels to her credit:
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners, Thomas the Rhymer, and (with Delia Sherman) The
Fall of the Kings, just published by Bantam Books. "Sound & Spirit" is heard on over
100 stations nationwide.
Shirim Klezmer Orchestra has released five recordings, including their crossover hit
"Klezmer Nutcracker" on Newport Classic. They were featured on the soundtrack of
Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry" and have toured in North America and Europe.
"We wanted to create a new holiday story rich in Jewish themes and values, drawing
on Jewish folklore and ethics,"
—Ellen Kushner ("Sound & Spirit")
"Shirim's Klezmer Nutcracker sounds utterly natural and totally compelling. Klezmer
devotees will rejoice at the fresh stock of great tunes, and classical fans so far
immune to the Russian composer's populist favorite
should find themselves swooning. Shirim's genre-crossing conception is a delight and
its playing a joy.
—Billboard Magazine (Critics Choice)
"The Golden Dreydl makes an archetypal Christmas experience into a rollicking
adventure tale for Jewish children -- and their beleaguered parents.. The
klezmer-ized melodies are only the start, as Kushner and Shirim transform the
various acts of the popular ballet into an empowering story for youngsters. No
satire or mere parody, The Golden Dreydl is more like a message from an alternative
holiday world, one that Jewish parents and klezmer fans will be delighted to
receive." —Mark Schwartz, BarnesandNoble.com