KlezCalendar

A musical salute to Molly Picon, Star of the Yiddish Theatre

Vocalist: Diane Cypkin
At the Piano: Lena Panfilova

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
6:30 p.m. on the 6th floor

New York Public Library
Mid-Manhattan Library
40th Street and 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-576-0085

Elevators access the 6th floor after 6 p.m.
All programs are FREE and subject to last minute change or cancellation.

Musical Salute to Molly Picon, Star of the Yiddish Theatre!

Dr. Diane Cypkin tells—through English narration—the life story of this exciting First Lady of the Yiddish Stage through the countless songs she sang and often wrote during her many, many years on the Yiddish stage. Indeed, the concert is a cornucopia, a beautiful bouquet, of tangos, waltzes, and fox-trots, that will have you humming for days. The concert is a tribute to a legend!

Diane Cypkin, Ph.D., has appeared in many Yiddish language musical productions spanning more than two decades. She was Sheyne, opposite Joseph Buloff in Ossip Dymov’s Yoshke muzikant (Joseph the Musician) at the Folksbiene Playhouse; Beylke, David Opatoshu’s daughter, in Sholom Aleichem’s Dos groyse gevins (The Big Winner) at the Eden Theatre; Gitale in Ben Bonus’s production of Light, Lively, and Yiddish
at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway; and Tsirl in the Mary Soriano presentation Di yidishe tsigaynerke (The Jewish Gypsy) at Town Hall in New York. Dr. Cypkin has done much concert work, especially highlighting Molly Picon and other Yiddish theatre greats. As a child of survivors, Dr. Cypkin has been very involved in the Holocaust remembrance activities, and has participated and performed in numerous events in Israel and the United States. Dr. Cypkin has also worked in the English-speaking theatre as both singer and actor in shows at the Soho Repertory Theatre, the New York Theatre Workshop, the Jan Hus Playhouse, and the Three Muses Theatre. In addition, she has directed productions of The World of Sholom Aleichem, The Theatre of Peretz, and Green Fields. In 2007, she curated an exceptionally well-received exhibition at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Molly Picon. For almost ten years she was Yiddish Theatre Consultant at the Museum of the City of New York and curated the highly successful exhibition, A Celebration: 100 years of Yiddish Theatre in New York. Dr. Cypkin is presently Professor of Media, Communication, and Visual Arts at Pace University in Pleasantville, New York, where she has taught for twenty years. She is a recipient of the Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence.

Lena Panfilova is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. She has performed as a collaborative pianist with many musicians and has given many solo and chamber concerts in Russia, across Europe, and in America.
For many years, she has been a beloved piano teacher. Ms. Panfilova is exceptionally proud of her numerous talented students.