Concerts, Comedy, Plays, Film
Multimedia Presentation
Michael Tilson Thomas and the Thomashefskys
Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater
Tuesday, May 27 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 | $15 for Spertus members | $10 for students
Call 312.322.1773
Rehearsal for The Thomashefskys. Photo by Stefan Cohen.
This June at Symphony Center, Michael Tilson Thomas conducts a musical program that lovingly explores the lives and music of two luminaries of American theater history, his grandparents Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky.
As a prelude to the CSO's production of Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater, Spertus is proud to host Chicago music critic Andrew Patner in a discussion with Michael Tilson Thomas, who will vividly illustrate through projected images his grandparent's fascinating history, their starring roles in the American Yiddish Theater, and its enormous contribution to the American cultural life.
Michael Tilson Thomas became the eleventh Music Director of the acclaimed San Francisco Symphony in September 1995. He is also Artistic Director of the New World Symphony and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky immigrated to the U.S. in the 1880s. Beginning while still in their teens, they played major roles in the development of American Yiddish Theater. For many Jewish immigrants, Yiddish Theater replaced traditional touchstones of Eastern European life and provided a forum for new ideas shaping their new American lives. In July 1998, Michael Tilson Thomas founded The Thomashefsky Project to rescue their story and share Yiddish Theater’s contribution to American cultural life.
Special offer for Spertus Members
Discount Concert Tickets to:
The Thomashefskys:
Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater
Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30 pm
Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue.
Tickets $40, lower balcony
Call 312.294.3000 and mention Spertus when ordering.