Historically, African Americans and Jewish Americans have banded together during times of political unrest for social change. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked with leaders across all faiths to fight for civil rights. In 1965, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked with King for voter rights in Selma, Al. Today their work offers both communities a symbol of strategic unity to address social inequality.
For the past 15 years, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene has raised awareness to this moment in American history and others like it, with “Soul to Soul,” a musical celebration of a history of friendship. On Feb. 9, the traveling ensemble will perform at Queensborough Performing Arts Center in honor of the community college’s Kupferberg Holocaust Center and presented by the Queensborough Community College Fund Board.
“One could celebrate through food, fashion, visual arts, but for us, the performing arts is our strength. There’s a lot of crossover between African-American and Jewish music,” says Motl Didner, the show’s programming director. Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong was known to wear a Star of David necklace to honor a Jewish family who cared for him as a child.
The show presents a message of unity between the two communities through thematic narratives, illustrations and videos and speeches in addition to Yiddish and American songs. “There is a parallel between our history that brings us together. We are both people who understand what it is to be an oppressed minority group, being denied full rights of citizenship and being victims of segregation,” Didner says. “People tend to kind of forget that the civil rights movement was very much a partnership of people”
Throughout the show’s tenure with the National Yiddish Theatre, the performers have been across the country and internationally sharing their message. Their largest crowd was up to 1,000 students in Chattanooga, Tenn., at the Seventh Day Adventist Baptist College. Didner said one of their most enthusiastic audiences was in Bucharest, Romania, where they were singing along to popular songs.
The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center was established nearly 40 years ago as one of the first research archives devoted to the Holocaust on the East Coast. Since then they have became an educational resource for Queensborough Community College, the City University of New York, the greater New York City area, and beyond. This year’s performance is in honor of Mark Kupferberg, current chair of the QCC Fund board of directors.
“For audiences seeking inspiration, remembrance, and a renewed sense of shared purpose, “Soul to Soul” is a testament to the power of music and community to bridge divides and illuminate a path forward,” Tanisha Mallette says, Queensborough Community College’s director of communications.
Elmore James is one of the vocalists featured in the show. To prepare for the role, the singer learned Yiddish phonetically to be able to perform translated English songs. James credits Jewish Americans for the role they played in launching his performance career. Zalmen Mlotek is the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s composer and musical director. Mlotek can be seen on stage playing the piano to featured melodies during the performance.
Tony Perry is another featured voice in the concert. “In every city, it is a joy to see people respond positively to the music, to our musical telling of the immigrant story through Yiddish folksongs and African American spirituals. And, of course, every time we get together it is like a little family reunion,” Perry says in a statement on his website.
Cantor Magda Fishman uses her liturgical skills from synagogue as a singer in the cultural performance. In Boca Raton, Fla., she is the senior cantor of B’nai Torah congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Florida. Lisa Fishman is another original member of the cast. As an actress, singer, songwriter and guitarist, Fishman has starred in off-Broadway plays and regional musical theatre. During her career she has recorded original songs, performed Jewish music and been featured in Yiddish productions.
This year the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is partnering with the Shireinu Choir of Long Island. The choir brings together adult voices to celebrate the diversity of Jewish music and culture. The Impact Repertory Theatre in Harlem is a longtime partner of the Yiddish theatre. This award-winning organization of teenage African- American singers will be joining the Queensborough performance.
The National Yiddish Theatre’s production seems to have taken on increased meaning for audiences in the last 10 years. “We’ve really seen disunity and polarization becoming much worse and even the violence that has been creeping into our daily lives,” Didner says. “People sort of crave something positive that reminds us that this wasn’t always the case, but also that we’ve been through this before and we’ve overcome it before. Then it’s encouraging that we can overcome it again.”
“Soul to Soul” will be at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 at 7 pm. General admission tickets are on sale now for $36.
