YI Love Jewish to Host “Celebrating ‘Yosl’” featuring a live concert event and celebrity video testimonials.

Theater icon Joseph Papp, aka Yosl Papirofsky, creator of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater, to be remembered and honored virtually and live on his 103rd birthday.

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Sheri Smith
sheris@yilovejewish.org
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

May 29, 2024
BOCA RATON, FL: He revolutionized theater as we know it today, and now Joseph Papp, born ‘Yosl Papirofsky’, will be the subject of a memorial/tribute concert on June 22^ndat 7 pm, on what would have been his 103rd birthday. Celebrating Yosl – The Legacy of Joe Papp – A Musical Celebration will be presented by YI Love Jewish (a division of Yiddishkayt Initiative) at the West Boca Community Theatre in Boca Raton.

“Joe Papp did more to revolutionize the world of theater than any impresario in the world,” says Hoffman, himself an internationally recognized entertainer and founder of YI, a global provider of Jewish cultural programming. Hoffman and his mother, retired author, journalist and Columbia University Professor Miriam Hoffman, became friends and colleagues of Papp in NYC in the 1980s, when they launched the Joseph Papp Yiddish Theatre. 

After Papp’s death, they continued a close association with Joe’s widow, Gail Merrifield-Papp, and his daughter Susan Papp-Lippman, who serves on the YI Board of Directors. 

Papp’s vision led him in 1957 to establish Free Shakespeare in Central Park. Ten years later, he created The Public Theater in the building that was formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a haven for newly arrived refugees. The building was saved from demolition through Mr. Papp’s efforts after a long negotiation with the City of New York. It became the permanent home of the New York Shakespeare Festival/Joseph Papp Public Theatre (The Public) and is currently designated as a New York City Historical Landmark. 

At the Public, an innovative model was used for creating a new dynamic way of producing plays in a workshop-style manner that had never been tried before. The concept involved bringing writers, directors, designers, and actors together in one place to brainstorm and create the foundations for new and groundbreaking productions. Some of the iconic Broadway shows to evolve from these workshops include the original productions of Hair, A Chorus Line, and Runaways.

One of the signature events of Celebrating Yosl will feature Hoffman’s re-creation of Joe Papp at the Ballroom – a recounting, in Papp’s own words (based on transcripts, quotes, and material from the Papp Archives), of his Brooklyn Yiddish upbringing, his political struggles, and his reconceiving of the creative process. Hoffman will also share his own personal recollections of his relationship with Papp. 

Celebrating Yosl:  The Legacy of Joe Papp – A Musical Celebration will take place at 7 pm on June 22^nd, 2024, at the West Boca Community Theatre, 12811 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33498.

Tickets are $36 for the Live event and $72 for VIP/Special Seating and Backstage Access. Click HERE to purchase tickets.

For more information about Celebrating Yosl, please contact Sheri Smith at sheris@yilovejewish.org / 561-254-5494 or Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.  Photos and graphics available on request.

To sponsor this event, please contact sheris@yilovejewish.org.

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Celebrating Yosl:  The Legacy of Joe Papp – A Musical Celebration
June 22^nd at 7 pm
Tickets: $36/$72 (VIP Special Seating/Backstage Access)
To purchase tickets: https://tinyurl.com/3ze4jw89
West Boca Community Theatre
12811 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL  33498
https://yilovejewish.org

About YI Love Jewish: YI Love Jewish is a division of Yiddishkayt Initiative (YI), a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization that builds Jewish engagement and forges multi-cultural connections through an immersive and varied range of programming for audiences around the globe. From performing arts, publishing and education to language, philosophy and literature, YI offers a global clearinghouse of Jewish culture and entertainment staffed by experts in subject matter and production. The organization works with a wide range of organizations, including the University of Miami’s Sue and Leonard Miller Center and the George Feldenkreis Program in Contemporary Judaic Studies and Federations, JCCs, synagogues, Hadassah chapters, Hillel chapters, men’s groups, women’s guilds, special interest clubs, youth groups, summer camp programs and educational institutions.