Tag Archives: Avi Hoffman

Broadcaster Arlene Herson To Be Honored at a Silent Auction at Boca Raton’s Gallery 22

08 Wednesday Mar 2023

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Broadcaster Arlene Herson
To Be Honored
at a Silent Auction at
Boca Raton’s Gallery 22

Proceeds to benefit YI Love Jewish’ mission to fight antisemitism through the arts.

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Alessandra Lasanta
Alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 8, 2023

BOCA RATON, FL:  Broadcaster/journalist/philanthropist Arlene Herson will be honored at a Silent Auction on March 22nd.  The event, which will take place at Boca Raton’s Gallery 22, will be co-sponsored by the gallery and YI Love Jewish.  The proceeds from the auction will benefit YI Love Jewish’ mission to fight antisemitism through the arts.

The Silent Auction will be hosted by Yaacov and Sue Heller and will feature works by a number of world-renowned artists including Laurence Gartel (Father of Digital Art), Martin Levin (Kristallnacht Series), Frank Stumer, Sir Kelly Fawaz, and Yaacov Heller.

Award-winning performer and YI CEO Avi Hoffman will act as master of ceremonies and pianist Phil Hinton will provide live music during the evening.

Tickets for the Silent Auction are $100 and available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/557150571357. The ticket price includes entry into the event, the silent auction, live music, and wine and cheese. 

Arlene Herson’s illustrious career includes numerous interviews with famous and distinguished personalities on both radio and television.  She produced The Magic Flute with Victor Borge conducting, and the musical 1776 with members of Congress playing the Founding Fathers. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council, and by President George H.W. Bush to the Take Pride in America Advisory Board.  She is one of the few non-lawyers appointed to the Florida Bar Grievance Committee.

YI Love Jewish is a division of the Yiddishkayt Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that celebrates and promotes Jewish history, life, and culture and their positive and far-reaching impact on the world.

For more information about YI Love Jewish and the Silent Auction, visit the organization’s website at www.YILoveJewish.org, email info@yilovejewish.org or contact Alessandra Lasanta –alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835, or Carol Kassie – carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

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Fighting Antisemitism Through the Arts
A Silent Auction at Gallery 22 Honoring Arlene Herson
Wednesday, March 23, 2023, at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $100 (There are a limited number of tickets available)
For tickets:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/557150571357
The event will take place at
Gallery 22
320 Esplanade #53, Boca Raton, FL 33432

  • Arlene Herson

YI Love Jewish to Present Free Readings of Josef Mundi’s IT’S GOING AROUND

01 Wednesday Mar 2023

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YI Love Jewish
To Present Free Readings of
Josef Mundi’s Controversial Israeli Play
It’s Going Around


A new translation by Avi Hoffman will premiere in Boca Raton and Miami Beach in March

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Alessandra Lasanta
Alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 1, 2023
BOCA RATON/MIAMI BEACH, FL:  As part of the YI Love Play Reading Series, YI Love Jewish will present Avi Hoffman’s English translation of the controversial Hebrew thriller It’s Going Around by Josef Mundi, for audiences in Boca Raton and Miami Beach on March 26 and March 28, 2023. 

An award-winning Israeli psychodrama about idealism, identity, and insanity, It’s Going Around speculates as to what happens when Dr. Theodore Herzl, the Father of Zionism and the concept of a Jewish State in Palestine, meets Franz Kafka, noted author, playwright and assimilated Jew, in an insane asylum in modern-day Israel. This play is the only one in the history of the State of Israel to be shut down by the authorities in the 1960s; it was eventually reinstated by the Israeli Supreme Court, and ultimately became one of the most important and successful plays in the history of Israeli Theatre.

Avi Hoffman translated, adapted, and will direct the reading, and will take on the role of Franz Kafka.  It’s Going Around will also star South Florida favorites Dave Corey as Theodore Herzl and Ilana Isaacson as The Secretary.  The events are free however donations are always welcome.   To RSVP:  Click on https://yilovejewish.org/yiloveplayreadings/

YI Love Play Readings is sponsored by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Jewish Incubator Grant 2023, and the Afran Foundation and is co-sponsored by Dr. Bruce and Lesley Zafran of Parkland, the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies/George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies at the University of Miami, The Betsy South Beach, Miami Beach JCC, the Alper JCC and the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC, Mo’s Deli, and the Yiddish Theatre Alliance. 

With a six-year history of seasonal play readings as a way to educate and entertain, YI Love Jewish now has developed a year-long series that includes scholarly lectures with an aim to highlight different aspects of Jewish life, culture, language, and history. Each of the 2022/2023  YI Love Play Readings will be performed and filmed in front of a live audience in Boca Raton and Miami after which they will be made available to schools, Jewish centers, cultural partners and online audiences across the world.  The It’s Going Around reading is part of the organization’s celebration of Israel’s 75th Anniversary.

For more information about YI Love Jewish visit the organization’s website at www.YILoveJewish.org, email info@yilovejewish.org or contact Alessandra Lasanta –alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835, or Carol Kassie – carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.
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It’s Going Around
By Josef Mundi
Translation by Avi Hoffman
March 26 & 28, 2023
Tickets:  Free (donations are welcome)
To reserve:  https://yilovejewish.org/yiloveplayreadings/
March 26 at 3 pm
Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center
21050 95th Avenue South
Boca Raton, FL  33428
March 28 at 7:30 pm
Miami Beach JCC,
4221 Pine Tree Dr.
Miami Beach, FL 33140


Avi Hoffman was recently awarded Congressional recognition, was invited to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis and was inducted into the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame for his lifetime work advancing Jewish culture, Yiddishkayt and Holocaust awareness through the charity he founded the Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc. (YILoveJewish.org). As an actor, he was nominated for a NY Drama Desk Award for his Yiddish language portrayal of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He is best known for his Too Jewish Trilogy: Award winning one man shows Too Jewish, Too Jewish, Too! (PBS, Performer of the Year ’95 – NY Press Magazine; L.A. OVATION award – Best Actor In a Musical 2001; NY Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations) and his latest show Still Jewish After All These Years. On TV, he was featured as Sid Raskin in the Starz TV series Magic City, as well as on Netflix’ Bloodline,A&E’s The Glades and on the NBC series Law and Order. He starred in the International Award winning short Yiddish Films: Shehita (Best Thriller – HollyShorts Festival) , BOXED and the motion picture – The Imported Bridegroom. He was seen in the PBS documentary They Came For Good: A History of the Jews in the US. Avi has performed all over the world, has numerous acting and directing credits and has received multiple awards and nominations. Visit him at www.YILoveJewish.org

  • Josef Mundi
  • Ilana Isaacson
  • Dave Corey

March & April at the Miznzer Park Cultural Center

09 Monday Mar 2020

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March & April at
Mizner Park Cultural Center:
Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances
& Artist Conversations – March 16
Tovah is Leona – March 28 & 29
Wiesenthal – April 3-5
Hank Williams and My Honky Tonk Heroes – April 8
Judy Carmichael: Swing Time!  A Celebration of the
Great American Song Book – April 17
Harrison Greenbaum:  What Just Happened?
A Comedy + Magic Show – April 25

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 9, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:     Mizner Park Cultural Center will once again host a wide variety of entertainment and events over the coming weeks.  Comedy, music, magic, and live theatre are all on the popular venue’s schedule during March and April.

On March 16th, the award-winning actor Avi Hoffman will host Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances and Artist Conversations.  The show, presented by Joseph Papp Yiddish Theatre, Shakespeare Troupe of South Florida, Grace Arts, New City Players, and Thinking Cap Theatre with Emily Ricca Dance Collective, will showcase local South Florida companies performing the Classics.  Hoffman, who will be joined by special guest Susan Papp, will take on the persona of Joseph Papp, the American theatrical producer and founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theatre.

Tovah Feldshuh

Six-time Tony and Emmy nominated star Tovah Feldshuh returns to the theatre on March 28th and 29th for four encore performances of Tovah is Leona! a musical production featuring highlights from the new Broadway-bound musical Queen of Mean, based on Piers Ransdell’s New York Times best-selling biography of Leona Helmsley.  In the production, which sold out in January, Feldshuh, as the disgraced doyenne, comments and sings about anything and everything – from her meteoric rise from office temp to trophy wife, from wheeler-dealer to hotel magnate, to her relationship with real estate rival Donald Trump.

Tom Dugan as Simon Wiesenthal

Wiesenthal, the story of ‘an ordinary man who did extraordinary things’, will run for four performances only, from April 3rd – 5th.  Written by and starring Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal is the riveting true story of Simon Wiesenthal.  Nicknamed ‘The Jewish James Bond’, he devoted his life to bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice. Intelligent, funny, flawed, and noble, Wiesenthal was a universal hero.

Jason Petty will bring his acclaimed musical review, Hank Williams and my Honky Tonk Heroes, to the Cultural Center on April 8th.  Petty a masterful singer, actor, and historian, whose musicianship and songwriting abilities have won him numerous performances at The Grand Ole Opry, will recreate the magic that Williams and his ‘honky tonk heroes’ – the giants of country music – created.

Grammy-nominated pianist, vocalist, and songwriter Judy Carmichael will celebrate the music of swing piano greats with an evening of classics from the Great American Songbook in her show Swing Time!  A Celebration of the Great American Song Book on April 17th.  From the Gershwins to Cole Porter to Fats Waller and Peggy Lee, Carmichael’s mastery of the piano style popularized by Count Basie and James P. Johnson among others, has been lauded all over the world.

Harrison Greenbaum

Harrison Greenbaum will return to the Mizner Park Cultural Center with What Just Happened?  A Comedy + Magic Show on April 25th.   The award-winning magician and comedian, who has been featured on “America’s Got Talent”, NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, and National Geographic’s “Brain Games”, has created a unique blend of comedy and magic, jaw-dropping cutting edge illusions, mind reading, and legerdemain, much of it invented specifically for this performance, and never seen before.

Tickets to each of these performances, as well as many other Mizner Park Cultural Center performances are on sale now and can be purchased online at http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com or by phone at 844-672-2849. Ticket details are below.

The Mizner Park Cultural Center is located at 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432. Website: http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/Like us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MiznerParkCulturalCenter/

For more information about the Mizner Park Cultural Center, and any of these shows, please contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.
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Ticket prices and performance times:

Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances and Artist Conversations
Monday, March 16, at 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Tickets:  $25-$50Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/festival-of-classics/Tovah is Leona
Saturday, March 28 at 3 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, March 29 at 2 pm & 7 pm
Tickets: $49 – $59
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/tovah-leona-march/2020-03-28/Wiesenthal
Friday, April 3 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 4 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2:00 pm
Tickets:  $45
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/wiesenthal-2/2020-04-03/Hank Williams and My Honky Tonk Heroes
Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $39 – $45
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/hank-williams/Judy Carmichael:  Swing Time!  A Celebration of the Great American Song Book
Friday, April 17 at 7:30 pm
Tickets:  $37 – $47
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/judy-carmichael/Harrison Greenbaum:  What Just Happened?  A Comedy + Magic Show
Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $29 – $39Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/harrison-greenbaum-3/For tickets to all shows at the Mizner Park Cultural Center, and for more information: https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/   or call 844-672-2849.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miriam Hoffman Reads From Her Latest Book – A BREED APART: REFLECTIONS OF A YOUNG REFUGEE – January 15 at the PGA Arts Center

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

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Yiddishkayt Initiative
Invites audiences to join
Professor Miriam Hoffman
with her son Avi Hoffman
for a FREE Reading, Q & A, and Book Signing for
A Breed Apart: Reflections of A Young Refugee

For Immediate Release
Contact: Penny Landau
MayaPRNY@gmail.com /917-592-3149
Contact:  Carol Kassie
Carol@CarolKassie.com  / 561-445-9244

January 2, 2018

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL: Miriam Hoffman, author, scholar, journalist, playwright and survivor will read selections from her new book A Breed Apart: Reflections of a Young Refugee, on Monday, January 15, 2018, at 7pm at the PGA Arts Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She will be joined onstage by her son, Avi, the award-winning actor and performer who is currently appearing in the 20th Anniversary Production of his Too Jewish? at the PGA Arts Center through January 21st. The evening will also include a multimedia presentation, discussion, Q & A and book signing. The event will be FREE and open to the public.

Published by YI Press (a division of Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc.), A Breed Apart is an engaging non-fiction tale of war and survival, seen through the eyes of a young Miriam Hoffman and her father. Hoffman’s personal tale captures the beauty and importance of keeping the Yiddish language and Jewish culture alive during the twentieth-century, despite countless attempts to destroy it. A Breed Apart follows Miriam Hoffman’s emotional journey as a young refugee girl growing up in a post-war DP (Displaced Person) camp to her new life in the United States.

Miriam Hoffman is an author, scholar, playwright, and survivor of the Russian gulag and the post-World War II DP camps. She has spent her life preserving the Yiddish language and culture that she cherishes so dearly. Her accomplishments in education, arts and literature have impacted both Jews and non-Jews alike. From her time as a child in the post-war DP (Displaced Persons) refugee camp in Ulm, Germany, she brought with her an album of pictures of life in the camp, as well as a journal she kept of over 80 songs in four different languages – Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian and Polish. The Ulm Album has been shared with the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She has also written over a dozen plays which have won awards and have been produced all over the world. Hoffman recently retired after 25 years as professor of Yiddish Language and Culture at Columbia University. She has published over 2,000 weekly columns in New York’s Yiddish Forward Newspaper as a feature writer. Recently inducted into the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame, Miriam has written university textbooks and is the founder of the Joseph Papp Yiddish Theatre, with the world-renowned Broadway impresario. www.YiddishkaytInitiative.org

For more information about Miriam Hoffman, A Breed Apart: Reflections of a Young Refugee, or Avi Hoffman, contact Penny Landau (MayaPRNY@gmail.com/917-592-3149) or Carol Kassie (Carol@CarolKassie.com/561-445-9244).

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A Breed Apart: Reflections of a Young Refugee
A FREE Reading, Q & A, and Book Signing
With Miriam Hoffman and Avi Hoffman
Monday, January 15 at 7 pm
To reserve tickets contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com
PGA Arts Center
4076 PGA Boulevard
Palm Beach Gardens, FL  33410

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AVI HOFFMAN’S TOO JEWISH? at the PGA Arts Center – December 28, 2017 – January 21, 2018

27 Monday Nov 2017

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PGA Arts Center
in Association with
Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc.
University of Miami Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies
presents
A Joseph Papp Yiddish Theatre ProductionDecember 28, 2017 – January 21, 2018

Avi Hoffman’s “Too Jewish?” Returns
for 20th Anniversary Production
Acclaimed Solo Show at PGA Arts Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Penny M. Landau – Maya PR
MayaPRNY@gmail.com / 917-592-3149
Contact:  Carol Kassie
Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244

December 26, 2017

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL –In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? will return to South Florida. Produced by PGA Arts Center in Association with Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc & University of Miami Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, Too Jewish? will begin performances at PGA in Palm Beach Gardens, on Thursday, December 28 & run through Sunday, January 21, 2018.

Too Jewish? premiered Off-Broadway at New York’s Houseman Theatre in 1994 and has been presented all over the world, as well as on the national PBS network.  Hoffman, a child of Holocaust survivors, was taught at an early age to appreciate the beauty and depth of Jewish literature, music and tradition.  In Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? he combines a delightful mix of music, comedy, impersonations and personal reminiscences, taking his audiences on a journey through his own Jewish roots, illustrating the traditions and history of his beloved Yiddish culture.

“Too Jewish? has had incredible success nationally and in South Florida, so we have decided to bring the production that changed my life back to PGA Arts Center,” Hoffman said. “This will be the perfect family outing for the holidays as the mixture of musical styles in the show appeals to all age groups. It will be the ORIGINAL production, with some new perspectives on how my life has dramatically changed since then.”

Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? has won multiple awards, including Performer of the Year ’95 by NY Press Magazine and the prestigious Los Angeles Ovation Award as Best Actor in a Musical in 2001. His most recent portrayal of Willie Loman in the Yiddish production of Death of a Salesman garnered him a NY Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actor in a Revival and was featured last summer at The Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, the largest Yiddishkayt Festival in North America. He has also been nominated for both a NY Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle Award.  His 2012 Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical was in recognition of his work as Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray at Actors Playhouse in Miami. He performs worldwide and has proudly worked in nearly every professional South Florida theatre, accumulating multiple awards and nominations. His upcoming Yiddish film Shehita (Slaughter) will be featured in this season’s Miami Jewish Film Festival. Hoffman recently directed and acted in the world premiere of Unlikely Heroes and performed in the Daryl Roth Florida tour of Stars of David. His two popular sequels to Too Jewish? – Too Jewish, Too! and Still Jewish After All These Years – have been seen throughout North America.

Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? will run from December 28, 2017 – January 21, 2018 at PGA Arts Center. The theatre is located at 4076 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410. (There is ample parking within close proximity to the theatre). Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 & 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm.

Tickets for Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? are $45-65. Tickets may be purchased at the PGA Arts Center box office at 855-HIT-SHOW (855-448-7469) or on line at www.pgaartscenter.com.

Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish?
December 27, 2017 – January 22, 2018
Created and performed by Avi Hoffman
Tickets:  $45-65
Phone:  855 448-7469
On line: www.pgaartscenter.com
Showtimes:
Thursday at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 2 & 8 pm
Sundays at 2 pm

PGA Arts Center
4076 PGA Boulevard
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
www.pgaartscenter.com
Like us on Facebook!  

 

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I WILL SURVIVE: SOUNDTRACKS OF THE 70S at the PGA Arts Center October 18 – November 19

19 Tuesday Sep 2017

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The PGA Arts Center
In Association with
Kevin Black Productions
presents
I Will Survive
Soundtracks of the 70s
October 18 – November 19

Grab your love beads and head on over to the PGA Arts Center
for the grooviest party in South Florida!

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

September 19, 2017
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL:  The PGA Arts Center will present I Will Survive: Soundtracks of the 70’s beginning October 18th. The production will run through November 19th at the increasingly popular Palm Beach Gardens venue.

When award-winning vocalist Mimi J. sought to develop a show about the women of soul who influenced her, she immediately turned to her good friend, Carbonell Award-nominated director/choreographer Kevin Black.  They tossed around a number of ideas, but they kept coming back to the music of the 70s – music they both love. Together they came up with the concept, a title, and the song choices for what was then called On the Radio:  Sounds of the 70s.   The show opened at Stage Door Theatre in Margate in June 2014 to rave reviews.

What had evolved was an evening of unforgettable songs from an unforgettable decade of music produced by an array of artists from ABBA to Carly Simon, to Gladys Knight, John Lennon, and ZZ Top. Now called I Will Survive – The Soundtracks of the 70s, the show is a rousing trip down memory lane – back to the time of bell bottoms, mood rings, smiley faces, and memorable music. Among the songs that will be featured in the show are “Close to You”, “Car Wash”, “Dancing Queen”, “Let it Be”, “Nobody Does It Better”, “Proud Mary”, “Midnight Train to Georgia”, “Hopelessly Devoted”, and “I Will Survive”.

“The challenge,” Black says, “was to try to figure out how to keep it interesting.  Because we didn’t want audiences to think the show is going to be two hours of Disco. It’s definitely not!”

“Kevin and I go to the theatre together a lot,” Mimi explains. “And I’ve never seen anything like what we did with this show – we’re really excited about it.

Along with the name change, the show itself has been tweaked and updated:

“We also felt there was a need to get another experience out there… to diversify the community,” Mimi continues. “This show introduces diversity and ethnicity.  We’re using local talent, and creating a different look and vibe on the stage for our community.  Audiences are going to feel that Soul Train vibe when they’re sitting in their seats… if they can stay in their seats!  Most of our audiences end up dancing!”

Two talented dancers will join Mimi on stage.

Mimi J. was born and raised in Miami. She is a professional singer currently performing in the South Florida tri-county area, and has been the recipient of numerous awards in vocal performance.  She received her degrees in Musical Theater from the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theater in Orlando, where she attended on the Walt Disney Scholarship. Mimi has been a member of the gospel recording group, Revelation S.E.E.D. founded and led by Margaret Reynolds of KC and the Sunshine Band, and has sung background for a number of award-winning artists including Gloria Estefan, Bobby McFerrin, Betty Wright, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill of the R&B group New Edition, and Quan Howell of the gospel group Sounds of Blackness. Some of her regional theatre and Broadway National and International Tour credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’, Smokey Joe’s Café, Fame, Nunsense, and Rent. Mimi was the first woman of color to play Teen Angel in the classic 70’s hit, Grease during the show’s Pan-Asian tour.

The PGA Arts Center was a welcome addition to the South Florida theatrical scene when it opened in January 2017 with a production of WaistWatchers The Musical!  Subsequent productions included Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter – A Jewish Tragedy, Tommy Koenig’s Baby Boomer Baby, Funny Old Broads, and The Kosher Cheer Leader.

The theatre’s 2017-2018 season promises to be filled with music and laughter: Following I Will Survive, Alan Jacobson’s Irving Berlin Salutes America will open on November 30th and run through December 24th.  Avi Hoffman will bring his popular show Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? to the theatre beginning December 27th, and two special New Year’s Eve Champagne Celebration performances starring Avery Sommers, Melissa Jacobson, and John Lariviere are planned for December 31st – one at 7 pm and one at 9:30 pm.   Other upcoming productions include Old Jews Telling Jokes (January 17 – March 4), Cooking with the Calamari Sisters (January 25 – March 18), and Raunchy Little Musical – Belle Barth is Back (March 2018).

I Will Survive will run from October 18 to November 19 at The PGA Arts Center in Palm Beach Gardens. The theatre is located at 4076 PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens (33410).

Tickets for I Will Survive are $45 weekdays & $48 weekends, with select premium seating for $65.  Tickets may be purchased on line at www.pgaartscenter.com or by phone at 855-448-7469. (855- Hit-Show) For group sales (10 or more) 561-808-3446.

For more information about I Will Survive and the PGA Arts Center, contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244).

I Will Survive: Soundtracks of the 70s
Conceived and written by Kevin Black & Mimi J.  
October 18 – November 19
Tickets:  $45 weekdays and $48 weekends, with select premium seats available at $65
Online:  www.pgaartscenter.com
Phone: 855-448-7469 (855-HIT-SHOW)
Group Sales: (10 or more): 561-808-3446
Showtimes:
Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm
Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday, and Sunday at 2:00 pm
The PGA Arts Center
4076 PGA Boulevard
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 3410
www.pgaartscenter.com
Like Us on Facebook! 

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AVI HOFFMAN’S TOO JEWISH? at Stage Door Theatre – July 19 – August 3 Only!

05 Wednesday Jul 2017

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Avi Hoffman Returns to the
Stage Door Theatre after 20 years
in the original
Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish?
July 19 – August 3 Only!

“Delightful tour of Jewish humor, language, and music. Avi has an instant rapport with his audience.  Touching, moving, and delightful.”  NY Newsday

July 5, 2017
MARGATE, FL:  20 years ago, multi-talented actor, director, comedian, singer, and Jewish cultural activist Avi Hoffman brought his award winning New York show Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish?  to the Stage Door Theatre. His life was never the same. Now, he’s back! Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? will open on July 19th, and run through August 3rd.

Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? premiered Off-Broadway at New York’s Houseman Theatre in 1994 and has been presented thousands of times all over the world, as well as on the national PBS network.  Hoffman, a child of Holocaust survivors, was taught at an early age to appreciate the beauty and depth of Jewish literature, music, and tradition.  In Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? he combines a delightful mix of music, comedy, impersonations, and personal reminiscences to take his audiences on a journey through his own Jewish roots, and to illustrate the traditions and history of his beloved Yiddish culture.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be returning to Stage Door for the 20th anniversary of the production that changed my life,” Hoffman says. “With the incredible success of Too Jewish? at the Stage Door, we moved our family to Florida, and the rest, as they say, is history!  This will be the ORIGINAL production, with some new perspectives on how my life has dramatically changed since then.”


Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? has won multiple awards, including Performer of the Year ’95 by NY Press Magazine, and the prestigious Los Angeles Ovation Award as Best Actor in a Musical in 2001. His recent portrayal of Willie Loman in the Yiddish production of Death of a Salesman garnered him a NY Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play, and was featured last summer at The Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, the largest Yiddishkayt Festival in North America. He has also been nominated for both the NY Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards.  His 2012 Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical was in recognition of his work as Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray at Actors Playhouse in Miami. He performs worldwide and has proudly worked in nearly every professional South Florida theatre, garnering multiple awards and nominations. Hoffman was also featured in the hit Starz series ‘Magic City’ and Netflix’s ‘Bloodline’, as well as USA’s ‘The Glades’ and NBC’s ‘Law and Order’. His upcoming Yiddish film Shehita (Slaughter) will be featured in next season’s Miami Jewish Film Festival. Hoffman recently directed and performed in the world premiere of Unlikely Heroes, and performed in the Daryl Roth Florida tour of Stars of David. His two popular sequels to Too Jewish? – Too Jewish Two!, and Still Jewish After All These Years, have been seen throughout North America.


Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish? will run from July 19 – August 3 at Stage Door Theatre. The theatre is located at 8036 Sample Road, in Margate.  Performances are Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and Thursdays at 2 p.m.

Tickets for Too Jewish? are $36. Tickets may be purchased at the Broward Stage Door Theatre box office at 954-344-7765 or on line at www.stagedoorfl.org.

For more information about Too Jewish? contact: Carol Kassie (carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244). For more information about Avi Hoffman visit:  www.avihoffmanactor.com

Mr. Hoffman can be contacted through:
Margie Sernik | JWI PR |margie@jwipr.com | 786-200-2516
Jessica Wade Pfeffer | JWI PR | jessica@jwipr.com | 305-804-8424

Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc., in association with Stage Door Theatre
Presents:
Avi Hoffman’s Too Jewish?
July 19 – August 3
Created and performed by Avi Hoffman
Tickets:  $36
Phone:  954-344-7765
On line: www.stagedoorfl.org
Showtimes:
Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Thursday at 2 p.m.
The Stage Door Theatre
8036 W Sample Rd
Margate, Fl 33065
www.stagedoorfl.org
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The South Florida Theatre League’s THE DANA PLAYS 2015 to Feature Short Plays by Nine South Florida Playwrights – August 31st at The Vanguard

11 Tuesday Aug 2015

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New Theatre League Logo - Use thisThe South Florida Theatre League
presents
The Dana Plays 2015
A play reading fundraiser for the Humane Society
Inspired by Dana Castellano

Miami, Florida, August 11, 2015 

On Monday, August 31st, the South Florida Theatre League will proudly present The Dana Plays 2015 – a play reading fundraiser inspired by Dana Castellano – at The Vanguard (1501 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316) at 8 pm.

Dana Castellano

Dana Castellano

The Dana Plays evolved as an adjunct to the South Florida Theatre League’s Summer Theatre Fest Play Reading Festival. Dana Castellano was a passionate supporter of, and involved with, South Florida theatre for over 10 years in both Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She was an active member of the board of directors for the Women’s Theater Project and dedicated her time and energy to a number of theatrical projects. Her love of the theater allowed her to make amazing lifelong friends and share her commitment to the arts community. Dana Castellano passed away in November of 2014.

The playwrights contributing to The Dana Plays 2015 are Andie Arthur, Christopher Demos-Brown, Jessica Farr, Tony Finstrom, Avi Hoffman, Michael McKeever, David Nail, Matt Stabile, and Paul Tei.

The Dana Plays 2015 will raise funds for the Humane Society, a charity Castellano supported because of her love of animals.

Tickets for The Dana Plays are $15 each (with any extra donation welcome), and are now available at SouthFloridaTheatre.org or https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949407

For more information about The Dana Plays 2015, or the South Florida Theatre League, please contact Andie Arthur at andie@southfloridatheatre.com / 954-557-0778 or Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com /  561-445-9244.

The South Florida Theatre League is an alliance of theatrical organizations and professionals dedicated to nurturing, promoting, and advocating for the growth and prestige of the South Florida theatre industry.  The South Florida Theatre League is funded by its members, member theatres, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. For more information visit: www.southfloridatheatre.com.

The Vanguard: Sanctuary For The Arts is an intimate, versatile black box performance space located in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale.  Formerly a church when first erected in 1939, the freshly remodeled venue will be a modern sanctuary for the arts.  The Vanguard will serve as the permanent residence for Thinking Cap Theatre, a local award-winning theatre company, and as a creative hub to showcase a range of artistic offerings, including the work of other local and visiting theatre companies, stand-up comedy, dance, film screenings, art installations, and live music. Founding Executive Director, Nicole Stodard, and her creative team have given the decor of the venue a mid-century flair with a mod color palette, Sputnik chandeliers and pop art reminiscent of Warhol adorning the lobby lounge.  However, they have preserved the original 30-feet Dade County pine ceiling in the central room that is now the performance area. The Vanguard is also available for rental for corporate and private events.  For more information, call 813-220-1546.  www.vanguardarts.org

~*~

The Dana Plays 2015
Monday, August 31st – 8 pm
Tickets:  $15
at The Vanguard
1501 S. Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
To purchase tickets, visit SouthFloridaTheatre.org or
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949407

 

 

 

 

 

The South Florida Theatre League presents THE DANA PLAYS – A play reading fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Inspired by Dana Castellano

26 Thursday Jun 2014

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The South Florida Theatre League
presents
The Dana Plays
A play reading fundraiser for the American Cancer Society
Inspired by Dana Castellano
Dana CastellanoMiami, Florida, June 26, 2014

On July 14th the South Florida Theatre League will present The Dana Plays, a play reading fundraiser inspired by Dana Castellano, a beloved member of the local theatrical community.

The event will take place at Miami Theatre Center at 8 pm. Castellano was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer in January 2014.

The evening, which has evolved as an adjunct to the League’s Summer Theatre Fest Play Reading Festival, will raise funds for the American Cancer Society and for Castellano to help her defray the heavy costs of her treatments.

Dana Castellano has been a passionate supporter of and involved with South Florida theatre for over 10 years in both Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She has been an active member of the board of directors the Women’s Theater Project and has dedicated her time and energy a number of theatrical projects. Her love of the theater allowed her to make amazing lifelong friends and share her commitment to the theater and the community.

Castellano is pleased, excited, and tremendously moved by the support she has received from the theatrical community, as well as from her friends and family since her diagnosis. Her plight has led to the formation of a support group, Team Chaos, whose mandate is to raise funds for, and awareness of her situation. They will actively support the event.

Among playwrights contributing to The Dana Plays are Andie Arthur, Christopher Demos-Brown, Jessica Farr, Tony Finstrom, Avi Hoffman, Michael McKeever, Juan C. Sanchez, Deborah Sherman, and Paul Tei.

Tickets for The Dana Plays are $15 each (with any extra donation welcome), and will be available at the door of the theatre the evening of the performance only.

For more information about The Dana Plays, Dana Castellano, or the South Florida Theatre League, please contact Andie Arthur at Contact: Andie Arthur at andie@southfloridatheatre.com / 954-557-0778 or Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

The South Florida Theatre League is an alliance of theatrical organizations and professionals dedicated to nurturing, promoting, and advocating for the growth and prestige of the South Florida theatre industry. The South Florida Theatre League is funded by its members, member theatres, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. For more information visit: www.southfloridatheatre.com.

Under the leadership of Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Ansin, The Miami Theatre Center produces classical and contemporary works that entertain and educate audiences and artists of all ages and abilities. MTC programs include: MTCperformance, innovative theater, dance and music; MTCeducation, learning opportunities for students, professionals, and the general public; and MTCfilm, a partnership with O Cinema that transforms the theater into an independent cinema several nights a week.  To learn more, visit www.mtcmiami.org.

For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together with millions of supporters worldwide, they help people stay well, help people get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer.

Donations can be made directly to Dana Castellano’s support group,
Team Chaos here: http://tinyurl.com/le2p2nr
Like Team Chaos on Facebook here:  http://tinyurl.com/n83rjt5
~*~

The Dana Plays: A play reading fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Inspired by Dana Castellano
Monday, July 14th – 8 pm
Tickets: $15
Phone: 305-751-9550
Miami Theatre Center
9806 NE 2nd Ave Miami Shores,
FL 33138

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild presents Avi Hoffman in ‘Still Jewish After All These Years’

11 Thursday Apr 2013

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pix-0307still-jewish-logojpg“Hoffman offers….a non-stop display of enthusiasm,
a terrific delivery with jokes
and an amusing way with a song…” NJ.com

Award-winning actor, singer, author, raconteur, and South Florida favorite Avi Hoffman will return to the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park with Still Jewish After All These Years: A Life in the Theatre, a celebration of his life in show business.

One of South Florida’s busiest and most popular actors, Hoffman has just Avi-Chai-colorcompleted a triumphant run in the Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s production of Chicago, and is currently garnering rave reviews in Outré Theatre Company’s An Illiad.  Still Jewish After All These Years will run from May 10th -19th.

Accompanied by pianist Caryl Fantel, Hoffman will invite audiences on a casual and intimate tour of his multifaceted career and his extraordinary life in show business. Filled with songs and stories, reminiscences of performances, encounters with greats… and not so greats, Hoffman’s Still Jewish… will, entertain, move, and resonate with everyone.

Avi HoffmanAvi Hoffman has received national and critical recognition for his award-winning one man shows Too Jewish? and Too Jewish, Too! (Performer of the Year/NY Press Magazine; L.A. OVATION Award – Best Actor in a Musical; NY Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations).  Both these shows have been broadcast nationally on PBS.    His extensive resume includes groundbreaking productions of Songs of Paradise with Broadway impresario Joseph Papp and the NY productions of The Golden Land and The Rise of David Levinsky. Hoffman has performed all over the world, and has numerous theatre credits and multiple Carbonell and Curtain Up awards and nominations. He is currently featured as lawyer Sid Raskin in the STARZ TV series Magic City. He also appeared as ‘Ted’ on A&E’s The Glades and as ‘Teddy Wayne’ on NBC’s Law & Order, and was seen in the PBS documentary They Came for Good: A History of the Jews in the US.

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing professional productions and advancing the art of theatre in the South Florida community.

All performances of Still Jewish After All These Years will take place in the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  The theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail in Boca Raton, just south of Palmetto Park Road.

Tickets for Still Jewish…  are $25, and are available at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948.

For more information about Still Jewish After All These Years: A Life in the Theatre and/or the Boca Raton Theatre Guild, please visit www.avihoffman.com/  or  www.brtg.org

Still Jewish After All These Years: A Life in the Theatre
May 10 – 19
Performances:
May 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 8:00 PM
May 11, 12, 18, 19 at 2:00 PM
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
Tickets:  $25
Phone: 561-347-3948

“The precious truth about Avi Hoffman is that his shows rest on a solid foundation of scholarship. Mr. Hoffman is a teacher and a dedicated preservationist of culture. But like so many sages, he disguises his lessons as entertainment.” ~ New York Times

“Avi Hoffman scores in Still Jewish!”  ~ H. Erstein – PB Arts Paper
“Avi Hoffman enthralls!”                  ~ K. Thompson – Palm Beach Post
“Avi Hoffman is a treasure!”                ~ R. Levitt –  Media News

    Avi Tummler shot Avi Press shot