Our readers already know that LABA is the premier incubator for Jewish art and culture. Each year our fellows create new works inspired by Jewish texts. This year it’s LIFE + DEATH.
LABAlive is an evening of art and performance from LABA fellows. On Saturday, February 2nd at 7:30pm, LABAlive returns to the Theater at the 14th Street Y. Click here for tickets.
Here’s a taste of what’s coming:
Ari Brand in Missing
In this fascinating exploration of love and shame, actor and writer Ari Brand tells the story of his immigrant father’s fame and early death due to AIDs. Directed by Eugenia Manwelyan.
Yochai Greenfeld in Abbi Gezunt: It Gets Bitter
Greenfeld appears as Abbi Gezunt, an Orthodox Jewish mother, telling the story of when her son came out. In this bittersweet and very funny monologue, Abbi throws serious shade at the observant Jews who sit shiva fort their living family members who stray from the path.
Alex Weiser’s State of the Jews
Weiser presents excerpts from State of the Jews, his opera about the last years of the life ofTheodore Herzl (1860-1904), the founder of modern political Zionism. With librettist Ben Kaplan, Weiser interweaves a larger-than-life depiction of the historical narrative with the more intimate story of Herzl’s conflicted family life. Check out Herzl’s Plea to Pope Pius X performed by Mario Diaz Moresco.
Maya Ciarrocchi’s exhibition Site: Yizkor
This interdisciplinary installation is comprised of shtetl maps, architectural renderings, and Yizkor (memorial) books. With Site, Ciarrocchi, a Bronx-based artist, delves into the forgotten spaces of the dead, asking how and why people, cultures, and identities disappear, especially amongst marginalized communities. Check out the artist reading from her work-in-progress here.
LABAlive, Saturday, February 2nd at 7:30pm, at the Theater at the 14th Street Y. Buy your ticket now.