Hy Wolfe is an actor, singer and director whose roots are firmly planted in the world of Yiddish. Mr. Wolfe is the Artistic Director of the Yiddish National Theatre, and the Executive Director of CYCO (Central Yiddish Culture Organization) that publishes and sells Yiddish literature. Having been born in America to Holocaust survivors, Mr. Wolfe’s first language was Yiddish which afforded him the ability to perform effortlessly in both English and Yiddish. His twenty-five year performing career has taken him from California to New York to Europe where he has acted and sung on stage, screen, television and in concerts, and has performed as well in commercials, voiceovers and video films. His Appearances on the popular TV drama “Law & Order” the daytime TV series “The Edge of Night,” “The Guiding Light” and “Texas” are just a few of his credits. Mr. Wolfe performed the title role in “Yankl der Shmid” (Yankl the Blacksmith) for the Folksbine Yiddish Theatre, which was one of his many appearances for this renown theater. Other performances include “Grine Felder” (Green Fields) for the Yiddish Public Theatre and several musical reviews for the Joseph Papp Public Theatre. Mr. Wolfe’s video “No Shmaltz,” which showcases his many talents, was recently re-issued in DVD format.
     Mr. Wolfe has toured the east coast with several shows that he mounted with Mr. Herbert Kaplan as Musical Director. Mr. Wolfe’s link to the “goldene keyt” (the golden chain) is through the great actors with whom he has had the honor to perform such as Shifra Lerer, Mina Bern, Felix Fibich, David Rogow, Norman Kruger, Richard Carlow, Rachel Botchan, Suzanne Toren, Steve Sterner, Miriam Hoffman, Zypora Spaisman, Leon Liebgold, Bernard Mendelovitch, Emil Gorovets and Miriam Kressyn. Mr. Wolfe takes great pleasure in the realization that this CD dedicated to his parents is a triumph of the human spirit, a living memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, and a celebration of the resilience of Yiddish culture to survive and flourish in a world that at one time attempted to destroy all that is Yiddishayt.

Resume

View More Photos
 
     Herbert Kaplan is a pianist, composer, arranger and musical director. In 1996, Mr. Kaplan ventured for the first time into the world of Yiddish theater and Yiddish music as arranger and musical director on “The Maiden of Ludmir” for the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater. There he met Hy Wolfe. Subsequently, Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Wolfe worked together on a production of “Yankl der Shmid”, also for the Folksbiene, and a staging of “Grine Felder” for a new company formed by the legendary Zypora Spaisman. They have appeared together countless times on the concert stage, often with Shifra Lerer and Mina Bern, two great divas of the Yiddish theater. It has been Mr. Kaplan’s goal to keep alive the essence and tradition of the music while bringing to it a modern sensibility that reflects Yiddish culture today. This album, which took a year to complete, includes a number of songs never before recorded. It is the fruit of many years of collaboration between Herbert Kaplan and Hy Wolfe. Mr. Kaplan’s other credits include more than four decades of music making in theaters and opera houses, and on concert stages in New York and throughout the United States. Three of his original musicals and a children’s opera have been produced. Mr. Kaplan is looking forward to the premier of a commissioned work for string trio this season.
 
 
 

This Web Site Is Designed & Hosted By iDzine Partnership