A weekend of reminiscing, reconnecting, and reuniting with friends old and new is fast-approaching. The J is opening its doors to the community for a spectacular July 4thweekend celebration.

The excitement begins on Thursday, July 4, as we kick off the fun-filled weekend with the Bexley 4th of July Parade. Everyone is invited to walk alongside the JCC 100 float. Participants are encouraged to wear a vintage JCC t-shirt and meet at 9:00 am at the parade line-up at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Remington Road.

“The parade is for all members, past and present,” explained Mary Beth Zacks, who leads the Reunion Weekend committee and the organizing efforts behind all the events of the weekend. “This weekend is really about reuniting members from preschool to camp to sports. We want everyone to visit and celebrate our 100 years together by meeting up with old friends who you went to preschool or camp with, or played a sport with. If you were involved in the Jewish Center, come on back. Come see what we’ve done in the last 100 years!”

After the parade, visitors are invited to stop by the JCC on College Avenue for an Open House at 4:00 pm. A tour showcasing all the updated features of our expanded facilities, including the new J-Zone, gym, and enlarged fitness area complete with brand new equipment, will be offered.

That evening, gather for the Bexley Fireworks at 9:30 pm. Participants should plan on bringing a blanket or chairs to gather with JCC family and friends from near and far. Our group will meet in front of Graeter’s Ice Cream on E. Main Street and from there the gathering will find a spot to enjoy the fireworks together.

The fun doesn’t stop there. On Friday, July 5, the JCC is hosting a campground celebration, reuniting campers young and old. From 12-1 pm members and their guests are invited to come down to the JCC campgrounds for an hour of nostalgia that will bring back memories of camp, and, of course, for silly summer fun and favorite summertime treats.

The reunion weekend fun continues from 3-5 pm on Friday, July 5, when current and former BBYO and teen club members are invited to reunite at the J. This will be a time to visit with old friends and honor the advisors who made teen club programming so special.

The afternoon will be a time to mingle, kibbitz, nosh, and catch up with former BBYO advisors like Buzzy Kantor and Hani Hara. Jon and Robyn Bogante Silberstein will host theJuly 5 mixer. Robyn first became involved with BBYO as a high schooler looking to reconnect with Berwick friends who were no longer in her neighborhood.

Now, she looks forward to reconnecting with those same friends all over again. For Robyn, reuniting with former BBG advisor Marilyn Mendelman will be a highlight of the event. Mendelman was a mentor for her, who helped guide Robyn on to becoming president of both her BBG Chaverim chapter and the entire KIO BBYO region in the 1970s.

“I still maintain friendships that were formed in those years,” Robyn reflected. “I was involved in every aspect of BBYO and I absolutely loved it. I would never trade those four years for anything,” she said.

Hosting the reunion event is especially meaningful for Robyn. She recalled how BBYO was a way to keep connected with Jewish friends from all over the city, just as the JCC remains for her today. “It was an opportunity for me to keep in touch with my Jewish friends from all over the city. My parents graciously opened our house to host to anybody and everybody. My mom would cook for anywhere from five to 25 BBYO kids from all around the region who were coming in for events we were having here in town. It’s nice to be able to keep that tradition going by hosting the BBYO reunion weekend this July 5.”

Ted Fireman is also on the planning committee with Mary Beth Zacks. He was a very active BBYO member in his younger days, and went on to become a youth advisor, as well. “For lots of Jewish teens, the JCC and BBYO were synonymous. A BBYO reunion will be a great draw for the JCC’s 100th anniversary,” said Fireman.

Fireman reminisced, “BBYO was a highlight of my high school years. Some of my closest friends today were fellow Heart of Ohio AZA members more than 40 years ago! In our era, it was common to have more than 200 BBYO’ers together in the lobby of the old JCC. Our meetings were total chaos but a highlight of the week. With the characters in our chapter, we could have sat in a circle reading the phone book and had the time of our lives. However, we also took great pride in our community service work, Shabbat services with residents at Heritage House, and our social action projects.”

Hani Hara advised the Heart of Ohio AZA boys after belonging to the chapter as a youth, he said, because it “was a big part of my young teenage life and I’m very much looking forward to the reunion weekend.”

For those looking forward to seeing all their favorite old advisors, the weekend will truly be a treat. Buzzy Kantor, Marilyn Mendelman, Hani Hara, Ted Fireman and more plan to attend and reflect on the many years of memories made at the JCC.

“What I love about the J is that we have infants to seniors in one building interacting and enjoying programs as a community. It represents a full cycle of life, so come by and see for yourself where we are today after 100 years,” said Mary Beth Zacks.

And a special treat is in store for those who remember the bowling lanes in the former Jewish Center. Sunday, July 7, is your chance to gather around a game of ten-pins. From 9 am to 12 noon, it’s tournament time at Holiday Lanes, located at 4589 E. Broad Street. The JCC Bowling Tournament promises to bring back fond memories, thrilling competition, and more. Knock down some pins, swap stories about the old bowling lanes, and of course have a nosh; light brunch will be served.

Don’t miss a thing! To find out more, help out, or participate in any or all of the JCC Reunion Weekend activities, contact Mary Beth Zacks at mbzacks@gmail.com; Jeanna Brownlee at (614) 559-6274 or jbrownlee@columbusjcc.org; or Nancy Rosen at nrosen@columbusjcc.org. And check out our website for the full list of weekend events.

Many of you know renowned local artist, Paul Palnik, for his unique, spiritually-themed, cartoon-style works of art that are featured in The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at the Wexner Center. His witty and detailed pen-and-ink drawings are world-famous, yet he calls Bexley home and is a long-time JCC member.

But did you know that Paul Palnik has created a new cartoon poster in honor of the Jewish Community Center’s 100th Anniversary? That’s right; Palnik has brought his charm, wit, and spiritual yet whimsical approach to art to the JCC 100 Anniversary celebration. This heartfelt, original creation on display in the JCC lobby features 100 memories of the JCC, humorously reflecting on everything from JCC swim lessons to the old bowling alley to the Hoover ropes course.

Palnik’s work has sold all over the world, from Japan to South Africa, Poland to the UK. Although his work is world-renowned, the humble artist is proud to have gotten his start “standing on Columbus’ street corners…at these outdoor art shows, sometimes in the rain, standing like a schmendrick selling cartoons,” he said. His life, in some ways, reflects his art, which, he said, has two themes, “the profound and the absurd, and they oftentimes mix together. I have a philosophy that you can sit down on a city bus, and the guy next to you could be in hell, and I could be in heaven. That’s why I choose [to use only the medium of] black and white [ink]—the profoundly absurd, heaven/hell, good/evil, man/woman, creator/creation. …I like those meeting points.”

Palnik’s biggest influence was his mentor and former professor at The Ohio State University, the late Sid Chafetz.  “He was my creative father. We became friends until his death this year. When he died I cried like a baby. He changed everything for me. No Sid Chafetz, no Paul Palnik. I stand on the shoulders of people who came before me.”

It is the people who came before him who he reflected on the most as he created this one-of-a-kind poster celebrating 100 years of the JCC, which truly preserves the history and memories of the JCC, for him and so many others. Palnik has lived in Columbus since coming to The Ohio State University as an undergrad in the ‘60s, and has been a JCC member ever since. His poster, titled, “I Love the JCC! 100 Years Young and Better than Ever,” demonstrates the passion he has for the Columbus Jewish community and for the JCC, he said, and it honors the memory of dear friends he met there through the years.

“The people, certain personalities, are my favorite memory,” Palnik explained. “Many of them have passed away. I just remember all the old guys who are gone now. They’re part of [this poster]. …That’s why this is meaningful for me. There were so many wonderful, wonderful men, men like Moe Mendelson and Moe’s father, and Hani Hara’s father—wonderful, colorful, Yiddish kind of characters. I remember Dan Harrison who was the head of the Hebrew School. They taught me so much,” Palnik recalled.

For the JCC 100 poster, he has taken his memories of old, familiar friends and his strong sense of the Creator being in all things, he said, and worked them into the poster in small ways. “I sneak as much in as I can. I have a sunny faith, it’s a happy faith. I couldn’t name it all, so I tried not naming. There are so many wonderful people. You can’t name them all…. But the Jewish Center’s made up of people. It’s the people who make it what it is. I feel in oneness with the Jewish people. …That is fixed in my soul,” said Palnik.

For his work, Palnik has been noted as “an artist who expresses his philosophy in images and fantasies drawn with originality. He is in his own way, unique,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nobel Prize Winner for Literature. Along with Singer’s praise, Palnik is proud and honored to be admired by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who said of Palnik’s work, “Palnik’s calendar with its words and drawings is a gift, a beautiful gift.”

What are your favorite memories of the JCC? You are guaranteed to find them in this poster, thoughtfully and carefully crafted by Palnik using memorable submissions from members like you. Now, you, too, can own a piece of history. These limited edition prints are signed and numbered; order yours now for one of 100 unique JCC 100 posters.

And, if you want a more personalized version of these comic strip-style posters, an additional set of posters has been created, each featuring a blank, individual square where your personal JCC story can be added by none other than the artist himself. Palnik will personally come to the JCC to create a matchless design just for you to enjoy and pass down from generation to generation, just like the JCC.

Palnik explained how he will create these personalized squares. “I will talk to them a little bit…get to know them,” he said. As a lifetime practitioner of meditation, the deeply spiritual and self-described mystic explained his process of taking just a few small details and turning them into a completely distinctive piece that, he said, will reflect the soul of the poster’s owner. “I have a kind of a third eye, a spiritual eye and I can see into people. I can see everything about them. I can see things that others don’t see.”

The idea for an exclusive JCC 100 poster came from a collaboration between former Associate Executive Director David Valinsky, Hani Hara, and Paul Palnik. Valinsky and Hara approached Palnik about creating some sort of artwork that would reflect the 100 years of JCC history, featuring members’ memories, and would become a collector’s item. But the idea evolved into much more, explained collaborator and artist in his own right, Hani Hara.

Hara designed one of the murals that Harmony Project volunteers recently painted and installed as part of the beautification effort of the Livingston Avenue Streetcar District. Hara also created the visually stunning JCC 100 Birthday Card and chairs the JCC’s visual arts committee. “We had the idea to work with Paul to create a poster that reflected 100 things about the JCC, but Palnik took that idea and just ran with it. He really brought the memories to life in this poster,” said Hara, who has a 20-year+ friendship with Palnik. “I couldn’t name a favorite [square]. They’re all so good.”

For members near and far, the poster will be a wonderful way to honor the 100 years of history and help keep the memories alive, Hara said. “This would also make a great gift for someone who has moved out of town—to help them relive their memories.”

For Palnik, creating the poster also helped him bring back his old memories of fun times he had at the old bowling alley, playing in the basketball leagues, or teaching art classes at the Center. Palnik reminisced, “The JCC was always there for me, always a place where we could go and meet with family and friends. It was just a part of our lives.”

Have you ordered yours yet? Contact Melanie Butter at mbutter@columbusjcc.org or 614-559-6233.

Beginning with the play, Yentl, in the fall of 2013, Gallery Players will follow the tremendously successful, crowd-pleasing Fiddler on the Roof with another play that highlights the tension between Jewish tradition and modernity. Yentl, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story, “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy,” centers on a young girl who defies Jewish tradition by disguising her gender and studying the Talmud. The play explores Yentl’s resulting identity crisis and is not to be confused with the musical starring Barbra Streisand.

This year’s lineup offers something for everyone, including a family play based on the popular children’s book, Elijah’s Angel, by JCC alum and longtime Berwick resident Michael J. Rosen. The play is the finale event of the JCC 100. In collaboration with Gallery Players, the play will be the capstone to a year full of thrilling events celebrating the JCC’s 100^th year. Elijah’s Angel is based on Rosen’s own experiences and friendship with Elijah Pierce, an icon of the King-Lincoln District who was part prophet, part artist, and part barber for the residents of his community.

This heartwarming holiday show for the whole family centers on the remarkable connection between the school-age Michael and the Christian minister Pierce. The theme of two faiths finding common ground becomes child-friendly through Rosen’s creative storytelling of his own consternation after Pierce presents him with the gift of a hand-carved, wooden angel.

The spring brings lighter fare with the musical, The Producers. The smash Broadway hit from Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan tells the story of a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant. Their scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history goes awry when “Springtime for Hitler” becomes—much to their dismay—a huge hit! The hilarious antics of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom give way to the musical’s touching, emotional core—the poignant journey of two very different men who become friends.

With the fourth and final play still to be determined, one thing is certain: a well-rounded, thoroughly entertaining 65^th anniversary season is in store for audiences of all ages to celebrate the start of the next 100 years of the JCC.

With a smile on her face and a creative project on her mind, Lisa Keller comes to work at the JCC North preschool in Dublin eager to greet her students and share her day with them. Keller’s infectious enthusiasm for learning and love for her students is especially evident to the numerous parents who nominated for her this year’s Shehechyanu Award.

Keller is honored to be the winner of this year’s Shehechyanu Award, which is presented to a teacher who has demonstrated the JCC Early Childhood Education program’s high standards and commitment to quality in her classroom by giving her all to the children and families with whom she works.

30 parent nominations were submitted for the 2013 Shehechyanu Award, but one teacher stood out among the rest. This teacher’s dedication to her students and to the JCC North is seen each day in her love for her students and her creative and joyful approach to teaching and to life.

One parent explained why they felt Keller was most deserving of the prestigious award. “Lisa is very enthusiastic and generous of energy and spirit. Her own creativity and joy are infectious: there is not a child in the Sun Room who does not brighten in her company and become engaged in the classroom explorations and play,” they wrote in their nomination form. Rabbi Rick Kellner, JCC North parent and Rabbi of Congregation Beth Tikvah, also praised Keller for her love of all the children.

Keller’s love of children truly comes out in her work, as she explained why she has worked at the JCC North for over 12 years. “The greatest joy of my job is seeing the children’s milestones and being a part of their early development,” said Keller, who taught in the Infant classroom for many years, and this past year took on the role of lead teacher in the Two-Year-Old classroom.

Each May, a well-deserving preschool teacher, making a difference in young children’s lives at the Jewish Community Center, is recognized by the JCC for their outstanding work. Brad and Holly Kastan, along with their children, Sam, Rebecca, and Jacob Kastan, created the Shehechyanu Award in honor and memory of their daughter, Sarah. This year marks the Shehechyanu Award’s 15th anniversary of honoring the teachers who make the JCC preschool one of the finest programs of its kind in Central Ohio.

Brad Kastan presented Keller with her award at the JCC’s Annual Meeting awards night and dinner, which took place this past Tuesday, May 28. He shared how much it means to him and his family to have been able to celebrate Sarah’s life in such a meaningful way for the past 15 years, by honoring the many teachers who have helped children such as their own. “Our family always looks forward to presenting the Shehechyanu Award in memory of our beloved daughter, Sarah Stone Kastan. The word, Shehechyanu, comes from the Hebrew word, chai, which means life. Although Sarah’s life was short, she taught us all how very precious and fragile the gift of life is,” said Kastan.

“While the award is our community’s chance to honor and recognize the contributions of all the teachers working at the JCC, we recognize Lisa Keller of the JCC North this year for her outstanding contributions to the program, carrying out its high ideals,” said Brad Kastan, who established the award along with his wife, Holly, and children, Rebecca, Jacob, and Sam, in 1998.

This July 4-7: Get the word out now to friends near and far; there’s going to be JCC reunion fun all weekend long!

The excitement begins on Thursday, July 4, as we kick off our fun-filled JCC reunion weekend by walking alongside the JCC 100 float in Bexley’s 4th of July parade. The best seat for the parade might just be the one inside it! Participants are encouraged to wear a vintage JCC t-shirt. At 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, join the July 4th parade by meeting us at the parade line-up, at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Remington Road.

Later in the day, come check out the JCC Open House. At 4 pm on July 4, visitors are invited to stop by the new J-Zone, gym, or expanded fitness area for a special tour. See the new addition, our lobby exhibition, JCC 100: The Center of It All, and more!

Finally, gather for the Bexley Fireworks at 9:30 pm that night. Bring a blanket or chairs and your family and friends. We’ll turn our eyes toward the skies and ooh and ahh the night away. Meet in front of Graeter’s and we’ll find a spot to watch together.

The fun doesn’t stop there. On Friday, July 5, join us for a campground celebration, reuniting campers young and old. From 12:00 — 1:00 pm members and their guests are invited to come on down to the JCC campgrounds for an hour of silly summer fun and favorite summer treats.

Later, from 3:00 — 5:00 pm on Friday, July 5, current and former BBYO and teen club members are invited to reunite at the J! Reconnect with old friends and honor the advisors who made teen club programming so special. Have a kibbitz and a nosh—share a memory. Email, snail mail, Facebook, text, or even dial your old friends and make sure they’re all here!

On Sunday, July 7, it’s tournament time! From 9 am to 12 noon, at Holiday Lanes, located at 4589 E. Broad Street, the JCC Bowling Tournament promises to bring back fond memories and more. Knock down some pins, swap stories about the old bowling lanes, and of course have a nosh; light brunch will be served.

At 2 pm, we take the fun outdoors, for a softball tournament! Slip on your old softball glove, grab your lucky socks, and join us for fun on the JCC softball diamond. Everyone is welcome to play. Be sure to work up an appetite—we’ll be grilling out.

Don’t miss a thing! To find out more, help out, or participate in any or all of the JCC Reunion Weekend activities, contact Mary Beth Zacks at mbzacks@gmail.com; Jeanna Brownlee at (614) 559-6274 or jbrownlee@columbusjcc.org; or Nancy Rosen at nrosen@columbusjcc.org.

Guests can look forward to a different format for the Annual Meeting. This year’s event will be enhanced by its new MCs, the team of Michael and Shana Levin. Dinner will accompany the awards night, for a Jewish Community Center version of the Golden Globe awards.                 

“The JCC Annual Meeting is a time to honor and highlight those who have given back to the JCC,” said Shana Levin, who, as a JCC Board member, has given back so much already. She continues the family tradition that began with her father, former JCC Board President Michael Canter. “Hosting this is our opportunity to give back to the JCC. We have never done anything like this together and we thought it would be fun to host as MCs together,” Levin added.

This year’s Annual Meeting awards ceremony will include the exchange of Board Presidents, with current JCC Board president Joe Sniderman passing the torch to incoming president, Lisa Newmark. The Board’s newest slate of members will be inducted, and departing members will be honored during the dinner celebration. The Annual Meeting will also be a time to acknowledge and reward the accomplishments of Jewish high school seniors who have made significant achievements academically and through their participation in athletics, with the presentation of the JCC Erkis/Berliner Jewish Scholar Athlete Award.

The Rabbi Nathan and Sylvia Gaynor Jewish Cultural Award will recognize excellence in Jewish programming, and the Helen Nutis Volunteer of the Year Mitzvah Award will recognize the dedication of an outstanding JCC volunteer. The JCC teacher who exemplifies the high teaching standards that the JCC preschool is known for will be awarded the Shehechyanu Teacher of the Year Award.

To RSVP for this free event that includes a light dinner, please contact Valerie Lofton at vlofton@columbusjcc.org or by calling (614) 231-2731.

This year’s annual meeting is graciously hosted by Michael and Shana Levin.

Shavuot, the Feast of the Weeks, is the Jewish holiday celebrating the harvest season in Israel. “Shavuot” is the Hebrew word for “weeks” and refers to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which occurs 7 weeks after Passover. This ancient Jewish festival, like many other Jewish holidays, began as an agricultural celebration marking the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. In ancient times, Shavuot was a pilgrimage festival during which Israelites brought crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. Today, it is a celebration of Torah, education, and actively choosing to participate in Jewish life. It is customary to eat dairy food on Shavuot. Some derive the practice directly from scripture, saying we eat dairy to symbolize the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8) promised to the Israelites, or that “milk and honey are under your tongue” (Song of Songs 4:11). These passages, along with, “The precepts of the Lord are… sweeter than honey” (Psalm 19:9-11), also indicate we should eat honey, which is customary in some communities.

“It is a tremendous honor that the NAACP selected the Jewish Center as this year’s Past Civil Rights Icon. As we celebrate 100 years as an organization in Columbus, one area of great pride is the leadership our agency has shown working toward the civil rights for all,” said JCC Executive Director Carol Folkerth.

Many milestones in the JCC’s first 100 years have been toward the advancement of civil rights. In 1918 the JCC provided support and space to immigrants and women’s groups. The JCC had the first integrated semi-professional theater and bowling lanes in the 1950s. In the 1970s the JCC promoted the rights of Soviet Jews, and today the JCC is proud to offer special needs programming including camping and arts for children and adults. The JCC also provides English as a Second Language classes, Russian acculturation programming, and a place for people to vote.

Noel Williams, President of the Columbus NAACP said, “The Jewish Community Center, being one of the first places in Columbus to integrate, having the first integrated bowling alley, and being noted for having the first integrated cast for a play before the 1960s, is an obvious choice for the Columbus NAACP to recognize for their civil rights work.”

In addition to honoring the JCC itself, the NAACP has selected two individuals—who have worked with the JCC, promoting its tenets—to be honored as 2013 Civil Rights Present Day Icons: Chef Toney Robertson and Raisa Patlashenko.

Robertson, a Methodist and an African American, has been the chef at the JCC for 13 years. He learned how to keep an Orthodox kosher kitchen, where he prepares meals for preschoolers and seniors, as well as catering for special events. Under Robertson, the JCC expanded its catering services; Robertson was honored when a Columbus convention of rabbis from throughout the country requested him as the caterer.

Patlashenko herself fled oppression and came to the United States for religious and civil freedoms. She started working at the JCC in the Russian Acculturation program 22 years ago, helping families with basic things, like finding doctors, helping with schools, translations, and even with celebrating Jewish holidays, Shabbat dinners, and weddings.

As part of the Civil Rights Celebration program, students from across the city will participate in a challenge to research and present what they’ve learned about the JCC and why it was chosen as the NAACP’s Past Civil Rights Icon this year. Williams added, “We involve local schools in the celebration—asking them to research why this entity is being honored—because the NAACP believes it is important for the youth to learn and understand that the fight for Civil Rights was not something that just Dr. King or Rosa Parks did outside of this city and state. …Civil rights is something we all have and many individuals or organizations work to make us free.”

Presentations can include songs, dance, poetry, rap, a play or skit. Pre-judging will take place in early March and the top three schools will present at the Civil Rights Celebration event on Thursday, March 21, from 6-8 p.m. at the JCC.

Tickets

Tickets are $65, which includes a kosher dinner and the performance, or $15 for the performance only. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.columbusnaacp.org.

See President Obama’s message here:

The gathering of nearly 2,000 Jewish youth was the largest in recent history. Other highlights of the opening ceremonies were the engaging speeches by Michael Froman, Assistant to President Obama and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, and Josh Mandel, Ohio State Treasurer.

The keynote address by Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., called the teen delegates to action as they embarked on Friday, February 15, for the BBYO Stand UP Day of Service and Advocacy. The delegates split into groups, spending the day traveling around D.C. and working on various community service projects, from AIPAC to gardening to moving musical instruments into a new elementary school.

The day of service ended, of course, with a Shabbat celebration in which all 1,600 teens came together to recite the blessings and share a meal. The teens had 12 different Kabbalat Shabbat Services to choose from as they welcomed Shabbat—one for each denomination and spiritual style.

A variety of Havdallah services ended Shabbat with beautiful music. Then that evening, all the teens came together again to hear their International Board give the State of the Order, during which one of the Columbus boys’ chapters, POPS DSK, was awarded the Henry Monsky Chapter Excellence award for their excellence in programming. The KIO region of BBYO also won the Spirit Gavel, which honors the region with the most Ruach (spirit). KIO, of which the Columbus BBYO is a part, is the only region to have won the award three times.
 
Over 70 international students from 18 different countries were inducted into AZA and BBG, and following that, both AZA and BBG elected their international executive boards. The excitement continued as the convention concluded on Sunday afternoon with a variety of excursions. The teens could choose to go on a tour of D.C. sites, to visit the Holocaust Museum, or to see the AZAA/BBGG athletics programs at the University of Maryland.

BBYO’s International Convention has been a BBYO tradition for almost 90 years, honoring the hard work and emerging leadership skills of the next generation of Jewish leaders. The youth-led movement connects Jewish teens throughout the world to the Jewish community.

Mark Moscardino, Columbus BBYO City Director, extended a special thanks to Grant Hansell, Halle Herman, and Sam Dolen, for their leadership during the convention. “Thank you, Grant, for all your hard work as Convention Administrator, and thank you Halle Herman and Sam Dolen for leading the region all weekend,” said Moscardino.

Fiddler on the Roof, based on the stories of Yiddish storyteller Sholom Aleichem, continues to enjoy popularity among audiences across the country and around the world though it has been more than 40 years since its original 1964 Broadway debut. Set in 1905 at the beginning of the Russian Revolution, Fiddler on the Roof depicts Tevye the Dairyman, his wife, Golde, and their daughters, and Yente the Matchmaker negotiating a world in flux as beliefs are challenged by radical politics and the world of gentiles.

“Fiddler on the Roof is a slippery customer. It delivers to its audiences a classic ‘bait and switch’—it begins by showing us that traditions are the most important elements in a society…. Then, just when we have understood that concept, it shows us that there is something that transcends even the most time-honored traditions—love. Fiddler on the Roof teems with life, bursts with humor, thrills with music that arises naturally from the moment, and it inspires with its depiction of a people who remain indomitable in the face of hostility and prejudice,” said Director Mark Mann, who hopes to bring to life the Old Country in a new way that intrigues both new audiences and long-time fans.

The JCC tradition of staging Fiddler on the Roof began in 1972 when it was first performed by Gallery Players with Harold Eisenstein at the helm. For 40 years, until his retirement in 1998, Eisenstein directed, produced, and became the guiding hand for Gallery Players. He again directed the January 1983 production celebrating the JCC’s Grand Reopening in a newly constructed building; this was the first performance in the new building’s auditorium. Fiddler was also performed by Gallery Players in June of 1993. In honor of Gallery Players’ 50th anniversary, the production was revived again in October 1998.

The tradition continued when it was last performed in February 2006 with Cantor Jack Chomsky of Congregation Tifereth Israel starring in a sold-out run as Tevye. The theme of tradition couldn’t be more relevant than for Chomsky who will return to the Roth/Resler Theater to fill the lead role of Tevye again.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to repeat the role in this 100th anniversary celebration. I look forward to gathering people from our own Jewish community to portray this imaginary village and to come together to create an Anatevka for the Ages. I hope it will also be an opportunity to appreciate the many years of artistry of many hands building and maintaining Gallery Players,” said Chomsky.

Chomsky will be joined onstage by his wife, Susan Gellman, who will star as Tevye’s wife, Golde. “I am thrilled to perform alongside my wife, Susan.  We’ve been married five years longer than Golde and Tevye!  We are both excited to be a part of this special production,” said Chomsky.

Irene Braverman, veteran stage actor, is another long-lived Gallery Players tradition. She will be portraying Yente for the third time in this year’s production. Braverman first starred in the role in 1983 on the new stage— the first “real” stage, she said— designed especially for Gallery Players.

For the past 60 years, Braverman has played role after role, from comedy to drama and everything in between. Her favorite role, however, is as Yente. “I understand Yente. I know who she is. I’m thrilled to have the chance to play Yente again,” said Braverman.

Get your tickets now to one of the eight performances between March 2 and 17, 2013. Showtimes for Fiddler on the Roof are Saturdays at 8 p.m. on March 2 and March 9, and Saturday, March 16, at 8:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. March 3, 10, and 17; and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on March 7 and 14. And reservations are filling fast for the Eastern European-themed dinner on Sunday, March 10, following the matinee performance. A Taste of Anatevka, at 5:30 p.m., will feature Old World favorites such as babka, cabbage rolls, and pierogis!

A special JCC 100 price is being offered to Columbus synagogues, which qualify for specially discounted member pricing on tickets to the musical. Tickets are $20 for JCC members, $25 for nonmembers. $15 for senior members, $20 for senior nonmembers, $10 for children or students, and $15 per ticket for groups of 20 or more.

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Fiddler Cast List: