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News
Big, Bright Sounds on August 5, 2021: Maxwell Street Klezmer Band Featuring Vocalist Lisa Fishman
Outdoor Concert at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie
Skokie, IL, July 7, 2021 – “I just want to be able to go to a live concert again!” is the comment that one hears more often every day as vaccinations hold out hope for public gatherings again. To connect with audiences again in person, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie created the “Out Back Summer Sessions,” carving out a socially-distanced, outdoor performance area in the parking lot behind the venue at 9501 Skokie Blvd Skokie, IL 60077. (Note: this is a BYOC event--Bring Your Own Chair.)
On Thursday, August 5th, 2021, 7:30 PM, Maxwell Street Klezmer Band will fill the air with their brand of high-energy, jazz-infused music. For this special full-band concert, Maxwell Street’s star vocalist Lisa Fishman will be flying in to headline the event. Now a lauded musical theater artist in New York and Los Angeles, Fishman was recently featured in the Off-Broadway sensation, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, directed by film and stage star, Joel Grey. She will be featured on songs such as “Sheyn vi di Levone” and “And the Angels Sing.”
“We are hungering to see the faces of audience members and to hear their applause and laughter,” says band director and singer Lori Lippitz, “maybe even more than they are eager to enjoy live music again!”
This is Maxwell Street Klezmer Band’s first full-band public concert since the Pandemic brought a halt to their calendar of performances. Now once again, the band’s talented musical lineup, including violinist and musical director Alex Koffman and jazzy sax-playing composer Shelley Yoelin, will meld their classical and jazz sensibilities into a unique sound that pleases audiences of all ages.
Links and Info:
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Tickets are $32-38, available online: bit.ly/3gig2Uz
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Box Office phone (847) 673-6300, Tuesday - Friday, 12:00 Noon - 5:00 PM
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Venue website https://northshorecenter.org/
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Event Landing Page: https://northshorecenter.org/event/maxwell-street-klezmer-band/
​​The rain location for this concert will be inside Center Theatre, in a ventilated and socially-distanced environment, or a rain date will be offered if weather requires it.
About Maxwell Street Klezmer Band: ​ The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band has charmed audiences from Carnegie Hall to the Barbican Centre in London with their unique Klezmer Big Band sound. An energetic Chicago-style horn line drives the music that merges American Big Band jazz with Eastern European Chassidic dance music and classical finesse (along with a healthy dose of quirky humor). The band will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023 at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
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"It was wonderful to hear Chicago's Maxwell Street Klezmer Band cut loose so exuberantly…(They) brought the audience to its feet, cheering its approval."
-John von Rhein, Music Critic, Chicago Tribune, on “Klezmer Rhapsody,” Chicago Symphony Center
See Maxwell Street Klezmer Band Media Kit: https://www.klezmerband.com/media-kit.
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About Lisa Fishman:
Singer, actress, songwriter and recording artist Lisa Fishman has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe in a diverse career that spans klezmer music and Yiddish theater, musical theater and children’s television, pop, rock, jazz, blues and originals. Lisa is the featured vocalist on Maxwell Street Klezmer Band’s best-selling 1996, You Should Be So Lucky!
As a musical theater actress, Lisa most recently played Bobe Tsaytl (Grandma Tzeitl) and performed as understudy for the roles of Golde, Yente, and Sheyndl in the 2019 Off-Broadway sensation, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (Fidler afn Dakh), directed by the legendary Joel Grey. Lisa was also featured in the Drama Desk-nominated Off Broadway hit, On Second Avenue. She recently performed alongside Broadway stars Mike Burstyn and Bruce Adler, in Bruce Adler, A, B, C. Additional Off-Broadway credits include The Troubadour in Shpiel, Shpiel, Shpiel, and Leyele in Gimpl Tam (Gimple the Fool) at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Regional Theater credits include playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Nancy in Oliver, Fanny Brice & Emma Goldman in Tintypes, and the chanteuse in Ghetto Cabaret. A songwriter in her own right, Lisa created and performs in an original one-woman show.
Lisa has shared the stage with many Jewish luminaries including Itzhak Perlman, Mandy Patinkin, Theodore Bikel, Claire Barry of The Barry Sisters, Zalmen Mlotek, Fyvush Finkel, Seymour Rechzeit, and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. Lisa has sung backup for the legendary Jewish singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman in concert at Carnegie Hall.
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See Lisa Fishman Performance video:
North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie is a dynamic two-theater complex operating as part of the Village of Skokie’s plan to provide cultural, literary and educational programs to benefit its citizens and neighboring North Shore communities. The facility features an 867-seat main stage theater and a convertible 318-seat theater available for performances as well as social, corporate and community events. The North Shore Center presents a FEATURE SERIES of entertainment spanning numerous genres and styles, and an educational performing arts program, YOUTHEATRE. We also are proud to host numerous performances by leading Chicago area performing arts organizations.
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The ‘Out Back Summer Sessions’ are held in the facility’s 31,000 square-foot parking lot. Per the venue: face coverings and social distancing are required. It is not a drive-in; patrons should bring their own chairs and blankets to set up in assigned parking spots; and may bring coolers, non-alcoholic beverages, and/or food. Cold soft-drinks, beer, wine, and pre-packaged food items will be available for purchase at a concession stand.
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Jameson’s Charhouse, located next-door to the Center, will be receiving carryout food orders that patrons may bring into the concert area to eat: jamesons-charhouse.com/locations/skokie/.
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See https://northshorecenter.org/.
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