The Museum of Jewish Heritage and the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene are embarking on a partnership. The two New York City institutions say the hope is that the two-year alliance will lead to a permanent merger. It could give the theater a permanent home at the museum's 375-seat theater.
The theater is the last survivor of about a dozen Yiddish theaters that once thrived on Manhattan's East Side; the museum opened in 1997 as a living memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan. The aim of the partnership is to create a cultural center for Jewish history and culture and help increase the museum's attendance. A weeklong performing arts festival at the museum is scheduled for June. It will feature performers from nearly 30 countries.