SOVIET ZION is a new musical drama taking place in the Far East of Russia, in a city with an usual past called Birobidzhan. Through an original story and an ambitious musical score SOVIET ZION brings to life a fascinating but little-known chapter of 20th Century history: the movement to create a Jewish state in Siberia.
Exploring questions of belonging and identity, SOVIET ZION examines the lives of a Ukrainian family and an American family who each move there as pioneers but later seek to escape.
The experiences of a teenager arriving from Malibu struggling to adapt to her very different new life contrast with those of another woman who, betrayed by her leaders and manipulated into compromising the man she loves, must carefully strategize her every move. As war rages and utopian dreams become dystopian nightmares, how will they escape? And where can they call home?
The events in SOVIET ZION highlight key social issues of identity and belonging, exploring the lives of characters whose experiences form a broader historical discourse making the challenges they face as their worlds enter turmoil poignantly relevant as our own world does the same: who are we today, and where do we belong?
SOVIET ZION is set in the capital of Siberia’s mysterious Jewish Autonomous Region: a sizable but little-known area set aside for Jewish settlement as part of a national policy granting each ethnic group within the Soviet Union a territory in which to exercise cultural autonomy. This decree in 1928 inadvertently created the first Jewish homeland of the modern era.
Yiddish-speaking and Soviet, the Jewish Autonomous Region embodied very different ideals to the driving forces behind the modern State of Israel and despite rarely being spoken of today for many years both territories were presented as viable parallel options for Jewish states.
Full of zeal, tens of thousands of people moved to this remote area from all over the world – though a majority left very quickly due to the intolerably harsh conditions they would encounter there, some of the most hardy would persevere and endure. Political and social events of the 20th century would decimate the hopes of the region’s remaining settlers and only one of these two fledgling countries would come to thrive.
It may surprise you that even today the Jewish Autonomous Oblast is still marked on the globe in the Far East of Russia on its border with China, where it has existed for almost a hundred years.
Detached from the rest of the world, the mysterious Jewish Autonomous Region cherishes its unusual past. The musical drama SOVIET ZION takes inspiration from stories unique to the pioneers of this unusual chapter in our history and examines how their quest for belonging still resonates today.
After fifteen years in development, we have been offered a remarkable opportunity to stage an industry showcase of our musical SOVIET ZION in New York in the Fall of 2025 for an invited audience of industry backers and producers with the intention of securing their interest in a commercial run of the show. We anticipate this taking place in the Fall of 2024 pending a successful campaign to raise $50,000.
This one-night only presentation with a cast of professional singers and musicians will be the first time the piece has been professionally presented in the USA, and will debut both the new Yiddish translation by Mikhl Yashinsky and Motl Didner likewise brand new orchestrations by the show’s composer.
Performed in a concert setting with English surtitles, we will invite industry guests to this special showcase who may be instrumental in the show’s further development with the aim that SOVIET ZION (in English or in Yiddish) will soon be fully staged and can delight audiences with its debut commercial run.
We are so excited to be at this precipice – this showcase could propel SOVIET ZION significantly towards the recognition this ambitious work deserves.
We are seeking financial support to allow us to bring this fully-developed work to life and share it with an audience of decision-makers who can move it forward towards its life on the stage.
With antisemitism on the rise worldwide and the right of a Jewish homeland to even exist being scrutinized and questioned, now more than ever it is important to raise Jewish voices through the Arts and creative endeavors to inspire difficult, thought provoking questions. SOVIET ZION explores themes including ‘who are we?’ and ‘where do we belong?’ which are universal, but in today’s climate have an especially important relevance to the Jewish community. It is exceedingly rare and special it is for a modern musical in Yiddish to even exist – SOVIET ZION is for lots of reasons unique , a significant cultural achievement and an important part of the legacy of Yiddish Theater and to the contribution Jewish storytelling has made to the genre of Musical theater.
After presenting the show several times during its development in London SOVIET ZION was officially debuted at the London Jewish Museum in 2014 which was followed by the release of a symphonic Original Concept Album in 2021 featuring an all-star cast. The opportunity to present the show in New York is any writers’ dream as it is the first step towards Broadway becoming a realistic possibility and could open many other doors such as a tour or even having the show filmed for broadcast in the future.
The assembled team are perfectly positioned to lead this endeavor: Katy and Giles who wrote the show with Roberto Trippini are experienced theatre producers (Giles has produced 16 new musicals in London and Katy runs a successful commercial production company Aria Entertainment Ltd); the company interested to collaborate with us are one of the longest running theatre companies in the world who have developed shows that have gone on to Broadway and have an extensive network of professional associates and of audience members that position them perfectly to take this show towards the success it deserves.
The monies raised by this campaign will be received directly by the National Yiddish Theater, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, who will use these funds only towards the planned showcase of SOVIET ZION. plan is in place to stage a 29hr Equity Reading showcase of SOVIET ZION with a professional cast and an 11-piece orchestra. The budget for this showcase is $50,000 and pending a successful fundraising campaign this will go ahead in the Fall of 2025. We will be approaching foundations, wealthy individuals, grants, charities, and holding our own fundraising events. A project like this can only go ahead with the grassroots support of the community. Are you keen to support talented artists in bringing new work to the stage? This is a great cause to support.
Making a tax-deductible donation towards the New York showcase of SOVIET ZION in Yiddish is your opportunity to support a creative endeavor that raises Jewish voices loudly in song – given current political circumstances, the questions of belonging that this show asks an audience to explore are as pertinent now as ever.
Jewish theater has historically made an enormous contribution to the cultural landscape in America and this piece is remarkable for being the first modern musical of its kind ever created in Yiddish, a unique contribution to our cultural legacy. With an interesting subject and an unparalleled score,, SOVIET ZION has a bright future and your kind support will enable audiences to enjoy this special piece and the important themes it explores, opening doors for more and more audiences to enjoy this striking and extraordinary piece of distinctively Jewish contemporary musical theater.
The money will be used to market the showcase, to pay for the vocalists and instrumentalists, to hire the venue, to pay towards licensing the rehearsal material, etc etc. A preliminary budget is as follows:
10 actor/singers @$1,000 = $10,000
10 musicians @$750 = $7,500
1 Stage Manager = $1,250
1 Director = $1,250
Casting = $1,250
1 Musical Director / pianist / conductor = $1,250
1 Lighting Technician = $750
1 Sound engineer = $750
1 Supertitle operator = $750
Rehearsal and performance venue rental = $5,000
1 House Manager = $250
2 Ushers = $250
Piano tuning = $250
Program printing = $250
Administrative costs = $4,000
Miscellaneous = $1,000
Licensing & authors’ fees = $5,000
Travel/accom. = $5,000
Preparing the score for the Orchestra = $625
Marketing = $5,000
Reprographic – $1,000
Crowdfunding campaign management fee – $250
Total $52,625 – (ALL FIGURES ARE ESTIMATES AND SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATION AND CHANGE.)
I would encourage you to visit www.sovietzion.com where you can find out all about the show and enjoy multimedia, including a special feature-length animated presentation of the show.
