Avi Hoffman's Too Jewish?, which played 18 months Off-Broadway, six months in Florida and then embarked on a national tour, debuted on PBS station WLIW-TV the first week of December. The broadcast brought in a record $30,000 in pledges for the station and will now be reaired on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 PM.
A child of Holocaust survivors, Hoffman's show combines comedy, songs, impersonations and stories and takes audiences on a journey through his Jewish roots as well as the Yiddish culture. Hoffman founded The National Center for Jewish Cultural Arts (NCJCA) to promote Jewish identity and culture, and the organization produced the television broadcast of Too Jewish?
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About the telecast of his one-man show, actor-writer Hoffman said, "It is thrilling to see this show further its journey from a small theatre in New York to now reach a national TV audience. I wrote this show at a time when I couldn't get work as an actor because I was told I was 'too Jewish.' Instead of turning my back on my heritage, I wrote this show to embrace all the joy, humor and history of the Jewish identity that was almost lost in the Holocaust. The response has continued to be overwhelming."
Too Jewish?, which was taped live at Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre, premiered last season on a PBS Florida station and broke that station's fundraising records as well. A list of broadcast dates for Too Jewish? follows: Miami, FL (WPBT-TV):
Dec. 15 at 6 PM
New Jersey/Philadelphia (WNJT-TV):
Dec. 11 at 12 AM
Dec. 30 at 9 PM
—By Andrew Gans