‘To Paint the Earth’ at Jewish Center of the Hamptons

Jewish Center of the Hamptons will present a one-night-only performance of the Richard Rodgers Award-winning musical “To Paint the Earth” starring a cast of Broadway actors and musicians on Sunday, July 16, at 4 p.m.

Honoring the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that stunned the world and continues to be a symbol of Jewish resistance, the concert will feature a cast of 12 actors and four musicians, including performer and Jewish Center congregant Lauren Lebowitz Feldman, a creative collaborator on the show.

On the early morning of April 19, 1943, a small band of untrained fighters, using homemade bombs and a few smuggled-in weapons, forced Nazi tanks to twice turn and retreat. In the tradition of “Les Miserables” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Paint” is an epic story about people staying human in the most unhuman circumstances. The Uprising was the largest act of civilian resistance during World War II and inspired the world with the courage shown by its young fighters.

Inspired by their first-hand-accounts, “To Paint the Earth” looks at the relationships, the humor, the faith, and the determination that made up the Jewish Underground and its families, and led to the stunning decision to fight back and rather than go to their deaths quietly. The show has words by Daniel F. Levin, music by Jonathan Portera, and will be directed by Yoni Oppenheim, co-founder and artistic director of 24/6: A Jewish Theater Company.

The late lyricist Sheldon Harnick (“Fiddler on the Roof”), who was part of the Richard Rodgers Committee that selected the musical, wrote of it, “To Paint the Earth” is a remarkable achievement. Daniel Levin and Jonathan Portera have managed to convey through the characters they have created and the story they enact, a gripping sense of what life was like in the last days of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. We meet both those in denial, attempting to live a ‘normal life’ in impossible circumstances, and those who, in the same circumstances, became capable of surprising acts of heroism. This unusual and adventurous musical is a deeply moving experience.”

Tickets for the historic live performance are $60 ($54 for members) at jcoh.org/paint. Jewish Center of the Hamptons, located at 44 Woods Lane, East Hampton will open its doors at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 16, for entry to this performance.