Programs
The Rich Treasury of Jewish Music (adaptable to all ages, 50 minutes) — This program presents the music of two eminent and distinct Jewish cultures: the Ashkenazim, Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern Europe, and the Sephardim, Ladino-speaking Jews of the Mediterranean. Students learn why the music sounds different from what they are accustomed to. Students also learn about the languages Yiddish and less well known Ladino, the geographic spread of the Jewish diaspora, the immigrant experience, and influences Jews have had in America. Students participate by singing Yiddish and Ladino songs, and learning lively quickly taught traditional Yiddish dancing. Photographs, maps, and humor accompany the show.
A History of Popular Yiddish Music-a multimedia experience using live performance, vintage recordings, photographs and dance instruction! (adaptable for all ages, 50 minutes or a full two-hour concert including intermission) — Sheila Fox and the Kosher Red Hots enliven the history of secular Jewish music from the early 1900s to the present. Sheila compares Yiddish folk songs with sacred music, and popular music with klezmer, the celebratory music of Yiddish-speaking Jews. A wide range of popular Jewish music from Yiddish theater, folk traditions, and radio will be played. The audience will be invited to dance. Lomir geyn a tentsl vi lang as lozt zikh nokh! (Let us dance a little dance as long as we can!)
Hanukah O Hanukah (adaptable to grades K-12, 45-60 minutes) — This interactive program of music, storytelling, singing, and dancing includes Hanukah traditions of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews.
Kosher Red Hots Sing Along (adaptable to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, 45-60 minutes) — This interactive program is presented primarily for senior day programs, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. The sing along comes complete with song sheets and percussion instruments for audience participation.
Residency: Klezmer Music Workshop for String and Band Ensembles (adaptable for grades 6-12, multi-day residency) — Why does Jewish music sound that way? Multi-day residency transforms your school ensemble into a klezmer band with printed arrangements. Students learn history and culture, musical scales and rhythms, improvised ensemble work, instrumental techniques, and traditional Yiddish dancing.
Theater Shows
| 2000 | “The Life and Times of Molly Picon” — Sheila wrote and performed her one woman show about the most successful woman to hit the Yiddish stage. |
| 2003 | “Yiddish Erotika, A Musical Cabaret” at Seattle's Fringe Festival — A review with choreographed Yiddish folk dancing, flamenco, comedy, and some serious jazz players. |
| 2006 | Yiddish Erotika presents A Hanukah Party in 8 Unorthodox Acts. It's a Christmas Eve Bash with a klezmer jam led by the Kosher Red Hots! Jewish burlesque and great music, dance and comedy. |