Anna Kravets, the Founder and Artistic Director of the Jewish Music Theatre 'Firelech' will receive the Community Recognition Award on behalf of the Firelech Theater at the RJCF 10th Anniversary Gala.
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The Firelech Jewish Music Theatre was born in September of 2000 when a choreographer Anna Kravets suggested an idea of a Jewish musical theatre to a group of enthusiastic fans of Yiddish folk music.
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A "firelech" is a "spark" which describes the Firelech group and it's entrance onto the entertainment scene of Jewish culture in Boston.
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"Firelech" roots come from another Jewish Group with the same name. In Vilnius (Lithuania) in 1971 a group of people organized a Jewish ensemble of music and dance, which was called "Firelech". That ensemble became well known in the former Soviet Union and around the world. In 1989 Anna Kravets became the artistic director and choreographer of that group. It performed in Russia, Israel, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Holland...
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We hope to carry on their tradition here in Boston. Firelech theatre is very young. It was born in September, 2000 when Anna Kravets, who moved to the USA in 1999, suggested the idea of a Jewish Musical Theatre to a group of enthusiastic fans of Yiddish folk music. Her vision was very exciting and they decided to give it a try. She recruited Company members and backstage workers from the local Russian community. The company members are all volunteers rehearsing late into the night after their day jobs. The creation of Firelech Boston is a testimonial to determination and ortitude in the face of insurmountable obstacles. As the group seeks a larger venue to meet audience demand and increased community support, Anna states her goal: "I want to create a unique Jewish Community Theatre with a school for dancers, singers, and actors. If I succeed, Boston will be the first city to have it."
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But most importantly, the participants are all wonderful, talented people with great personalities. They come to rehearse three times a week for 2-3 hours, leaving school, work and family behind. The first short performance took place at the JCC in Brighton, MA in November, 2000 after two months of rehearsing. It was a 45-minute concert. The next concert was organized in February, 2001. The first big show, called ''Vignettes of life in a Shtetl', took place at the JCC in Newton in May, 2001. During the past year they performed in MA and New York. The premier of a new show 'Smile - You're On' was shown in June, 2003. They won a third place at the International Competition 'The Gold Chanukia'.

As they perform heartwarming songs in Yiddish and Hebrew and magically dance on stage, you suddenly become a time traveler transported onto the streets of that Shtetl‚ a place where our great-grandparents lived among the Jews of Spain, Greece and Yemen. Eventually you find yourself in the land of Israel, where no matter how many tears are shed and how much pain we as Jews endure, there is always room for song and dance in our hearts.
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