RUSSELL KABACK

ALBANY– As part of the Capital District Jewish community’s annual Yom HaShoah commemoration, the Capital District Board of Rabbis and Cantors will present “25044, “a one-act play written and performed by Russell Kaback, on Sunday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. The a solo musical and Yom HaShoah program will be held at Ohav Shalom Synagogue, 113 New Krumkill Rd., Albany. Also featured will be prayers and, reflections and Yom HaShoah readings. The commemoration program is free and open to the community.

Enhanced security is scheduled and pre-registration is required.

The play is a based on the life of Kaback’s grandfather Szyjek Magier, who as a Polish Jewish teen spent four years in the Nazi labor and concentration camps. His play weaves together original songswritten by  by Kaback that he will perform on his guitar. The play, which is intended for audiences ages 13 and up, ties together personal interviews, testimonies and research.

“It is fitting that Russ Kaback, who spent so much time in our shul while growing up, will be our featured  guest to commemorate the Shoah this year,” said Rabbi Dan Ornstein of Ohav Shalom. “Many have noted that the traumatic events of October 7 mark the most vicious and widespread attacks upon Jews, simply for being Jews, since the Shoah. Therefore, it is even more critical to our Jewish community, that we gather together to remember. When done properly, revisiting our historic traumas can be an important part of healing.”

Kaback (writer, composer, performer) is a musician and educator based in South Portland, Maine. He teaches in K-12 classrooms, and writes, produces and performs original music. He received the 2016 Joel and Linda Abromson Award and the 2018 Maine Arts Commission Project Grant in support of bringing his musical story, based on his grandfather’s experience during the Holocaust, into schools in Maine. This work has been performed in venues in Maine and Massachusetts since 2014, at the PortFringe festival in Portland, and in his grandfather’s hometown of Bendzin, Poland in 2018. In 2022 he began collaboration with storyteller Antonio Rocha to create the one-man musical storytelling version of the show, titled “25044.” The performance debuted in Turner, Maine in March 2023.

“I consider it an honor to share “25044” with the Albany community, especially at Ohav Shalom where I have spent so much time, and where my parents attend shul,” said Kaback. “I am looking forward to being with so many familiar faces as we go relive my grandfather’s story and together experience what it takes to go from darkness to light. That’s so important now, as we commemorate Yom HaShoah while Jewish hostages remain in the hands of terrorists, and while we, as a people, are experiencing such a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism.”

Registration QR code available at: https://www.ohavshalom.org/press-releases/community-yom-ha-shoah-commemoration-may-5-to-feature-25044-a-one-act-play-by-russell-kaback/

 

Presented in Kaback’s theatrical storytelling style, the performance weaves together original songs which Kaback accompanies on his guitar, characters, sound effects and gestures. The play, which is intended for audiences ages 13 and up, ties together personal interviews, testimonies, in-depth research and imagination, and reminds us that in the midst of fear, anguish, and pain, life still goes on, and, even then, hope can endure.

“It is fitting that Russ Kaback, who spent so much time in our shul while growing up, will be our featured

guest to commemorate the Shoah this year,” said Rabbi Dan Ornstein of Ohav Shalom. “Many have noted

that the traumatic events of October 7 mark the most vicious and widespread attacks upon Jews, simply

for being Jews, since the Shoah. Therefore, it is even more critical to our Jewish community, that we

gather together to remember. When done properly, revisiting our historic traumas can be an important part

of healing.”

Kaback (writer, composer, performer) is a musician and educator based in South Portland, Maine.

He teaches in K-12 classrooms, and writes, produces and performs original music. He received the 2016

Joel and Linda Abromson Award and the 2018 Maine Arts Commission Project Grant in support of

bringing his musical story, based on his grandfather’s experience during the Holocaust, into schools in

Maine. This work has been performed in venues in Maine and Massachusetts since 2014, at the

PortFringe festival in Portland, and in his grandfather’s hometown of Bendzin, Poland in 2018.

In 2022he began collaboration with master storyteller Antonio Rocha to create the one-man musical storytelling version of the show, titled “25044”. The performance debuted in Turner, Maine in March 2023.

“I consider it an honor to share 25044 with the Albany community, especially at Ohav Shalom where I

have spent so much time, and where my parents attend shul,” said Russ Kaback. “I am looking forward to

being with so many familiar faces as we go relive my grandfather’s story and together experience what it

takes to go from darkness to light. That’s so important now, as we commemorate Yom HaShoah while

Jewish hostages remain in the hands of terrorists, and while we, as a people, are experiencing such a

dramatic increase in anti-Semitism.”

 

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Enhanced security will be in place for the commemoration, which begins at 7:30

Enhanced security will be in place for the commemoration, which begins at 7:30 PM at Ohav Shalom,

located at 113 New Krumkill Road, Albany, NY 12208.

Those interested in attending may register at https://www.ohavshalom.org/events/yom-hashoah-community-remembrance-may-5-730pm/. The event is free.

 

Donations to support the commemoration and the cost of enhanced security are welcome. In addition

to Russell Kaback's performance, the Board of Rabbis and Cantors will offer prayers and lead some Yom

Ha Shoah readings.

The Capital District Board of Rabbis and Cantors exists to promote the interests of Judaism, Israel, and

the Jewish People, and to advance the religious and communal needs of Jewry in the Capital District; to

serve as a voice of the Jewish religious community in the Capital District; to encourage and promote

Rabbinic and Cantorial growth and development through continued and expanded opportunities for study

and communal service; to strengthen the bonds of fellowship among its members; to provide and maintain

a forum for the discussion and resolution of problems relating to Jewish life in the community; and,

where appropriate, to provide a platform for collective action.

 

Hudson Yom Hashoah Commemoration–2- 4  p.m. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park “Bonhoeffer Agent of Grace” film to be shown.

Discussion with Dr. Werener Steger, DCC History Professor and Recipient of the Greenspan Tryst-Handel Foundation Endowed Chair in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Reg. –https://jewishfederationofdutchesscoun.regfox.com/yom-hashoa-commemoration-at-fdr-presidential-library




Friday, May 3rd 2PM

 

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Rd
Hyde Park