Borscht Belt Serenade

Borscht Belt Serenade is part musical and part Ted Talk, with a whisper of Bar Mitzvah. The show – commissioned by the Borscht Belt Museum – takes the audience on a journey through the decades, exploring how the Catskills started as a safe space for vacationers at the turn of the 20th century and ended up as a vibrant and influential seat of American entertainment. Well known for its comedy, The Catskills area was also fertile ground for music: some of the country’s most prominent vocalists, composers, lyricists, and songs came out of this beloved upstate New York getaway – bubbling up from its bungalows, hailing from its hotels and starring on the stages of its world-renowned resorts.

Broadway’s Jill Abramovitz serves as our tour guide, singing all the while as we travel from the Borscht Belt’s humble beginnings, to its heights in the 1950s, and eventual demise at the end of the 20th century. Co-written by Gideon Evans (“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “My Grandmother’s Ravioli with Mo Rocca,” “The President Show”) and Abramovitz (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Beetlejuice,” “It Shoulda Been You”), the show features sentimental favorites like “My Yiddishe Mama,” Golden Age classics from composers like Cole Porter, pop hits from the ’70s and 80s, and even a disco TV commercial jingle that will have audiences groaning even as they sing along.

Telling this quintessential American story though the history, humor, and music of the Catskills, “Borscht Belt Serenade” leaves audiences laughing, singing, and humming – even shedding a tear or two – revisiting this magical place and the lasting impact it left on our country. < Less