Actress Viola Harris In Latest ‘Hazak’ Mature Adult Program—

Beth El Synagogue Offering

‘Wondrous Years Of The Yiddish Theater’

SOUTHBURY — Beth El Synagogue of Waterbury will present a free evening of entertainment, The Wondrous Years of the Yiddish Theater, with veteran actress Viola Harris, following Friday evening services on January 14. The program will run from 8 to 10 pm.

The regular Shabbat evening service and the special theater program will be presented at the Southbury Hilton, 1284 Strongtown Road/Route 188 (immediately off I-84 at Exit 16). Refreshments will be provided at no cost, and transportation is available by calling Beth El Synagogue at 203/756-4659.

Viola Harris is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Her theater credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Come Blow Your Horn and The Music Man. Her film credits include Funny Girl and Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry. She can be seen on TV in All My Children, One Life to Live and The Equalizer.

This program is part of “Hazak,” a United Synagogue adult learning experience for the Jewish mind and spirit. Beth El Synagogue in Waterbury is the first in Connecticut to be granted a charter from United Synagogue for the Hazak programming. The venue in Southbury is part of “Beth El in the Triburies,” the synagogue’s effort to offer “Conservative Judaism on the Move.”

The free program on January 14 and others in the “Hazak” series is open to anyone interested in adult Jewish programming that “waters their roots;” children and their parents interested in Yiddishkeit; college students of Jewish history and culture. “Hazak” offers speakers and experts on American-Jewish history, spirituality and culture and its expression in literature, theater, film and pop culture.

Funding for the event is co-sponsored by the Beth El Synagogue Endowment Fund, the Federation Endowment Fund and The Federation: Jewish Communities of Western Connecticut.