Jewish Museum, PCS team up on ‘Ragtime’

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on:

Oregon Jewish Museum netted more than $8,000 through its benefit with the Broadway Across America production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Keller Auditorium.

The OJM sold all 450 tickets to three of the Aug. 25-30 Portland performances of Chaim Topol’s farewell tour in the role of the milkman Tevye that made him famous. The museum also provided an exhibit on Sholom Aleichem and early performances of “Fiddler on the Roof” throughout the August run in Portland.

“Fiddler was an enormous success,” said OJM Executive Director Judy Margles. “Now it’s Ragtime.”

For the fourth year, the museum is teaming up with Portland Center Stage for one production. This year OJM will sell tickets to the Oct. 20 performance of “Ragtime,” a musical set against the ragtime craze in New York City a century ago.

Previous fundraisers with PCS for performances of “West Side Story,” “Cabaret” and “Guys and Dolls,” have been very successful, according to Margles.

“We try to choose plays with some connection with the Jewish community,” she said. “For ‘Cabaret’ we had a panel discussion on how Jews were treated in Germany during that era (Cabaret is set in 1930s Berlin on the eve of the Nazis’ rise to power).

‘Ragtime’ has music written by Jewish composers. We know there is an interest in musicals and we want people to come and have a good time in support of the museum.”

Margles said the collaboration with PCS also “strengthens our already great relationship with Portland Center Stage. Along with Beth Israel, we did the Alice Lok Cahana exhibit as well as other programs with Portland Center Stage that have been successful.”

Margles said the museum also plans to expand its collaboration with Broadway Across America. Next summer the museum plans to sell tickets to “Lion King” when it comes to town.

Tickets for the Oct. 20 performance of “Ragtime” are $80 for patron tickets and $60 for supporter tickets. To purchase tickets, call the OJM office at 503-226-3600 or go online to www.ojm.org.