Last chance to win a five-star vacation to Antiqua. Several of our Tomatoes have wonderful events and adventures coming up. Deborah Zecher, one of our Tomatoes Got Talent alums, has her own cabaret show. Sonia Satra, the ultimate motivator invites you to get out of your comfort zone with a special “Wall Climbing” event. And Deborah Roth has announced that 4thU Artivists will hold their last benefit in April. Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubens just returned from a solidarity mission to Israel. And this Easter reminds us to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, a message we can all hope for no matter what our faith.

Join Us at The Renewal Summit

Hurry and get your early bird tickets and you will be entered to win a fabulous 5-star vacation to Antiqua. Our program is now finalized, and we have some extraordinary panels and speakers that will inspire and motivate all of us. GET THE DETAILS.

Bring Them Home

Nicole Freezer Rubens photos and stories always inspire us, but none more so than today’s. She just returned from a weeklong solidarity mission to Israel, and writes: “Being there now was a profoundly meaningful experience. The Israeli people are the epitome of hard work, hope and resilience, which is nothing short of miraculous and inspiring.

I visited Hostage Square, a “war room” set up outside of The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, in close proximity to the Israeli Defense Force headquarters. Since October, people gather with the hostage families and friends and offer and find comfort. It is also a site for demonstrations and mourning together amidst art installations created in response to the hostage crisis.

The most iconic piece is the Shabbat Table that has been replicated all over the world. Its concept harkens back to the 1960’s when Soviet Jewry need to be set free. Today this dramatically long table runs the length of the public plaza. The neatly assembled blue part represents those returned home and the filthy, vile, muddy chaotic part honors those still being held prisoner. It is extraordinarily impactful.

Upon entering and exiting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, the halls are lined with posters of the hostages that remain in captivity. I was prepared to see this upon arrival, as I’ve seen it all over social media. I was not prepared that as I departed and saw the faces again, they would jump off the page and spring to life. I feel even closer to them having met some of their families, teachers and brethren. I had visited their communities and stood inside their burned-out homes. This intimacy was unexpected and only makes me want to Bring Them Home Now, even more.

~Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of poetry/photo book, “The Long Pause and the Short Breath.” Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/nfrconsult/

April 13. Are You Ready to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?

Ready to conquer the walls blocking your success? Join me for a transformative workshop and wall climbing adventure! Discover the beliefs and fears holding you back, then embody courage and inner strength as we scale the walls of Chelsea Piers! Limited space available, so sign up now for this life-changing experience! GET THE DETAILS.

April 12-14. Don’t Miss the Last Benefit

For 15 years, our friend and Tomato Deborah Roth, founder of 4thU Artivists,  has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and funds through creative projects to end systemic oppression and gender-based violence globally and locally while supporting the leadership of marginalized women. The last fundraising performance V’s (formerly Eve Ensler’s) powerful play, The Good Body.

In The Good Body, V (author of the iconic The Vagina Monologues) turns her unique eye to the rest of the female form. Whether undergoing botox injections or living beneath burqas, women of all cultures and backgrounds feel compelled to change the way they look in order to fit in. THE GOOD BODY merges cross-cultural explorations with V’s own personal journey coming to terms with her “less-than-flat, post-forties stomach.”

Net proceeds will go to support the work of Women Deliver and City of Joy, and you can get tickets – both live and live-streamed– to the show HERE. Ticket prices are by donation from $5 –$500, with a suggested donation of $25. Even if you can’t make it “live” you can still donate any amount and get the link to watch it afterwards!

April 16. Family Matters

MAC Award Nominee and a Tomatoes Got Talent alum, Deborah Zecher and her son, NYC music director and conductor, Joshua Zecher-Ross brings their new cabaret show FAMILY MATTERS:  A Celebration of All Things Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel to Don’t Tell Mama on Monday, April 8 at 7 pm and Tuesday, April 16 at 7 pm.

FAMILY MATTERS:  A Celebration of All Things Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel is a joyful exploration of the first family of American Musical Theater—Richard Rodgers, his daughter Mary Rodgers and her son/his grandson Adam Guettel.  Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein started a musical theater revolution with their production of Oklahoma in 1943 and for the next twenty years, they gave us incredible musicals like Carousel, South Pacific and The Sound of Music.  We probably know Mary Rodgers best from Once Upon a Mattress and Adam Guettel is one of the great contemporary musical theater composers with his recent production of Days of Wine and Roses as well as The Light in the Piazza.

Don’t Tell Mama is located at 343 West 46th Street.  Reservations online at donttellmamanyc.com. There is a $20 cover charge and a 2 drink minimum.  Cash only.  $15 for MAC members.  Lennie Watts directs, and music direction is by Joshua Zecher-Ross.