June 14 @ 2:00pm | The Hive at Leichtag Commons

Written by Ali Viterbi with Sarah Price Keating, Rebecca Myers, Leah Salovey and Todd Salovey

Directed by Ali Viterbi and Todd Salovey

JFest’s signature performance honors 6 incredible San Diego Jewish women. An inspiring and uplifting celebration with stories, songs, images, and inspiration. 

This year’s honorees are: Ruth Broudy, Rhona Fink, Kira Finkenberg, Sharyn Goodson, Karen Parry, and Debby Stauber

June 18 @ 7:30pm  | Congregation Beth Israel

What does San Diego sound like? Nusach San Diego is cabaret review blending Broadway melodies, popular music, Jewish prayer, and rich storytelling into one unforgettable evening. Through witty banter, surprising musical connections, and stunning performances, Rabbi/Cantor Jeremy Gimbel and an all-star ensemble of San Diego musicians trace the evolution of Jewish sacred music—from ancient melodies and modern chazzanut to the unique sounds that shape our region today. Along the way, audiences will travel through Kumeyaay Bird Songs, Baja-inspired rhythms, folk traditions, and laid-back surfer grooves that feel unmistakably San Diego.

Featuring Heidi Gantwerk, Becca & Danny Myers, Tasha Koontz, Billy Tiep, and a remarkable ensemble of local artists, Nusach San Diego is part performance and part cultural journey. Funny, heartfelt, and deeply uplifting, the evening reveals how the music of synagogue, stage, and everyday life can unexpectedly echo one another.

June 22 @ 7:30pm  | First Unitarian Universalist Church of
San Diego

Three of Southern California’s most celebrated vocalists, Mara Kaye, Elizabeth Schwartz and Whitney Shay - all of whom tour internationally - in a program celebrating the most influential Jewish composers of jazz and swing tunes in American history. Expect sultry ballads, rousing anthems and spectacular voices lifted in harmony.

Also featuring Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi with Fred Benedetti, Tripp Sprague, Luke Little, and Elizabeth Schwartz.

July 13 & 14 @ 7:30pm | New Village Arts

Book & lyrics by Ali Viterbi 
Music & lyrics by Toby Singer 

In 1940s Budapest, two Jewish figures rose to prominence. One was Hannah Senesh. The second was Rudolf Kastner. Yet of the two, Senesh is the only to enter the Jewish people’s pantheon of heroes. History remembers Kastner as a villain, while it lauds Senesh as one of its greatest heroes. But really: when we look back into the dark, what story will we tell? So asks the opening lyric of Budapest, Budapest, which tells the unknown story of Rudolf Kastner and asks: What is the cost of redemption? What does it mean to be a hero?