The surreal sound of a live bass clarinet player could be heard well before we all stepped inside an ancient elevator in New York’s Chinatown. Squished between the elevator operator, the aforementioned live musician, cultural tastemakers, and a few actual performance artists, we ascended in total silence—except for the jazz. It was a very New York experience. And fitting for Monday evening’s festivities: Performa’s Passover Seder dinner co-hosted by artist Wyatt Kahn, Benjamin Blumberg, Jacqueline Lobel of Jewish food pop-up series Shtick, and the Downtown poet Bob Holman.
Once inside, vibrant fuchsia cocktails with a dash of horseradish were served, while guests of all ages wandered the space while sneaking handfuls of Joyva Jell Rings (an IYKYK Passover treat). The event took place at The Bench, a co-working space opening later this spring, filled with eclectic printed benches and mid-century modern details. Eventually, Holman summoned everyone to the table and began his spoken word serenade with tales of New York, Kentucky, and Jewish identity. Instead of a traditional Seder plate, guests received mismatched cups full of the symbolic foods, and atop every single place setting was a handmade art yarmulke made by Kahn, signed and fashioned out of copper sheet metal. “We wanted it to be a real experience—one that no one’s ever going to forget,” said Kahn, who spent over two weeks making his work for the event. “A few of my best friends are here and it’s their first Passover ever, and so I think that’s really cool. I’m mostly excited for the newbies.”
Designed as an inclusive event for Seder pros and the non-religious alike, the night gathered friends new and old from the circle of Performa, the nonprofit organization that focuses on live performance in the arts. Kahn and Blumberg began hosting their own Passover gatherings in 2013, which eventually expanded to bigger events. In 2024, they co-hosted their first Seder dinner with Performa. 2025 marked their second.
The food was presented family style, and guests served themselves from a central table lined with candles while Basya Schechter and Yuli Beeri played live music and sang—in-between, the usual rituals were led by Rabbi Kelly Whitehead, interspersed with spoken word performances by Holman. Of the 100 guests, many were from the art world or friends of friends, and most had purchased tickets to attend the event. “I did want to make it appealing in a way that reaches folks who maybe this is their first Seder,” Whitehead said. “I try to have it so anyone can participate. I really take nothing for granted. Anyone can benefit from adding meaning to their lives.”
After all, the goal of the event wasn’t just to bring a performance art element to the traditional Seder dinner, but also to celebrate the simple art of coming together. In the program, the dinner was deemed a “living and collaborative observance,” and an “invitation to co-create, to make meaning in real time and to honor transition by transforming it.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Performa founder RoseLee Goldberg: “The thing that I like is everyone sits around the table and you can follow your script, or you can improvise,” she said. “Passover is about politics and human nature and emancipation from slavery and there’s this long, long history. With kids and people of all ages, it becomes this amazing conversation that can go on for hours—and that’s the dream.”
After going through the rituals of the Haggadah, including wine drinking, singing, reading, and the chanting of the 10 plagues, more food was passed: shawarma roasted lamb, Moroccan brisket, falafel plate, crispy potatoes, cauliflower couscous, and eventually, flourless chocolate cake, all dreamed up by Blumberg. “My whole life I grew up very traditional, and my whole brand is about honoring tradition while also messing around with it and offering a fun, whimsical take on it,” said Lobel, who helped plan the night with her culinary project Shtick. For her, the event was as much about past traditions as it was moving forward. “I’m opening a space in about a month on the Lower East Side, so this will be my last big, big event like this,” Lobel continued. “And we’re going to go back to our roots and do more intimate dinners.”
As the conversation continued deep into the night, the celebratory feeling wasn’t lost on anyone. “I think we really need joy these days, and the Seder, even though it’s rooted in a story of oppression, is really about coming together and celebrating how we got out of that—and we are able to do that through honing in on joy,” added Whitehead. “Especially under this administration, joy is being stripped from us. By laughing, having fun, and being in community, we’re adding our humanity back. We’re reclaiming that humanity.”
