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Written, directed, and hosted by Shari Upbin, "To Life 6: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers, Artists, and Comedians to Broadway & Hollywood,” opens on Jan. 16 and runs through Feb. 8 at Boca Raton's Willow Theatre.(Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
When “To Life” premiered six years ago, show biz legacy Shari Upbin never imagined the revue would still be filling theaters, let alone returning for a sixth installment. But audiences across South Florida kept coming back.
Kate Delaney is a feature performer for Shari Upbin's "To Life 6." (Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
“Honestly, I never thought we would be back six times,” Upbin says. “The first time was great-Jewish composers, what could be bad? Especially here in Boca and Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Everybody loves Jewish composers. And the reason is because everybody is a Jewish composer.”
She says the secret in the success sauce was she included songs that “everybody knows.”
“To Life 6: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers, Artists, and Comedians to Broadway & Hollywood,” opens Friday, Jan. 16 at the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton and runs through Sunday, Feb. 8.
The production spotlights the immense influence that Jewish artists have had on American popular culture, from the Great American Songbook to Broadway and Hollywood. Songs by Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Herman, Stephen Schwartz, and others, which are woven together with anecdotes, historical context, and humor. What emerges, according to Upbin, is less a concert than a celebration-part revue, part cultural history, part communal memory.
The series began when producer Hy Juter approached Upbin with an idea inspired by a show he had seen in New York. “He called me and said, ‘I have an idea-Jewish composers in Hollywood and Broadway,’” she recalls. “I said, ‘It’s a great idea,’ and we put it together. We found the format-a host and four singers-and it just worked.”
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Shane Tanner, Carbonell Award winner, is a featured performer for Shari Upkin's Life 6 (Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
Upbin had directed Juter’s production of “Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical” in New York. “He remembered me and that I lived in Florida and called to say he had an idea for a show.” He suggested a title: “Let’s call it ‘To Life: Jewish Composers in Hollywood and Broadway.’ What do you think? And I thought it was a great idea and we put together a format.”
Bruno Faria one of the featured performers in Shari Upbin's "To Life 6." (Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
“To Life” featured local actor Jeffrey Bruce as host. But when Bruce moved to Atlanta, the question of who would take over changed the show’s trajectory.
“Jeffrey said to me, ‘Why don’t you do it?’” Upbin recalls. “I never thought of myself as the host. I mean, I wrote it for Jeffrey, with Jeffrey jokes.” With encouragement from Juter, she rewrote the show in her own voice- and everything clicked.
“It became more Jewish,” she says. “I added Jewish foods. I added the Borscht Belt. I added comic books-Superman was created by Jewish artists [Jerry Siegel, writer, and Joe Shuster, artist]. I started realizing how deep this goes.”
That discovery became part of the show’s appeal. Audiences learn, for example, that many of the most enduring Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers. “Most, I would say, eight of ten were written by Jews. So it got to be, for me a great experience because it was opening doors and finding out things that I love, things that were my heritage.”
Upbin’s own history lends authority to the storytelling. Her father was a writer for Jack Benny, and she grew up in a household where comedy and music were taken seriously.
Shelley Keelor is a Silver Palm and Carbonell award-winning actress who will be a featured performer in "To Life 6." (Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
“I grew up with this music,” she says. “It was always playing in the kitchen. Comedy was serious business in my house.” Her father would tell her that “it took a long time to write a joke with a group of writers.” And she recalls at home, “he was always trying out things. So, I naturally think ‘funny.’ I think ‘absurd.’ I was able to make the show funnier and invite the audience in.”
Audience participation has since become a hallmark of “To Life.” “I tell them ‘Just yell it out, you know the answers anyway,’” she says. “And they do.”
Ibe began to become not only entertainment but a celebration of Jewish people in the arts, says Upbin.
“To Life 6” features performers Kate Delany, Bruno Faria, Shelley Keelor, and Shane Tanner-seasoned South Florida artists, many of them Carbonell Award winners. Upbin notes that several performers turned down other work to remain part of the production, a testament to the show’s appeal.
The production also introduces a new musical director, Aiden Quintana, a 20-year-old prodigy from Lynn University. “He is an absolute genius in all genres of music,” Upbin says. “I’m working with real pros, and they see him play and say, ‘What?’” Championing new talent, she adds, feels especially meaningful.
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Lynn University Conservatory of Music pianist Aiden Quintana is the musical director for "To Life 6."(Photo courtesy of 'To Life 6')
After six years, “To Life” shows no signs of slowing down and the genial host doesn’t want it to. And its home at the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park she says is perfect. “It’s a small theater and, well, it just works.
“People tell me they spent their honeymoon in the Borscht Belt,” Upbin says. “They yell it out during the show, and afterward they ask me, ‘What year were you there?’ That’s what this is; it’s life experience.”
IF YOU GOWHAT: "To Life 6: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers, Artists, and Comedians to Broadway & Hollywood"
WHEN: Opens Friday, Jan. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park, 300 S Military Trail, Boca Raton.
TICKETS: $46 general admission, $42 group rate
INFORMATION: (561) 347-3948 and myboca.us/tolife
