Monday, November 18 @ 7:30 pm – Welcome to Kutsher’s: The Last Catskills Resort
Kutsher’s Country Club evolved from a 200-acre farm in 1907 to the largest resort area in America, reaching its apex during the halcyon 1970s and 1980s and ending as the last standing Jewish resort in the Catskills in 2013. While there were hundreds of resorts in the area catering primarily to Jewish families from New York, this film provides an intimate glimpse into this most popular Borscht Belt establishment, including interviews with Kutsher family members, the resort’s staff, and some of the talent that performed there. Comedians Alan King, Sid Caesar, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, and Billy Crystal all graced the Kutsher stage. Wilt Chamberlain and others helped organize and launch an annual basketball game that raised money for charity. Movie fans today instantly associate the resort with the setting of “Dirty Dancing,” a famous movie that many think was inspired by Kutsher’s. The documentary describes the reasons for the closing of Kutscher’s and other similar-type Catskills resorts that capsized with Atlantic City’s gaming establishments.