Geula Gill

Geula Gill (Hebrew: גאולה גיל), born on 24 December 1932 in Tel Aviv Yafo, Palestine, is an Israeli singer and actress whose career has spanned recordings, live performance, and Broadway. Her work earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1968.

Among her earliest recordings was Yemenite and Other Israel Folk Songs, released by Folkways Records in 1958. That same year she also released Holiday Songs of Israel. Writing for HiFi & Music Review, critic Nat Hentoff recommended the 1958 Folkways album, noting that its material was sung with incisive delivery and exciting rhythmic flexibility. A 1959 collaboration with Theodore Bikel, Theodore Bikel and Geula Gill Sing Folk Songs from Just About Everywhere, followed, along with several additional releases in 1960 and 1961, including Shalom!, Around the Campfire, Hora (Songs and Dances of Israel), and A Town Hall Concert.

In the early 1960s, Gill performed as part of the Oranim Zabar group, which also included arranger and accordionist Dov Seltzer, who was her husband at the time, and guitarist and drummer Michael Kagan. The trio performed songs in Hebrew, English, Spanish, French, and other languages. In February 1961, the group gave a concert at The Town Hall in New York City. A New York Times critic reviewing that performance described Gill as a dynamic singer who projected the emotional content of her material with considerable meaning. The Whole World Dances and The Exciting World of Geula Gill followed in 1961 and 1962, respectively.

In October 1967, Gill reached the top ten on the Israeli singles chart with the song "To the Victor." The following February, she appeared in the revue The Grand Music Hall of Israel at Broadway's Palace Theatre in New York City, a run that extended from 1968 to 1969. Associated Press drama critic William Glover singled her out among the show's vocalists, describing her as a raven-tressed petite performer with a velvety yodel whose treatment of material ranging from "The Sound of Music" to "Hava Nagila" produced a hypnotic effect. UPI drama editor Jack Gaver similarly identified her as the outstanding individual performer of the production, noting her ability to sing in any language and suggesting she would be a sensation in any nightclub or variety show. Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1968. That year she also released the album On Tour.