Arlington Hts. man will perform with friend Peter Yarrow

Recalling how he felt when someone once maliciously threw his shoes in a corner, Seth Goldberg said the words to Peter Yarrow's song, "Don't Laugh at Me," resonated powerfully in his mind and heart.

The shoe incident was several years ago. But Goldberg, who is hard of hearing and confined to a wheelchair because of muscular dystrophy, has never forgotten the message of the song and the impact it continues to have on him.

Yarrow, the legendary folk singer known best as the Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary, first met the young man from Arlington Heights several years ago when Seth "signed" a concert he performed at Ravinia.

They formed such a strong bond that the two have become friends. They worked together again earlier this month at a concert tribute to America's teachers, taped at the famed Town Hall in New York City.

"Peter wants to change the attitudes of people toward the handicapped and others," Goldberg said. "I know because I've been there. His was the first show I interpreted in sign language."

Yarrow recalled their first meeting at Ravinia.

"He was a teenager and was earnest and loving," Yarrow said. "I realized the song, 'Don't Laugh at Me' really moved him. Seth gets it."

This year, when Yarrow organized a concert in New York that would honor the nation's teachers, he immediately called on Seth.

"Tribute: A Concert Honoring the Teachers of America," became a pet project of Rosie O'Donnell, Bill Cosby, Cynthia Nixon and Tim McCarver of Fox Sports, who on stage recalled their own favorite teachers affectionately and humorously.

It also attracted the talents of other powerhouses: Judy Collins; Tom Paxton; Odetta; Steve Seskin; Christine Lavin; folk duo Bethany and Rufus (Bethany, a singer, is Yarrow's daughter); 16-year-old Houston rapper Jonathan "Baby Jay" Gutierrez and 16-year-old rock/pop singer Christine Evans.

Yarrow said Seth signed for every performer. The concert was done live for an audience filled with teachers and was filmed by New York's PBS station channel 13, which will air it there Oct. 4.

Before the last song, Yarrow said, the audience rose to its feet in the most ecstatic response of the night.

"There is no question it was a standing ovation for (Seth). He melted people's hearts," Yarrow said.

"When you integrate spoken and sign languages, you have a powerful instrument," Yarrow said. "It was a combination of the message and his interpretation. The joy that spilled out of him and his energy commanded all 4,000 people."

Goldberg, now 25, said it was the adventure of his life.

Yarrow and PBS flew Goldberg and his father, Ted, into New York for the taping, paying for the air fare, the limousines and the hotel.

"I felt like a star!" Seth said. "They spiked my hair with gel and I had a professional doing my makeup."

On his arrival he went directly to Town Hall for a five-hour rehearsal before taping the next day from 1 p.m.-midnight.

Yarrow said every performer in the show was taken with Seth.

"He is an advocate and he is a human being who has risen beyond his disabilities," the folk singer avowed. "His sweetness and his energy and his heart ignite everyone."

The taped concert has been offered to other PBS markets, but, as of this writing, there are no plans to air it in Chicago.

The whirlwind trip left Goldberg exhausted but elated. He came home and went back to his job bagging and checking groceries at Jewel in the Northpoint Shopping Center in Arlington Heights -- but he's not done working with Yarrow.

Yarrow is appearing this week at the Friday evening Shabbat service at Temple Chai, in Long Grove, for which Seth will sign.

Yarrow who wanted to come to Chicago now to celebrate the release of his daughter's new album with cellist Rufus Cappadocia, asked Seth what charity they should perform for while he was here.

Goldberg's response was Keshet, a Northbrook school for children and young adults with special needs. Seth taught several of the teachers there how to sign for their hearing impaired students.

The one-hour Shabbat service will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by a longer concert. Donations for Keshet will be taken in advance or at the door.

For details on the service or the location of the Reform temple, call (847) 537-1771.

Temple Chai Shabbat service and concert

Folksinger Peter Yarrow appears in concert Friday.

• When: 6:15 p.m.

• Where: Temple Chai, 1670 Checker Road, Long Grove

• What for: A fund-raiser for the Keshet school in Northbrook, for children and young adults with special needs. One-hour Shabbat service starts at 6:15 p.m., followed by a longer concert

• Donate: In advance or at the door

• Details: (847) 537-1771