The Odesa Jewish Music Theater Migdal-Or, which means a Lighthouse or a Tower of Light, was co-founded by Kira Verkhovskaya and Mila Dolgin Lieber in 1991.
Migdal-Or was the very first and most important organization that paved the way for the future development of all Migdal’s programs. It became a beacon of hope for the rebirth of Jewish art and culture after many years of keeping it underground. 
The excitement and creative energy that went into building up Migdal-Or gave life to amazing programs that brought joy to many audiences throughout the years. Migdal-Or literally started its development in a kitchen. It took many hours, days and nights of working without pay, practicing, recording, performing, experimenting until it took off to the theatrical stages worldwide.
Theater’s first and most exciting international performance at the International Festival of Jewish Culture in Yurmala, Latvia brought Migdal-Or great success and recognition. It was the best performance at the Festival and the audience was singing and dancing with all artists long after the performance was over. Migdal-Or’s first planned play was Farkishefter Yid and was based on one of Sholom Aleichem’s stories.
Migdal-Or was founded during the period of the collapse of the Soviet Union when there was not a single official Jewish community alive on its former territory, which makes the theater unique and first of its kind. Due to the lack of information and prohibition of any religious Jewish books and Hebrew language, no material of the thousands years of Jewish thought, culture and tradition of the people of the Book could be obtained. It was Migdal-Or that was one of the first to begin collecting crumbs of information and passing it to people in a creative way through its performances. Migdal-Or became not only a place for great music and theatrical entertainment, but also the most important instrument for educating audiences with long forbidden incredible Judaic culture and history.
Migdal-Or has given more than a thousand performances for the audience of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide over the years. Migdal-Or has become a laureate of many Jewish festivals, and the theater troupe has made tours to Israel, USA, Germany, Baltic countries, Russia, Moldova and, of course, to many Ukrainian cities and towns. During concert tours Migdal-Or’s actors also participated in seminars and studied Jewish tradition, music, dancing and Hebrew language as well as shared their experience with other Jewish communities. This invaluable cultural exchange further enriched Migdal-Or’s performances.
The staff of the theater includes professional musicians and dancers. Most of them have formal musical and pedagogical education and completed professional seminars of Jewish tradition in England, Israel and USA as well as special Migdal’s courses for Jewish culture and history.
The theater’s repertoire is very
extensive and diverse. It incorporates authentic originals, songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, English, Russian, Ukrainian as well as modern Israeli stage art. Unique features of Migdal-Or’s performances with colorful settings, exhilarated high-spirited music, choreographic scenes, live performance without phonograms, keep fascinating different audiences around the world.