By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — This year’s JFest had many unusual highlights. Some events seemed more fitting than others to be part of a Jewish Arts Festival. Although I savored the Hershey Felder offering, Nicholas, Anna, and Sergei –I love Rachmaninoff’s music–( reviewed in the May 19th San Diego Jewish World), I did not understand its place in a Jewish Festival, given that the subjects were all authentic or pretending Russian aristocrats, the class that often helped perpetrate pogroms.
On the other hand, the finale, last Sunday’s staged reading of Ali Viterbi’s play, In Every Generation, and the three plays in the three-play festival, seemed appropriate choices. Viterbi’s play, as with Felder’s offering, and the three Festival choices, had top professional actors. What a welcome surprise to see Tovah Feldshuh as one of the leads in Viterbi’s piece. Feldshuh’s one-woman evening was also an excellent JFest event, although her sketches, in total, lasted less than an hour.
The opening program featured local teenage talent. Most memorable was Kate Chasin’s rendition of a movement from a Bach unaccompanied cello suite. Her playing was characterized with strong technical skill and musical insight. Although it was good to see our community’s teens showcased, only a few chose to perform what we might label “Jewish music.”
Yale Strom’s Klezmer Summit featured his band, Hot Pstromi, a string quartet and a Yiddish song by guest artists from Berlin, singer Sasha Lurje accompanied by instrumentalist, Craig Yudelman. Elizabeth Schwartz did an interesting Yiddish version of the American pop tune, “Nature Boy,” which, because of its minor mode melody, sounded idiomatic in the Mama Loshen.
Strom’s original string quartet, entitled “The Wayfarers” received an outstanding reading from SDSO Assistant Concertmaster, Wesley Precourt, first violin, SDSO member Kate Hatmaker, second violin, SDSO member Hannah Stuart, viola and from the Hausmann Quartet’s Alex Greenbaum, cellist. The four movement work was based on tunes Strom collected from Jewish and Roma sources during his treks in the Carpathian Mountains.
Other musical events included The Rain & the Wind, an interesting celebration of Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday by Haifa’s Nephesh Theatre and dancers from the Sheketak Group. The dancers were particularly engaging as they interpreted Dylan’s songs. The three Platt brothers were also interesting, and blended beautifully when they sang “Hodu”and “Ahavat Olam.”
The four different women honored as Women of Valor, Elizabeth Schwartz, Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Jodie Graber, and Franchesca Gelbart were all well-portrayed by local actresses. The scripts were written by Rebecca Myers, Sarah Price Keating, Leah Salovey, Todd Salovey and Ali Viterbi. Musical interludes were provided by tenor Danny Myers, violinist Myla Wingard and cellist Jeff Myers. The four different evenings were directed by Ali Viterbi. JFest Director Todd Salovey is to be congratulated for mentoring the young writers and directors who are coming into their own, in no small measure, because of his valuable support.
One of the most memorable evenings was Todd Salovey’s interview with members of the Yiddish Folksbeine Theater in New York who produced, directed and starred in the award-winning Fiddler On the Roof production in Yiddish. Joel Grey, director, was particularly interesting and articulate and Zalman Mlotek, music director, Beowulf Boritt, set designer and stars Steven Skybell and Janet Babiak, all added to the captivating conversation. Most of all, we were treated to clips of the outstanding production.
Although I was unable to attend, I heard Perla Batalla’s online program and the one in-person program by Soulfarm, performing the music of the Grateful Dead, were successful events. There again, it is only the fact that the performers of Soulfarm were Jewish that seemed to qualify their participation in JFest. Also, that the Grateful Dead has a large Jewish following.
The 28th Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival had something for everyone and our community is grateful to the San Diego Repertory Company for continuing to sponsor this wonderful annual event.
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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com