The Arts

Voices powerful in lagging ‘Samson and Delilah’ production

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Opera Company has brought back (by popular demand) Camille Saint-Saëns’ beautiful Samson et Dalila. The last time we were treated to this 19-century French opera was in 2007. No question this tale is of biblical proportions. The sets, rented from the San Francisco Opera, (Douglas Schmidt) are ‘gargantuan’ […]

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Biography examines Joe Kennedy’s attitudes toward Jews

By Joel A. Moskowitz, MD LA JOLLA, California — The father of JFK and Bobby and Ted Kennedy was intimately involved in the world events leading up to World War II.  And David Nasaw’s book The Patriarch: The remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph Patrick Kennedy tells it all.  Published by Penguin Press this

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USA

Multiple local awards for ‘Iliad,’ ‘Allegiance,” ‘Parade’ and ‘Scottsboro Boys’

By Carol Davis LA JOLLA, California — A total of 22 productions from nine theater companies were honored by the San Diego Theatre Critics at their annual awards ceremony and reception held Feb. 4 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, in La Jolla before an audience of nearly 500 people. Leading the way

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, The Arts

Barry Rubin offers 11 of his books free to downloaders

Editor’s Note: Prof. Barry Rubin, director of the GLORIA center in Israel which keeps close track of geo-political developments in the Middle East, is an occasional columnist for San Diego Jewish World.   He now is offering free to readers 11 books he has published over the years. HERZLIYA, Israel (Press Release)– The GLORIA Center has

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories

‘Clybourne Park’ studies psychology of housing discrimination

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO — The Clybourne Park neighborhood in playwright Bruce Norris’s biting comedy is the very same neighborhood that the Younger Family of the late 1950’s, in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, was about ready to move into, in that groundbreaking drama so many moons ago. The Youngers are an

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Educating Rita’ in some ways better than ‘Pygmalion’

By Carol Davis SOLANA BEACH, California—-Some might deem Willy Russell’s 1980’s comedy Educating Rita dated and irrelevant. It is, however, very current and well, quite relevant given the current state of our much maligned public educational system. Russell’s play takes us to a University in the North of England at a time when some major

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Notes from the Woodcutter: ‘Billy Wilder’

By Loren Kantor STUDIO CITY, California –Billy Wilder is one of Hollywood’s all-time great filmmakers. His movies ranged from film noir to screwball comedy and they were known for tight plots and memorable dialogue. Wilder despised sentiment and he sought to tell stories as simply and elegantly as possible. To Wilder, “the best director is

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Hickorydickory’ is a dark, timely comedy

By Carol Davis SAN DIEGO — Like it or not, we all have a mortal time clock ticking somewhere in our bodies. For most it’s located in or around the heart.  In playwright Marisa Wegrzny thought provoking but off the wall dark comedy “Hickorydickory”, the Wicker Family of  ‘Wicker’s Watch & Clock Repair shop in

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Surviving the Holocaust at what price?

By Joel A Moskowitz M D LA JOLLA, California — Claudia Stevens, a multi-talented actress, singer, drummer, and historian brought to life “Madame F” on Monday evening, Nov. 26, at the Recital Hall of Mandeville Auditorium UCSD. Madame F is the abbreviated name for Fanja Fanelson  (Goldstein) who was an award winning pianist. While she

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education

‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots’ in world premiere

  By Carol Davis  LA JOLLA, California—When the La Jolla Playhouse promises a fourteen-foot tall robot, you better believe it delivers. And when they promise the sounds of the band Flaming Lips  they deliver on that one too. And when they combine the two, hold on to your hats because former Playhouse Artistic Director Des

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Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Patinkin concert caps Beth Israel sesquicentennial

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Congregation Beth Israel closed out the celebration of its sesquicentennial year with a nostalgic concert by Mandy Patinkin on Saturday evening, November 17, at Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall. Patinkin, who has had starring roles on Broadway, in movies and in television series, took the Qualcomm stage following

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County