In 1930, Sullivan, a Catholic, married Sylvia Weinstein, a Jewish woman, against the wishes of both families. What did Sylvia Weinstein do to mollify her family when she and Ed Sullivan started dating? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Ed Sullivan Read More »
International, Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Whether it was Tevye mugging during the dance off with the Russians for “To Life” or even the usually scary dream sequence about “Fruma-Sarah,” director Omri Schein really brought out the physical comedy and rubber faces of the cast. And it worked. I don’t remember hearing the audience laugh during Fiddler as much they did for this show. [Sandi Masori]
Comedic ‘Fiddler’ Uses Clever Staging Read More »
San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Tony award-winning Jewish playwright Lisa Kron uses a clever narrative device in which the main character Alison Bechdel (Rae Henderson-Gray) watches herself as a little girl (Lena Palke) and as a college student (Priya Richard) as she crafts autobiographical graphic novels. [Sandi Masori]
‘Fun House’ is Not What the Title Suggests Read More »
San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Gabor was married nine times, in order to Buthan Belge, Conrad Hilton, George Sanders, Herbert Hutner, Joshua S. Cosden, Jack Ryan, Michael O’Hara, Felipe de Alba, and finally a 30-year marriage to Frederic Prinz von Anhalt which lasted from Aug. 14, 1986 to Dec. 18, 2016. She once quipped, “I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” [SDJA staff report]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Zsa Zsa Gabor Read More »
International, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
The chairman of the University of California Board of Regents, Rich Leib, who is a San Diego County resident, disclosed to Sunday’s symposium on antisemitism cosponsored by the Jewish Federation of San Diego and the American Jewish Committee that the stands he has taken against antisemitism has prompted 120 groups to call for his resignation. “I can say that is not going to happen,” he declared during a panel session on campus antisemitism. [SDJW staff]
Our Shtetl San Diego County: Snapshots of Antisemitism at Local Universities Read More »
Antisemitism, California, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Just as Stephen Schwartz has yet to be recognized widely as a great commentator on the Torah, so too has Children of Eden lacked its moment in the spotlight. Both Schwartz and this musical are well-kept secrets that beg to be brought
into conversation with the study of Bereshit. [Adira Rosen]
Stephen Schwartz’s Midrash: ‘The Children of Eden’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
He won an Academy Award as the Best Supporting Actor in Sayonara, a movie drama about the prejudice faced by an American airman who marries a Japanese woman, played by Miyoshi Umeki, who won the Academy Award as best supporting actress. More movies came later including Hatari!; Five Weeks in a Balloon; The Longest Day; The Poseidon Adventure; They Shoot Horses Don’t They; Pete’s Dragon; When Time Ran Out; and 18 Again! [SDJW staff report]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Red Buttons Read More »
Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
I’m answering emails and half watching the 2024 Emmy Awards on TV, mostly to see the fancy dresses and gorgeous humans. I gaze up from my laptop as Niecy Nash-Betts accepts her trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress, proudly raises it to the sky, and yells “I’m a winner, baby!” Now, I am watching with my full attention. I see Niecy give a powerful, emotional acceptance speech, which includes a loud shout-out to an unusually recognized person. [Shayna Kaufmann]
Own Your Accomplishments; Give Yourself Credit Read More »
Lifestyles, Shayna Kaufmann, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
He started doing stand-up comedy during the 1950s, leading to a recording contract with Verve Records. His album “Inside Shelley Berman” won the first Grammy Award for “Best Comedy Performance-Spoken” and his voice was the inspiration for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Fibber Fox. He appeared in episodes of numerous television series including Curb Your Enthusiasm in which he played Larry David’s aged father, a role for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2008. He also had many movie credits, and taught humor writing at the University of Southern California. [SDJW Staff]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Shelley Berman Read More »
Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
Set in Iran in 2008, the play follows a teacher and her students in a small school where the students are preparing for the TOEFL exam (test of English as a foreign language). As the play progresses we learn the hopes, dreams and fears of each character as they share why they are studying English, and they try to find their voice. [Sandi Masori]
‘English’ Probes Motivations and Problems of ESL Students Read More »
International, Middle East, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Published by Euronews (English) Over the course of five decades, acclaimed Polish director and current president of the European Film Academy Agnieszka Holland has brought to the screen humanity’s darkest sins. From the Holocaust (In Darkness and Europa Europa) to the Holodomor famine in Ukraine (Mr. Jones), her unflinching films have shed light some of
Broadway’s master songman, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, will bring his newest theatre concert Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE, to Balboa Theatre on Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. This powerful and passionate evening of song is part of the 31st Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival, better known as JFest, and co-produced by San Diego Theatres, the nonprofit organization that operates both Balboa Theatre and San Diego Civic Theatre. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 2 at 10:00 a.m. via Ticketmaster. [Press Release]
Mandy Patinkin Headlines San Diego’s ‘JFest’ June 4 Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Press Release, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
In technology similar to that seen at such presidential museums as the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, the Schindler family has preserved the memory of the late Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler by creating a hologram of her that can answer questions from students or other audience members. [SDJW staff]
Our Shtetl San Diego County: Rose Schindler’s Hologram Addresses Students Read More »
Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Shanda File, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, a nonprofit dedicated to ending hatred against Jews in the U.S., will air its first-ever Super Bowl TV commercial during the Feb. 11 telecast on CBS as the group seeks to raise awareness of the rise in antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7 assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists. [Rick Griffin]
Super Bowl Will Include ‘Stand Up to Jewish Hate’ Commercial Read More »
Antisemitism, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Times of San Diego, USA