Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Actor in ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ has Yiddishisms Down Pat

Right now they’re doing Tuesday With Morrie, a two-man show based on the book of the same title by Jewish writer Mitch Albom.   The play takes place in the 90s when Mitch (Kevin Quezada) reconnects with his favorite professor from Brandeis University, Morrie Schwartz (John Grasberger).  Morrie has recently been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and is ailing fast.   Mitch guilts himself into committing to come and visit Morrie every Tuesday until he passes.  During these visits they talk about life, love, death and the meaning of it all.  [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Los Angeles Theater Critic, San Diego Jewish World Contributor Cynthia Citron Dies at 89

Cynthia Wynn Taylor Citron, born September 16, 1934, in Boston, died November 11, 2023, in New York, of pneumonia and old age. For nearly 20 years she was a well known theater critic in Los Angeles, writing for the Santa Monica Daily Press, San Diego Jewish World (for which she served as L.A. County Bureau

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California, Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘All The Light We Cannot See’ Illuminates Dark Places

By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — How do we get through difficult times? How can we find a ray of hope when all we see are shadows? During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us turned to streaming services like Netflix to cope with our feelings of boredom and isolation. My personal favorites were works

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Eric George Tauber, Holocaust, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Audience Delights in Familiar Songs of ‘Mamma Mia’

It’s been a hard month not only for all of us in the Jewish community, but for the entire San Diego community.  With all of the unrest and strife happening, the audience at Broadway In San Diego’s Mamma Mia was ready to let loose and revel in the joyous ABBA songs that make up the backbone of this whimsical show at the Civic Theatre. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Film on Pittsburgh Synagogue Attack to Air on San Diego Public TV Nov. 13 and 16

  PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (Press Release) — Five years ago, a white supremacist murdered 11 Jews at prayer at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. The killings — one of a series of violent racist attacks committed by an increasingly aggressive white supremacist movement shocked the

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San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Scripps Ranch Theatre’s ‘The 39 Steps’ Abound With Humorous Hitchcock References, High Drama

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — Scripps Ranch Theatre brings us The 39 Steps, a murder-mystery comic romp that has director Phil Johnson’s fingerprints all over it. Based loosely on Hitchcock’s 1935 film of the same name, this reimagined version takes the liberty to incorporate so many films of this genre with the over-emoting, high

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Xanadu’ Brings Back Memories of the 1980s

Let me quickly give you a little plot summary…  Kira (St. Clair) is one of the nine Greek Muses, and she decides to go down to earth (as a roller skating Australian) to give some inspiration to aspiring artist Sonny Malone (Hunter Brown).  But there are rules about going to earth to inspire artists, and those rules include not helping to create art, not letting on you’re a muse, and definitely not falling in love with a mortal. [Sandi Masori]

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Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

North Coast Rep Brings Top-Notch Rendition of Psychological Thriller to San Diego

By Eva Trieger   SOLANA BEACH, California — As the calendar signals the sinister season of ghouls and ghosties, North Coast Repertory Theatre ushers in the chill with an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While Stevenson wrote the story in 1885, his wife insisted he

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

David Ellenstein Followed His Actor Father Into Show Business

“I believe the arts in general are all about uplifting human beings and making the world better for having experienced them,” Ellenstein told me. “I’ve always believed in a wide variety of genres, and I like to do all kinds of plays – new plays, old plays, dramas, comedies, musicals, avant-garde plays…” {Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Over 700 Entertainment Leaders Stand With Israel

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — More than 700 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace in support of Israel. The open letter calls on the entertainment community to speak out forcefully against Hamas, to support Israel, to refrain from sharing misinformation

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Israel, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

New Village Arts’ ‘Doubt’ Channels What May Be an Old Jewish Parable

The play is set in 1964 in a small Catholic boys’ school. The opening is a sermon on Doubt by Father Flynn (Dr. AJ Knox). New teacher Sister James (Juliana Scheding) is called to the principal’s office so that she can report on the progress of the new student, Donald, who also happens to be the first Black student in the school. [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Les Mis’ Stunning Sets Bring You Into Revolutionary France

The acting was superb and I’ll come back to that, but I really have to talk about the sets.  I have never in my life seen such elaborate and I know I said it above, but cinematic sets.  The way that the stage and sets were built, the lighting effects, and the scenes staged to keep most of the action towards the back of the stage, the effect was almost more like watching a movie than a play.  [Sandi Masori]

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Bradley Cooper Wore Leonard Bernstein’s Personal Bathrobe in Maestro

Published by BANG Showbiz English Bradley Cooper wore late composer Leonard Bernstein’s personal bathrobe in ‘Maestro’. The Jewish conductor’s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina threw the doors open to their family home in Fairfield, Connecticut for the 48-year-old actor to film scenes for the biopic and even gave him the dressing gown to add to

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Helen Mirren Wades Into ‘Alarming’ Cancel Culture Debate Amid Backlash for Golda Meir Film Role

Published by GB News Helen Mirren has had her say on the “authoritarianism” and cancel culture creeping into the arts in regards to creators being told what they can and cannot write or perform about. The 78-year-old, whose CV boasts almost six decades’ worth of acting credits, has faced criticism for being cast in the

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International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast