Eric George Tauber

Eric George Tauber

Eric George Tauber is an actor as well as a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.

Beautiful music with compelling stories

The 30th San Diego International Jewish Film Festival is underway. These aren’t your big-budget Hollywood blockbusters. These are indie films with heart that speak to who we are as a people. I managed to catch two Israeli films with music themes on Monday at the Reading Cinema in Claremont Square. And I was delighted to sit in nearly full houses. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Swept up in ‘Hurricane Diane’

Rami Margron enters in purple robes and a golden garland. Dionysus has been reborn as Diane, who prefers the personal pronouns “they, them, and theirs.”  Diane is a landscape artist with the chutzpah to ‘follow their own vision, not their clients’. With a crocodile haircut, workboots and guns most men would envy, Margron gives Diane a brash, butch androgyny that makes them compelling. Diane’s vision is to “re-wild” the suburbs with permaculture, taking it from manicured lawns and rose bushes to producing food, herbs and medicine “off the grid.” But Carol (Liz Wisan) is not having it. A chatty suburbanite who clips pictures from HGTV Magazine, she cares too much about resale value, “curb-appeal” and what “the girls” will think. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

China jumps into basketball in ‘The Great Leap’

When I first read the premise for The Great Leap, I imagined an errant ball hitting a patron in the third row. No need to worry. Even though there is a hoop hanging over the middle of the house, they only mime those shots. Projection Designer Blake McCarty presents a flowing river of images of basketball games, newsreel footage and stills of party propaganda that sweep us into playwright Lauren Yee’s complex, bi-cultural world. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, International, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Jitney’ evokes laughter, suspense

Their patter and body language have an expressive musicality that’s really fun to watch and listen to. They enjoy the playful camaraderie of old friends who don’t need to be polite. Raised in the Black church, their patter is peppered with Biblical allusions such as the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, the stolen birthright of Esau and Daniel in the Lions’ Den. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

World Beat Center honors the dream

Just north of Presidents Way and across the street from the Veterans Museum lies the World Beat Cultural Center. Housed in what used to be a water tower, this cylindrical building is filled inside and out with brightly painted murals celebrating the many cultures of the world. Inside, you will find a vegan café, an art gallery, reggae concerts and classes in the arts. What better place to celebrate Martin Luther King Day? [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

‘The Humans’ speak to all of us

Thanksgiving dinner: A time for families to be thankful for one another even as they bicker about religion, politics and life-choices between forkfuls of turkey and glasses of wine. Brigid Blake and her boyfriend Rich have moved into a garden duplex in Chinatown. There are noises from above and a view of an alley filled with cigarette butts from the only window. The movers haven’t arrived with all of their stuff yet, so furnishings are pretty spare. It’s modestly pleasant by New York City standards. But driving in from the quiet suburb of Scranton, it’s not exactly what Brigid’s parents are used to. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Gender-bending at San Diego Junior Theatre

Last Friday, I popped into the office of San Diego Junior Theatre (based in Casa del Prado in Balboa Park) to say hello to their Artistic Director, Desha Crownover. She was both excited and exhausted about opening night of their “gender fluid” production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Having written about issues related to gender identity before, I smelled a story. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Getting politically active on a Sunday afternoon

On Sunday, Hillcrest Indivisible hosted an “Impeach Trump” rally at Waterfront Park on Harbor Drive. Honestly, the turnout was less than huge. Jodie, one of the organizers from Hillcrest Indivisible, said that more than two thousand people had responded, but it looked like only a few hundred showed up. But a Trump-Baby Blimp –one of eight in the world- was there and quite a hit. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, USA

Talking about transgender teens

Blindspot Collective is a small troupe taking on big issues. They are currently touring Danny’s Story a “forum theatre” play based on the real experiences of transgender youth. The issue is important not just because it’s trending, but because this is a highly vulnerable population. One third have attempted suicide. “Danny” is a transgender boy who was born female. Kids have kept diaries forever, but today’s millennials post theirs online. Danny has a Youtube channel where he works through his transition. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jews writing a Christmas story: Is that kosher?

After I submitted my review of Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big San Diego Christmas Show, now playing at the Old Globe, we noticed that the creators’ names sounded Jewish. I’ve met a few Jews who were openly hostile to the goyishe feist, calling it “Krastmik” to avoid saying that name. But American Jews making their mark, even iconic contributions, to Christmas canon is nothing new. Some favorite Christmas carols including Rudolph, Chestnuts Roasting, Let it Snow!, Santa Baby, Silver Bells and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year were all composed by Jews. 
Still, Christmas is not really our holiday. So we wanted to talk to Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen about creating this show and what influence their Jewish upbringing had on it. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire

An iconic tale comes to San Diego

We’ve all seen variations of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol many times in stage plays, films and musicals. His iconic character, Ebenezer Scrooge with his catchphrase, “Bah Humbug” is so well known that I doubt many Israelis name their children “Ebenezer” except for some ultra-orthodox sects who avoid all things Krastmik along with the rest of the goyishe velt. So what can you do to put a new twist on this classic tale? Set it in sunny San Diego, California. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Hold These Truths’: A story we need to hear

Hold These Truths is a story we need to hear. Director Jessica Kubzansky describes it as “a love story between a man and his Constitution.” The true shonda is that Gordon Hirabayashi resisted injustice precisely because he believed in the noble ideals enshrined in our Constitution far more than the leaders who swore to uphold and defend them. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast