Category
Theater
‘Hybrid’ Actor Crafts ‘Everyman’ Show
Ameenah Kaplan, who calls herself a \”hybrid\” — the product of an African American mother who converted to Judaism and a Jewish father — is directing, choreographing and co-producing \”Everyman for Himself.\” Appearing weekends at the Unknown Theatre in Hollywood, the show is a hybrid itself, in that it blends music, dance, theater and capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian dance form that incorporates self-defense maneuvers.
Inside Shelley Berman, Again
Shelley Berman is 80 years old and hot, hot, hot. When he cups his hand over the phone and yells to his wife: \”Where am I this week, Sarah?\” he\’s not having a senior moment. Fresh from playing Larry David\’s father on the HBO series, \”Curb Your Enthusiasm,\” he\’s got bookings in Las Vegas, feature film shoots and network television tapings on top of his regular slate of teaching classes at USC. Shelley\’s current schedule would kill a person half his age, which is why, at 44, I\’m functioning as his occasional producer, acolyte and coffee bringer (\”Last time someone brought me hazelnut — can\’t a person get an honest cup of coffee any more?\”) at 24th Street Theatre, where we\’re in the middle of a live Shelley Berman minifestival.
L’Chaim to Kitsch!
In a dark spotlight-lit stage, a man in a long, black suit; yarmulke; and tallit slung over one shoulder fervently sings into a microphone, while a dance troupe in similar — but sexier — garb twirls behind him.
He\’s not a cantor. He\’s not a rabbi. He\’s not even religious. He is Evgeni Valevich, a performer whose repertoire includes a program of Russian Jewish music in the genre called Estrada. Estrada may be a genre unknown to Westerners, but to Russians, the term is immediately recognizable.
Spectator – A Night at the Hebraic Opera
\”The Imaginary Invalid\” is Dinur\’s first project for her new organization, The Jewish-Hebrew Stage. Together with Yoram Najum The Jewish-Hebrew Stage plans to bring Hebrew and Israeli theater to Los Angeles, as well as teach Hebrew through drama.
Wendy Chronicles — A Personal Memoir
I became one of Wendy\’s regular I-should-be-writing-but-let\’s-meet-for-coffee-instead dates. It was a blast to help Wendy procrastinate. We shopped, gossiped and swore to get thin together. We went to each other\’s openings. I was her date for award ceremonies and multiple engagements where, in her words, \”I\’m speaking to the Jews.\”
Wasserstein Chronicled Modern Women
Playwright Wendy Wasserstein, known for wry portrayals of strong, conflicted, contemporary women in prizewinning works such as \”The Heidi Chronicles,\” died this week in New York.
While not always overtly Jewish, her characters still bore the mark of the playwright\’s traditional Jewish upbringing in New York.
Later in her life, the feminist writer became a Jewish mother, although perhaps not in the way her own Jewish mother pictured.
Spectator – A Poet’s Slam-Dunk
With a gift for diction, Kadosh explores the cultural absurdities and political hypocrisies of America, dedicating one spoken-word poem to SUVs, and another to the cheese at the heart of America.
Seven Thumbs Up
An unscientific, random sample of moviegoers who turned out for the new Steven Spielberg\’s film, \”Munich,\” overwhelmingly liked what they saw. All of these patrons saw the film at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood.
Israeli Conductor Soars in ‘Butterfly’
Madame Butterfly,\” the story of a trusting 19th-century Japanese girl who falls in love with a fickle American naval officer, first captivated American audiences in 1900 as a play by impresario David Belasco.
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