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Saturday, August 6 While we are of the opinion that adult twins who dress alike are about as cheesy or creepy as you can get, we can’t speak for the Rosenblum Twins’ comedic skills. The identically attractive Jewish girls perform their bit, “The Separation Anxiety Tour,” as special guests in tonight’s Masquers Cabaret lineup. 9:30 p.m. $15 (cover, plus two-drink minimum). 8334 W. Third St., Los Angeles. (323) 653-4848. |
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Sunday, August 7 Down-home blues and pretty bluegrass are just some of the sounds you’ll hear today at the Skirball’s “American Roots Musical Festival.” Acclaimed blues and gospel performers The Holmes Brothers and zyedeco artist Geno Delafose headline the daylong extravaganza that highlights our musical past. 2-7 p.m. $5-$15 (general), free (children under 12). 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (866) 468-3399. |
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Monday, August 8 The dirt behind the manicured lawns of fictional suburban town, Agrestic, Calif., is “Weeds,” a new Showtime comedy series. Created and executive produced by Jenji Kohan (Emmy Award-winner and sister of “Will and Grace” exec producer/creator David Kohan), the show stars Mary-Louise Parker as a different kind of desperate housewife. The widowed mother of two turns to selling pot to pay the bills after her husband’s sudden death. Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon also star. The show premieres this week. 10 p.m. Tuesday, August 9 Cuz you can’t get enough industry talk in this city, head downtown tonight to partake in yet another conversation on the state of Hollywood through Zócalo at California Plaza. Robert J. Dowling, 15-year Hollywood Reporter editor-in-chief, and L.A. Times columnist Joel Stein discuss both the culture and the business of this business — and, most importantly, TomKat. 7 p.m. Free. 351 S. Olive St., Los Angeles. (213) 403-0416. Wednesday, August 10 For one heck of a hora film, see Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in “Wedding Crashers,” about two friends who crash weddings to hook up with women. The opening montage includes the two hamming it up at various ethnic weddings, including a Jewish one. Thursday, August 11 The rich diversity of L.A.’s religious community is on display in photographer Robert Berger’s latest book, “Sacred Spaces: Historical Houses of Worship in the City of Angels.” The book’s title and contents also make up the Skirball Cultural Center’s new exhibition of Images representing L.A.’s religious sanctuaries of past and present. It opens today. Runs through Nov. 27. Free. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 440-4500. Friday, August 12 For escapist humor don’t look to Theatre 40’s latest production. Jules Feiffer’s biting black comedy, “Little Murders,” will offer you humor all right, but there will be no escape. Set in an urban, violent Manhattan, the play centers on one family coping with the usual American family dysfunction, complete with overbearing mother, passive father and sexually confused son. It plays through Sept. 3. 8 p.m. (Thurs.-Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sat., Aug. 13, 20, 27 and Sept. 3; Sun., Aug. 7). $18-$20. Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills High Campus. R.S.V.P., (310) 364-0535. What will define the Jewish future is not antisemitism but how we respond to it. Embracing our Maccabean spirit would be a good start. As the publisher and co-founder of Random House, Bennett Cerf was one of the most important figures in 20th-century culture and literature. As Matti Friedman demonstrates in his riveting new book, one of Israel’s greatest legends is also riddled with mysteries and open questions. The book is not a single narrative but a novel of interconnected stories, each laced with irony, poignancy, and hilarity. Forgiving someone on behalf of a community that is not yours is not forgiveness. It is opportunism dressed up as virtue. Although institutional change can be slow, Jewish organizations fighting antisemitism have made progress…Critics may have some legitimate concerns about mission drift — but this is solved with accountability, not defunding. The transmission of these bureka recipes from generation to generation is a way of retaining heritage and history in Sephardic communities around the world. There is nothing like spreading a soft blanket out in the shade and enjoying some delicious food with friends and family. Israelis must become King David Jews, fighting when necessary while building a glittering Zion. Diaspora Jews must become Queen Esther Jews. Fit in. Prosper. Decipher your foreign lands’ cultural codes. But be literate, proud, brave Jews. No one should underestimate the difficulty of the past few years. But what will define us is not the level or nature of the problem but how we deal with it. Before Israel’s week of Remembrance and Independence, it is proper to reflect on the inherent tension between dreams and their realization. His message of love — hopeful, expansive, humane — inspired genuine moral progress. It fostered hope that humanity might ultimately converge toward those ideals. In too many parts of the world, that expectation collided with societies that did not share those assumptions. Just as the Torah concludes with the people about to enter the Promised Land, leaders are successful when the connections we make reveal within us the humility to encounter the Infinite. It is made of humility, forged from the understanding that even with all our strengths, we desperately need one another. We should not be surprised that conspiratorial antisemitism has reemerged in the current circumstances. But there is a deep reason that ties it specifically to the right. With God’s help, as Israel heads into its Independence Day celebration, the Jewish state will continue in its mission of serving as a source of wisdom and inspiration for its minority groups and nations throughout the globe. After early sold-out shows in Los Angeles, the series has grown into a touring format with stops planned across several cities. The task now is not only to honor the past, but to learn from it and build something worthy of it. |
7 Days in The Arts
While we are of the opinion that adult twins who dress alike are about as cheesy or creepy as you can get, we can\'t speak for the Rosenblum Twins\' comedic skills.
