7 Days In Arts

Saturday

Having survived the eight days, you’re back to breaking
bread, but questions about the Passover holiday still linger. Jim Long claims to
have the answers for all you questioners and nonbelievers. His new book “The
Riddle of the Exodus” seeks to prove that the Passover story really happened,
based on “newly revealed historical evidence.” Order it and decide for yourself.
$15. “>www.morningstarevents.com

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Monday

Like cops and doughnut shops, like Rodgers and Hart, like Gershwin and Gershwin, Jews and American popular music just seem to go together. Coincidence? Jacqueline Bassan doesn’t think so — and she expounds her theory in the pages of her new book, “From Shul to Cool: The Romantic Jewish Roots of American Popular Music.” Head to Valley Beth Shalom today to hear more about it.

11:15 a.m. 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 788-6000.

Tuesday

The Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity offers an original option for commemorating Yom HaShoah and the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising this evening — a dramatic musical suite titled “Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 1943.” Composed by Yale Strom and performed by the Center’s ensemble, Synergy, the program is co-sponsored and hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance.

7:30 p.m. $18 (general), $15 (members), $10 (students). 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. R.S.V.P., (310) 772-2452.

Wednesday

Props to Cal Rep for their good timing, as they open their not-so-France-friendly production of “Diary of a Chambermaid” this week. The story focuses on Celestine, a chambermaid who begins a new position with an eccentric French family and is eventually seduced by each of the various men in the household. Written as a critique of French bourgeois hypocrisy during the Dreyfus affair, some would say the message still resonates today.

7 p.m. (Tuesday-Thursday), 8 p.m. (Friday), 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (Saturday). $15-$20. Edison Theatre, 213 E. Broadway, Long Beach. (562) 432-1818.

Thursday

Cantors Chayim Frenkel and Meir Finkelstein have put
together a unique salve for the wounds that terrorism has inflicted on Americans
and Israelis. Titled “Nishmat Tzedek (A Righteous Soul),” it’s a CD and book
set; nine inspirational writings by Jewish thinkers as well as nine photographs
of Israel by award-winning photographer Eric Lawton, coincide with each of the
CD’s nine movements, which are based on the “Yizkor” (Memorial) service. $50. “>www.kcet.org

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