Songwriter MICHAEL COOPER, a native of Nogales, Ariz., recently had musical theater productions performed in New York, London and Paris. In October, the National Alliance of Musical Theatre showcased selections from his musicals “Luna Park,” “Sunfish” and “Love Always” in its Songwriter’s Cabaret series. “Luna Park” was one of… Read more »
Arts and Culture
New adventure brings director back to local Jewish film fest
Yonatan Nir, an Israeli documentary filmmaker and producer, says making movies is an education unto itself. “Every film that I make is a window to a new world,” says Nir. “For me, the camera is a way to communicate, to learn more about the world and to experience it… Read more »
Tucson J to host cellist for pop-up concert
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will join with UA Presents to hold a free “sneak peek” mini concert by cellist Matt Haimovitz on Friday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m., one day prior to his Jan. 14 concert at 8 p.m. at Crowder Hall. Haimovitz will offer a musical variation… Read more »
Brandeis expert to discuss American musicals
Ryan McKittrick, assistant professor of theater arts at Brandeis University, will present “The American Musical from the 19th Century to ‘Hamilton’” at the Brandeis National Committee’s University on Wheels breakfast on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. McKittrick’s talk will feature scenes from… Read more »
Play at LTW is set in Streisand’s basement
Live Theatre Workshop will stage “Buyer & Cellar” by Jonathan Tolins, a one-man show that begins with the premise of an underemployed actor going to work as a shopkeeper in the basement of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home, Thursdays-Sundays through Feb. 11. “This seriously funny slice of absurdist whimsy creates… Read more »
Taylor of ‘Nanny’ fame to talk diets, show biz
Invisible Theatre will present Renée Taylor in “My Life on a Diet” at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd., on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. Taylor, best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Fran Drescher’s Jewish mother on… Read more »
Josh Radnor, beyond ‘How I Met Your Mother’
(JTA) — Josh Radnor is starring these days in Richard Greenberg’s off-Broadway play “The Babylon Line.” For the 42-year-old actor, it is the latest in a long and impressive list of credits. However, the odds are that no matter what else he accomplishes in life, for most people he… Read more »
Do Germans wish each other ‘Shanah Tovah’ on New Year’s Eve?
(JTA) — While the rest of the world is busy exchanging Happy New Year wishes, Germans are greeting each other with a peculiar expression: “guten Rutsch,” which means “good slip.” Some believe the greeting, which is especially unusual in a formal society such as Germany’s, is a lighthearted reference… Read more »
Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia of ‘Star Wars’ fame, dies at 60
(JTA) — Carrie Fisher, the actress best known for playing Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” films, died days after suffering a heart attack on an airplane. She was 60. Fisher’s family spokesman Simon Halls confirmed to multiple publications that she passed away Tuesday morning. Fisher had been… Read more »
The hidden history of ‘I Have a Little Dreidel’
(JTA) — Within the Jewish musical canon are several songs that seem to have always existed — tunes we all know and pass down from one generation to the next. One example is the Hanukkah favorite “I Have a Little Dreidel” — chances are most everyone reading this can… Read more »
Hanukkah sweaters are now a thing — and I love them
NEW YORK (JTA) — Ever since I moved here from Israel, every late November felt like the beginning of a month-long assault. Every store, business and doctor’s office blared Christmas songs, streets were decorated with ostentatious light shows and seemingly everything became green and red — which, as an… Read more »
6 new Hanukkah kids’ books to help enlighten the holiday
(JTA) — From a new audio version of “Hanukkah Bear” — a holiday favorite by National Jewish Book Award winner Eric A. Kimmel — to a novel for young teens set during the Festival of Lights, there is a fresh crop of Hanukkah books that are sure to delight… Read more »
Film festival to offer myriad Jewish flicks — plus nosh
The 26th annual Tucson Jewish International Film Festival will present more than 20 films from around the world, Jan. 12-22. All films will be screened at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, with two exceptions: a pre-festival kickoff in SaddleBrooke and the opening night film at the Loft Cinema, 3233… Read more »
Nimoy’s son honors Spock legacy, father’s trek
When Leonard Nimoy announced in 1949 that he wanted to be an actor, and was leaving Boston for Hollywood, his Russian-Jewish parents were stunned. “My grandfather said that he should take up the accordion,” says Adam Nimoy, Leonard’s son and the director of the new documentary “For the Love… Read more »
The Jewish story behind the Broadway hit ‘Falsettos’
NEW YORK (JTA) — The opening number in the Broadway musical “Falsettos” — currently being revived on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre — is called “Four Jews in a Room Bitching.” Featuring sample lyrics like “I’m neurotic, he’s neurotic, they’re neurotic, we’re neurotic. Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch,” it… Read more »
THA fifth graders’ poetry salutes Israel
Chen Shterenbach, a teacher at Tucson Hebrew Academy, recently held a Hebrew poetry contest for his students. The students had the liberty of choosing any topic. The judges were Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz and Windy Jones. Lewkowicz was the representative for THA’s Hebrew and Judaics department and Jones, THA’s middle school… Read more »
This former nebbish can help you become super popular — like him
(JTA) — To give you an idea of how uncool Jon Levy was as a kid, know this: His first kiss was in first grade, when he was a student at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. His second kiss? Well, that happened during his freshman… Read more »
JHM to present play based on novel by Nobel Prize-winning Shoah survivor
The Jewish History Museum in partnership with the Tucson Museum of Art will present “Kaddish,” a one-person theatrical adaptation of a novel by Nobel Prize-winner and Auschwitz survivor Imre Kertész, on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Tucson Museum of Art., with performances at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. “This… Read more »
Culture Shuk doorway to Jewish education
Tucson’s Jewish Culture Shuk, a night of classes and discussions led by local rabbis and Jewish educators, is something Debbie Gubernick looks forward to every year. Gubernick, founder of Agents of STEAM, a local organization that helps facilitate events and literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has attended… Read more »
New art show illuminates a rich legacy
For more than two decades, Lynn Rae Lowe, an awarding-winning local artist, has strived to empower people through her symbolic work. “Ancient symbols give us access into the collective unconscious, and through that we can raise up ourselves,” says Lowe. And the arts can help communities make sense of… Read more »