Arts and Culture

Crafts, volunteering, variety make Hanukkah meaningful for children

Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Hanukkah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Hanukkah traditionally was not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can offer many opportunities for fun and joyous… Read more »

ATC’s ‘Cabaret’ hits contemporary notes

Sean Patrick Doyle (center) and the company of Arizona Theatre Company’s ‘Cabaret’ in rehearsal. Photo courtesy Arizona Theatre Company

“Cabaret,” on stage at the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson through Dec. 29, “has toe-tapping, show-stopping musical numbers,” says Sara Bruner, who is directing the ATC production. “It’s wildly entertaining … but it also has real meaning.” It’s such a famous show — there’s Bob Fosse’s 1973 film, the… Read more »

JFCS donates local survivors’ stories to Yad Vashem

Susan Kasle of Jewish Family & Children’s Services presents Yad Vashem docent Robert Eden with books of stories by Southern Arizona Holocaust survivors, Nov. 3. Photo: Jon Kasle

Susan Kasle is vice president of community services at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, which coordinates services for Holocaust survivors living in Southern Arizona. For Kasle, a highlight of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s recent interfaith mission was representing JFCS during the mission’s Nov. 3… Read more »

Author to share insider look at widowhood in local talks

Sula Miller

Tucson resident Sula Miller will discuss her recent book “Welcome to … The Widows Club” (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017) at two local venues next week. Tucson is the last stop on Miller’s seven-state book tour that began in Florida. The novel was inspired by her mother-in-law, Bernyce, who became… Read more »

Hallmark Channel to broadcast its first Hanukkah movies

Brittany Bristow, center, plays Brooke in the first of two new Hallmark Channel Hanukkah-themed features, ‘Holiday Date.’ Photo courtesy Crown Media

The Hallmark Channel will premiere its first two Hanukkah-themed movies this month in honor of the holiday, which starts this year on Dec. 22. “Our audience is very vocal, and they tell us when they’d like to see more of something,” says Michelle Vicary, Crown Media’s executive vice president… Read more »

Lemon ricotta fritters: Easier and just as delicious as jelly doughnuts

I know that sufganiyot — jelly doughnuts — are traditional and beloved for Hanukkah. But I feel confident that once you try these easy and incredibly delicious ricotta fritters, you will be converted to these sweet fried treats. And if I’m making a confession, I have actually never loved… Read more »

This Holocaust-themed figure skating costume is just the sport’s latest to cause scandal

From left to right: Sonja Henie, championship skater and actress; Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia perform during Festa on Ice 2010; Russia’s Anton Shulepov performs in the men's free skate at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2019 (Getty Images)

CALDWELL, N.J. (JTA) — Figure skating costumes have a long and sometimes ridiculous history. Until about the 1930s, women were expected to compete in ponderous and weighty skirts, making it hard to move freely, let alone tackle a triple lutz. That all started to change largely for two reasons. The… Read more »

Tiffany Haddish’s celebrity-filled bat mitzvah, in photos

Rabbi Susan Silverman, left, with Tiffany Haddish at Haddish's bat mitzvah at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 3, 2019. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)

(JTA) — Tiffany Haddish celebrated her bat mitzvah Tuesday night surrounded by an array of Jewish celebrity friends, including Billy Crystal, Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman. The comedian, who celebrated in Beverly Hills on the occasion of her 40th birthday, released her Netflix standup special, “Black Mitzvah,” on the same… Read more »

Tony Shalhoub grew up in a Lebanese family in Wisconsin. He draws on that to play his Jewish ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ character.

Tony Shalhoub with Rachel Brosnahan in season 3 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." (Amazon Studios)

NEW YORK (JTA) — On a recent snowy afternoon, Tony Shalhoub is drinking tea in a room at the Whitby Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. He’s in the midst of a long press day promoting season 3 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and he just wants to get comfortable. So… Read more »

Tucson J and Arts for All will integrate, expand programs

Taglit participants, friends, and Tucson Jewish Community Center staff gather for a semi-formal dance at the J on April 19, 2019. (Photo JCC)

The Tucson Jewish Community Center will expand its capacity to serve people with disabilities by integrating Arts for All, a Tucson-based organization founded in 1985, into its programming early next year. Arts for All provides opportunities for adults and children with and without disabilities to participate in performing and… Read more »

CAI scholar-in-residence to animate Shabbat with song, story

Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny, left, and Cantorial Soloist Nichole Chorny

Update 11.22.19: This scholar-in-residence weekend is supported by The Rabbi Marcus Breger Fund at Congregation Anshei Israel. Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles will bring new music and innovative, interactive Shabbat services to Tucson as Congregation Anshei Israel’s scholar-in-residence, Dec. 13 and 14. Her… Read more »

Local psychologist takes ‘Leap of Power’ in new addiction treatment book

Robert Schwebel, Ph.D., a Tucsonan since 1981, is the author of ‘Leap of Power.’

Imagine telling adolescents, “You don’t have to say you’re going to quit using drugs” and then dealing with their parents and community. Imagine encouraging young clients to talk about what they like about drugs instead of focusing on the harm drugs can cause. Counter-intuitive and certainly non-traditional, these approaches… Read more »

People in the news 11.22.19

Photojournalist Linda Solomon will celebrate the launch of her new book, “The Queen Next Door: An Intimate Portrait of Aretha Franklin” at the Tucson Museum of Art’s “A Night With Aretha” on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 6-8 p.m. The evening will include performances by Ann Hampton Callaway and Charity Lockhart,… Read more »

Business briefs 11.22.19

The Rialto Theatre will present “The Arroyo Café Radio Show” on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 1 p.m., taping the show for broadcast on Dec. 24 on NPR 89.1. Tickets are $20; proceeds will benefit Casa Alitas Aid to Migrant Families, The U.S. Committee for Refugees & Immigrants, HIAS (founded… Read more »

Museum to honor Eilat-Kahn, second generation Holocaust survivor

Rosie Eilat-Kahn, left, with brother Phillip and parents, Holocaust survivors Meyer and Susan Neuman, upon the family’s arrival in Tucson in 1956. (Courtesy Rosie Eilat Kahn)

The Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center will honor Rosie Eilat-Kahn on Sunday at its 2019 Fall Benefit, “A Call to Courage.” “Rosie has been a leader among the second generation of Holocaust survivors in this community for decades,” says Bryan Davis, executive director of the museum. “She has coordinated… Read more »

A Jewish photographer has been capturing Alexander Vindman and his twin for nearly 4 decades

Carol Kitman first started photographing Yevgeny, left, and Alexander Vindman in 1980. (Carol Kitman)

(JTA) — Carol Kitman remembers meeting Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman nearly 40 years ago in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The brothers were about 4 1/2 years old and dressed in matching blue sailor outfits with navy caps. Kitman was instantly taken with the twins and asked to take their photo.… Read more »