Arts and Culture

Jewish UA students in cast of ATC’s ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

As Arizona Theatre Company celebrates its 50th anniversary with its largest production ever, “Fiddler on the Roof,” two Jewish University of Arizona seniors are making their ATC debuts in the iconic musical, under the direction of ATC artistic director David Ira Goldstein. For Shira Elena Maas (Rivka) and Taylor… Read more »

Orthodox lesbian character — and other reasons to watch ‘Younger’

On “Younger,” Maggie (Debi Mazar), left, hosts a Shabbat dinner for her love interest, Malkie (Sally Pressman), and her friends. (Courtesy of TV Land)

(JTA) — TV Land’s “Younger” is a fun sitcom about Liza (Sutton Foster), a recently divorced 40-year-old mother who passes herself off as 26 after having a tough time landing a job in the publishing industry.   The show — created by Darren Star, of “Sex and the City” and “Beverly Hills,… Read more »

At first Jewish Comic Con, artists and geeks revel in tradition

A man examining a comic book for sale at the inaugural Jewish Comic Con, held at Congregation Kol Israel, a Brooklyn synagogue, Nov. 13, 2016. (Ben Sales)

NEW YORK (JTA) — After Brett Parker’s great-grandfather fled the pogroms in Europe and came to the United States, he opened a drug store where he sold comic books. Each week he would give his grandson, Parker’s father, five comic books to take home. Growing up during the early… Read more »

FIRST PERSON Leonard Cohen, my father and me

cohen in 1973.jpg Leonard Cohen, center, performing with Matti Caspi, on guitar, for Ariel Sharon, with arms crossed, and other Israeli troops in the Sinai in 1973. (Courtesy of Maariv)

(JTA) — Using his M-16 assault rifle as a pillow, my father awoke abruptly from a dreamless sleep by the pleading voice of a young woman outside his tent in the Sinai. The woman, a uniformed volunteer, was urging reservists like him to forego shuteye to hear a musician… Read more »

Leonard Cohen, whose Jewish-infused poetry and songs inspired generations, is dead at 82

Leonard Cohen during a concert in Ramat Gan, Israel, Sept. 24, 2009. (Marko/Flash90)

  (JTA) — Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose Jewish-infused work became a soundtrack for melancholy, has died. He was 82. “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has passed away,” his Facebook page said late Thursday. “We have lost one… Read more »

Pretentious, hackneyed ‘Denial’ clumsily buries echoes of the Holocaust

Actor Rachel Weisz and author Deborah Lipstadt on the set of ‘Denial.’

For many Jews, there is no higher calling nor more sacred cow than a film that reminds the public — that is, non-Jews — of the manifestation of anti-Semitism taken to its ultimate extreme: The Nazis’ extermination of the Jews of Europe. So the British film “Denial” will be… Read more »

‘Jewish soul’ singer returning to Tucson stage

Neshama Carlebach

Neshama Carlebach’s albums have sold 1 million-plus copies — but she views her success as a way to help others through the pain of life transitions toward inner strength and spiritual growth. “Music brings healing to our souls,” says Carlebach, who will perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre on… Read more »

Report: Bob Dylan still has not mentioned Nobel Prize

Bob Dylan onstage during the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 12, 2012. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)

(JTA) — American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan has not been in contact with the Swedish Academy since it awarded him the Nobel Prize for Literature last week. Dylan also has not made a public statement about the honor, the New York Times reported Tuesday. Sara Danius, the permanent… Read more »

OP-ED Bob Dylan and Philip Roth bring it all back home

Bob Dylan onstage at the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Jan. 12, 2012. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)

  (JTA) — As a fan who runs the “Bob Dylan: Tangled Up in Jews” website, I should be ecstatic at the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to the writer whose words have been the soundtrack to my life since I first sang them at a Jewish summer camp… Read more »

Musical duo to present ‘Sephardic Journey’

The Cavatina Duo, Eugenia Moliner and Denis Azabagic, will present “Sephardic Journey” as part of the UA Presents series on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. at Crowder Hall, 1017 Olive Road (in the music building). Moliner, a flutist from Spain, and Azabagic, a guitarist from Bosnia, together have… Read more »

‘My Name Is Asher Lev’ coming to Tucson stage

Art Almquist as Aryeh Lev, Carrie Hill as Rivkeh Lev and Steve Wood as Asher Lev in Live Theatre Workshop’s production of ‘My Name Is Asher Lev’

Live Theatre Workshop will present “My Name Is Asher Lev” by Aaron Posner, adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok, through Nov. 12, with a preview performance Oct. 7. Set in post-war Brooklyn, “My Name Is Asher Lev” is the story of a boy’s passionate desire to follow his… Read more »

If you’re a feminist, Yiddish speaker — this millennial’s podcast is for you

Vaybertaytsh is a Yiddish-language podcast created by Sandy Fox, a millennial American graduate student. (Shifra Whiteman)

(JTA) — If you’re a Yiddish-speaking woman, Sandy Fox wants you on her podcast. Fox is the millennial “balaboosta,” or host, of Vaybertaytsh, a new feminist, Yiddish-language podcast that aired its first episode on Tuesday. She hopes to interview women and feature their music, writing and other creative work… Read more »

The Jewish impresario behind the Ramones, the Doors and other rock legends

Danny Fields, center, without black jacket, with the members of the Ramones. (Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

(JTA) — If you’re a rock fan, no matter your age, you’ve probably heard of bands like the Doors, the Ramones and the Stooges. But chances are you haven’t heard of Danny Fields. Fields, a Jewish guy from Forest Hills, Queens, deftly made the punk scene happen. He helped… Read more »