The Arts

Requiem for the San Diego Rep

I was heartbroken to learn that The San Diego Repertory Theatre, known locally as The Rep, is suspending operations as of June 19, 2022. Performances by Hershey Felder will be relocated to other venues (tbd), but the rest of the lineup has been cancelled and their staff laid off. Reasons for this are many including the pandemic, a flooded theatre space just as things were recovering, noisy construction in the re-invented Horton Plaza, and a parking structure with prices so stiff they seemed designed to drive business away. [Eric George Tauber]

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

SD Repertory Theatre to Suspend Productions as of June 19, Working to Identify Fiscally Viable Future

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Solutions are being sought to secure the future of San Diego Repertory Theatre, which has produced intimate, provocative, inclusive theatre for 46 years, and been a key fixture of the San Diego arts community and the national theatre landscape.  San Diego REP is canceling the remaining scheduled productions in 2022

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San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Ishay Ribo Elevates Disability Care With Benefit Concert for ADI

(JNS) As spring gives way to summer, the live music scene is heating up in Jerusalem, and the first must-see concert of the season had an empowering twist. On Monday evening, June 6, international superstar Ishay Ribo played a sold out show at the Jerusalem Theater to benefit ADI Jerusalem, ensuring that the residential, rehabilitative

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Inspiring Music From the ‘Dean of Afro-American Composers’

By Eileen Wingard   LA JOLLA, California — I was thrilled to discover, in my mailbox last week, the long-awaited CD of music by the American composer, William Grant Still, with my sister Zina Schiff as violin soloist and my niece Avlana Eisenberg conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Zina and Avlana recorded this magnificent

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Harmonious Magic: JMW Turner at the Boston Museum of Fine Art

By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), the English Romantic artist who lifted landscape and seascape painting to new and enthralling heights will never cease to amaze, inspire and make us question what we thought we knew about painting, about what colored pigment on canvas can do. “Turner’s Modern World” at

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Jewish Musician and Cultural Leader Eileen Wingard Reminisces About Her Career

Violinist Eileen Wingard was never the star of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Such billings belong to conductors like Zoltan Rozsnyai, Peter Eros, David Atherton, Yoav Talmi, and Jung-Ho Pak, all of whom she played under during a career stretching from 1967 through 2004. Or perhaps the stars are donors like Irwin and Joan Jacobs, who in 2002 gave the San Diego Symphony an amazing gift of $120 million, the largest ever given to an orchestra in America. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish-Themed Television Comes to San Diego

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — On May 31, Cox Communications entered into a national affiliation agreement with Jewish Life TV (JLTV). As part of the agreement, JLTV launched in the San Diego market. JLTV is the nation’s largest and most robust English language, Jewish-themed television network in several markets, including California (San Diego, Orange County,

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California, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Charles Ray at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

By Sam Ben-Meir Charles Ray (b. 1953) — undoubtedly one of the most conceptually and visually breathtaking sculptors alive today — is enjoying something of cultural moment at present, with four exhibitions on two continents, including “Charles Ray: Figure Ground” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Throughout his career, Ray has been engaged in

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Novel Incorporates Vignettes about Patrons of a Jerusalem Café

Ehrlich’s Café Shira is an imaginative series of vignettes that take place in an establishment much like Café Tmol Shilshom, wherein the regulars at each table have their own stories. Sometimes they are interwoven with the stories of waitresses Rutha and Rona and café owner Avigdor; other times, they are in a world of their own, made known to us only by the remarkable insight and intuition of the hard-working, extremely empathetic Rutha. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East

Larry Schwartz: Organizer of AFT Local 1931

A large crowd gathered on December 1, 1995, to rename the Quad at San Diego City College as Schwartz Square.  The gathering was in honor of history professor and American Federation of Teachers #1931 President Larry Schwartz.  He had died at age 62 of a brain tumor ten months prior to the ceremony. The dedication plaque there reads: “In memory of Larry Schwartz. He inspired students, challenged colleagues, and shared the passion and action of his time.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Know the Tony Award? Meet San Diego’s Jimmy Award

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — Did you know that the coveted Tony award is named for actress-producer Antoinette Perry, and will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year? Each year since 1947 this honor has gone to the actor/actress who has demonstrated excellence in live theater. Thanks to Broadway San Diego, our local aspiring

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

May 25 Program to Showcase JCC’s Klezmer Treasures

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Klezmer Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library will be presented Wednesday evening, May 25, 7 p.m. Register here. This third program from the three-part series, Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library, will once again be hosted by me, Eileen Wingard,

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County