The Arts

A Guide for the Aging

Stand-up comedians know that audiences will laugh at jokes made about the subjects which make them the most uncomfortable, including their body shapes, their sexual activity (or lack of it) and the infirmaries of age. Janet Pitler, with a Jewish knack for self-deprecating humor, puts such material into 61 poems which Bob D’Amico illustrates with imaginative cartoons.  The result: an opportunity for those of us who are aging (and who isn’t?) to laugh at ourselves – either in the quiet of our reading chair, or possibly reciting the poems aloud with our friends. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Trivia, Humor & Satire

‘Iron’ Stars 2 of San Diego’s Finest Actresses

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — The Roustabouts Theater Co often selects plays that are provocative, sometimes dark, but always riveting. The upcoming West Coast Premiere of Iron will surely be even more compelling as it stars two of San Diego’s finest actresses. Rosina Reynolds and Kate Rose Reynolds, an actual mother/daughter duet, will inhabit

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

A Jewish Tour of Balboa Park

The San Diego Zoo is known as one of the world’s premier institutions for the conservation of endangered wildlife species. Along with its sister San Diego Safari Park, located in the San Pasqual Valley, the San Diego Zoo is considered one of the best, if not the very best, zoos in the world. Of particular Jewish interest is the fact that the San Diego Zoo has served as a big brother to the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem, which also is known as the Jerusalem Zoo. Many of the exhibits in Jerusalem are modeled on those in San Diego and both zoos have received generous financial contributions from San Diegans. {Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Civic Theatre’s ‘Come From Away’ Provides Emotional Boost

By Eva Trieger   SAN DIEGO — If ever there was a time when we needed an emotional boost, that time is now. And the magic bullet is the San Diego Civic Theatre’s touring production of “Come From Away.” Broadway San Diego brings audiences this incredibly life-affirming Tony-award-winning musical for a limited engagement. Twelve gifted

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

JCC’s Five Minute Plays Festival Embraces Jewish Themes in a Novel Way

By Eva Trieger   LA JOLLA, California — I was elated to catch up with friend, actor, writer, and director Omri Schein this week by phone to ask him about an upcoming project in which he’s involved. Our local JCC is hosting the 7th Annual Five Minute Plays Festival. Having attended previous festivals I was

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

‘Come From Away’ Underscores the Kindness of Strangers

By Sandi Masori SAN DIEGO — Who would ever have thought that a musical could be written around the tragedy of 9/11? And furthermore, who ever would have thought that such a musical could be joyous and fun!? Yet somehow, that is exactly what Irene Sankoff and David Hein have done in Come From Away

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San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

An Orthodox Jewish Woman Professor Explains the New Testament

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin   BOCA RATON, Florida — Amy-Jill Levine tells us why Jesus’s teachings in the New Testament, can be seen to be sensible and acceptable to people of all religions, even Orthodox Jews, even Jewish women like her who attends an Orthodox synagogue and sits behind a segregated mechitza (separation) for

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.

An Expressively Gripping World War II Graphic Memoir

“The English GI: World War II Graphic Memoir of a Yorkshire Schoolboy’s Adventures in the United States and Europe;” Edited by Jonathan Sandler and illustrated by Brian Bicknell; Graphic MEMOIR.co.uk, April 2022; ISBN: 9798793377874. By Michael R. Mantell SAN DIEGO — The author, a resident of Golders Green, London, notes in his preface to this

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Michael Mantell

Does Netflix’s ‘Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ Live Up to the Hype?

By Alan Zeitlin (JNS) When Michael Aloni’s agent told him about “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,” he was a bit confused. “Since when is there a beauty pageant in Jerusalem?” Aloni recalled asking at the time, at an event last week at Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Center in New York City. He’d just finished filming the

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Jewish Celebrities, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Stan Andrews: A Foolish Hero?

Some will call Stan Andrews a hero because he fought and gave his life for Israel during that country’s War of Independence.  Others will call him a fool because he lusted after combat with the same recklessness that he pursued and casually bedded women. The truth lies somewhere in between the two assessments.  Through meticulous research, the authors pieced together a complex portrait of a young man who was an accomplished writer, portraitist, and pilot.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

‘In Every Generation:’ Playwright Ali Viterbi Out to Show That Jewish Stories Are Worth Telling

By Eva Trieger   SAN DIEGO — Ali Viterbi has been on my radar ever since I attended my first performance of Women of Valor at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. Viterbi co-authored that play with Artistic Director Todd Salovey, Leah Salovey, Sarah Price-Keating, and Rebecca Myers. It continues to showcase San Diego’s very own

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

Before Melvin, Padres had 11 players, 2 coaches with at least one Jewish parent

Since the team’s induction into Major League Baseball in 1969 until 2021, the Padres counted 11 players and two coaches on its rosters who had at least one Jewish parent. In 2022, Bob Melvin became the team’s first manager with a Jewish parent. [Donald H. Harrison]

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AAA-Writers and photographers, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA