The Arts

Planning for San Carlos neighborhood eruv

Young Israel of San Diego, located in a small shopping center at 7291 Navajo Road, is exploring the possibility of erecting an eruv, which under halacha, Jewish law, extends the area of people’s homes, enabling Shabbat-observant Jews to carry packages or push baby carriages with the eruv’s boundaries. [Donald H. Harrison]

Planning for San Carlos neighborhood eruv Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Congratulations Encinitas City Council, JFS & Leichtag Foundation

I think we all should congratulate Mayor Catherine Blakespear and three other members of the Encinitas City Council who voted their hearts, and not their fears, in the recent battle over providing safe overnight parking spaces to 25 homeless families who are forced to sleep in their cars. [Donald H. Harrison]

Congratulations Encinitas City Council, JFS & Leichtag Foundation Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

‘Matilda The Musical’ hits high notes

Coronado Playhouse is presenting through Feb. 23 Broadway’s Matilda The Musical with book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. It is certain to be one of the all-time family entertainment productions here as it hits all the high notes while pointing out that wisdom is not necessarily reserved for “adults only.” [Carol Davis]

‘Matilda The Musical’ hits high notes Read More »

Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

1945 Holocaust memoir rediscovered

Identical books with different titles and different covers introduce bookish mystery and confusion. Such is the case of No Place to Lay One’s Head and A Bookshop in Berlin by Françoise Frenkel which first appeared in 1945 as Rien où poser sa tête. The revival of an overlooked book has a special attraction. Publishers appeal to sensibilities of prospective readers through alluring titles and cover art. [Oliver B. Pollak, PhD]

1945 Holocaust memoir rediscovered Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Oliver Pollak

The world according to 11-year-olds

some of the ‘stuff’ said by character’s ‘A’ -Timothy L. Cabal and ‘M’ – Nancy Ross (the two adults playing the eleven-year olds in the West Coast Premiere of “Red Bike” at Moxie Theatre through Feb. 16th) , brought me back to an old TV Show -“Kids Say The Darndest Things.” … But these kids are not saying just the darndest things. They are looking at their world and their decaying community/low wage-earning parents, and the old bus driver who will one-day die on the job, through a different lens than those who are living the American Dream. [Carol Davis]

The world according to 11-year-olds Read More »

Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

China jumps into basketball in ‘The Great Leap’

When I first read the premise for The Great Leap, I imagined an errant ball hitting a patron in the third row. No need to worry. Even though there is a hoop hanging over the middle of the house, they only mime those shots. Projection Designer Blake McCarty presents a flowing river of images of basketball games, newsreel footage and stills of party propaganda that sweep us into playwright Lauren Yee’s complex, bi-cultural world. [Eric George Tauber]

China jumps into basketball in ‘The Great Leap’ Read More »

Eric George Tauber, International, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Movie, play offer gripping Holocaust stories

The film 1945 and the play The Class give new meaning to the phrase “bad neighbor.” These very relevant works of performance art were among those highlighted at the 5th Kisufim (Hebrew for “longings”) conference held at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, in November. This year’s topic was: “Writing, Memory and Vision” and it was produced in partnership with the Zalman Shazar Center, the Hebrew Writers Association, and the Matanel Foundation, among others. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

Movie, play offer gripping Holocaust stories Read More »

International, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Toby Klein Greenwald

‘Jitney’ evokes laughter, suspense

Their patter and body language have an expressive musicality that’s really fun to watch and listen to. They enjoy the playful camaraderie of old friends who don’t need to be polite. Raised in the Black church, their patter is peppered with Biblical allusions such as the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, the stolen birthright of Esau and Daniel in the Lions’ Den. [Eric George Tauber]

‘Jitney’ evokes laughter, suspense Read More »

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

Conductor Yoav Talmi a classical composer

As Yoav Talmi continues to receive accolades for his guest conducting throughout the world and his inspiring teaching at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Tel Aviv University, the internationally acclaimed maestro is also garnering increased recognition as a world class composer. His recent CD, Yoav Talmi COMPOSITIONS, released by the Israel Music Institute and produced with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, contains three of his large compositions, De Profundis, a four movement work for mixed choir and orchestra; Animi Motus, a four movement work for orchestra with children’s or women’s choir; and Elegy for strings, timpani and accordion (Dachau Reflections). [Eileen Wingard]

Conductor Yoav Talmi a classical composer Read More »

Eileen Wingard, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Crying and laughing with a Holocaust survivor

Only a few moments after her audience had sat in stunned silence hearing about how the mother of Fanny Krasner Lebovits sacrificed her life so her youngest child should not have to go alone to her death, a cell phone tinkled from somewhere in the front of the audience. [Donald H. Harrison]

Crying and laughing with a Holocaust survivor Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Jewish melody infuses German, U.S. chamber music

… They first performed at the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum in 2019. This year, in observance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp they will premiere the first public performance of a piece composed for them by Laurence Sherr of Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Sherr has a specialty in music of the Holocaust. The program will be cosponsored by the German and Italian Counsels of Los Angeles. Audiences should be prepared for remarkable music, by a remarkable globe-trotting couple. [Oliver Pollak, PhD]

Jewish melody infuses German, U.S. chamber music Read More »

Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Oliver Pollak

‘A Hidden Life’ and ‘The Sound of Music’

Opposition to Nazi power is a theme of two stories set in the Austrian Alps. The musical The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II featuring the von Trapp Family Singers appeared on Broadway in 1959. The 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer broke Gone with the Wind box office records. It ran 174 minutes and won five Academy awards. The sound track sold over 20 million albums. It was loved. [Oliver B. Pollak]

‘A Hidden Life’ and ‘The Sound of Music’ Read More »

International, Oliver Pollak, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Jacob’s Ladder by Chagall up for auction

For the first time in over two decades a painting by Marc Chagall will be going up for auction in Israel. Tiroche Auction House will be hosting the Israeli & International Art auction on January 25th – featuring paintings by a number of Israeli masters, including Reuben Rubin, and Yosl Bergner. The highlight of the evening however is Chagall’s Jacob’s Ladder (1970-1974), a theme to which the artist would return at least a dozen times in paintings and drawings. [Sam Ben-Meir, PhD]

Jacob’s Ladder by Chagall up for auction Read More »

International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir