Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Discusses Mideast Assassinations and Diplomacy in Candid Documentary

Israeli Filmmaker Ran Tal has put together a fascinating documentary in which former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak contemplates whether Middle Eastern history would have changed if plans to assassinate Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had been approved during the 1970s by his superiors. At that time, Barak was an up and coming officer in the IDF, not important enough to make policy, but sufficiently well placed to carry it out. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

The Story Behind a San Diego Couple’s Historic Gift to Israel

Documentary filmmaker Matthew Mishory has done a deep dive into the background of a San Diego couple who lived quietly, scrimped to such a point that they even reused their paper towels, and through their daughter made the largest philanthropic donation to Israel in the history of the Jewish state: $500 million. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘Shushan on the Farm:’ A Festive Retelling of the Purim Story 

By Eva Trieger ENCINITAS, California — In recognition of the upcoming Purim celebration, the Hive at the Leichtag Commons, Coastal Roots Farm, and the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival melded their strengths to bring us a spirited retelling of the Purim Story. “Shushan on the Farm” was performed twice on February 26 by

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

‘Hereville’ a New Jewish Musical, Well on Track

Produced and directed by Becky Cherlin Baird, the musical is still in its developmental stage: scenes are being rewritten, songs are being tested, audience reaction is being gauged.  You might say that as a full-fledged stage production, Hereville is not thereville yet. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Fiction, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Mean Girls’ at the Civic Can Prompt Meaningful Discussions with Teens

“On Wednesdays we wear pink.”  Anyone who has seen the 2004 teen movie Mean Girls will recognize this iconic line.  Following the trend to take popular movies and turn them into Broadway musicals, Mean Girls is playing at the Civic Theatre now through March 5. [Sandi Masori]

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

‘My Own Directions’ Speaks to the Triumph of Taking a Leap of Faith

“My Own Directions,” by Sheldon Epps; McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2022. ISBN 978-1-1-4766-8858-9; 183 pages. By Eva Trieger   SAN DIEGO — Artistic director, actor, and author, Sheldon Epps, has become a leader in the theater world, renowned for his work on both coasts of America and across the pond in London. Most recently,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

ADL Condemns Neo-Nazi Protests of Broadway Play About Antisemitic Lynching

(JNS) With a book by Alfred Uhry, and lyrics and music by Jason Robert Brown, the 1998 musical “Parade” tells the tragic story of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for the rumored rape and the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta in 1913. Two years later,

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Holocaust, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Film on Ethiopian Jewry’s ‘Yearning’ to be Screened in San Diego

By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — “They love our work, but they do not love us” says an elderly man in the high mountains of Ethiopia. He is a Jew. His family has been Jewish as far back as they can remember, and they can remember all the way to the days of Queen Sheeba

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Israel, Middle East, Sam Litvin, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Composer Behind Songs in ‘Wild Kratts,’ ‘PJ Masks,’ and Other Iconic Children’s TV Shows Brings New Musical to San Diego

By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — The co-creator of the songs for some of the most popular children’s shows on television is bringing a new musical to San Diego. Actually, it’s a musical about putting on a musical. Ensemble: The Musical — which will be performed live for the first time at the Tenth

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Jacob Kamaras, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

March 2023 is the First Edition of San Diego Theatre Month

By Eva Trieger   SAN DIEGO — Just when you thought America’s Finest City couldn’t get any finer, it just did! Not only do we have the country’s best weather, Museum Month at Balboa Park, and world-class surfing, but now March has a new moniker — San Diego Theatre Month. Eight years ago, San Diego

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

‘Turn Every Page’ Film a Stunning, Intimate Learning Experience

“Turn Every Page, The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb,” Released December 2022, Sony Pictures By Oliver B. Pollak RICHMOND, California — The film title, “Turn Every Page,” is the vital maxim of the investigative journalist and historian. At the beginning of COVID-19, in early 2020, I took the opportunity for some self-directed continuing

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Oliver Pollak, Theatre, Film & Broadcast