The ‘Fireflies’ in Donja R. Love’s tale of things that go boom in the air refer to the souls of the four little girls killed in the Birmingham Alabama Church bombing in 1963 at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. [Carol Davis]
‘Fireflies’ depicts Civil Rights Movement’s losses Read More »
Carol Davis, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
In recent articles, we have been profiling San Diegans who have been nominated by various slates to serve as delegates to the World Zionist Congress, which will take place in Jerusalem Oct. 20-22 Among the nominees is Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel, the assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]
Gimbel’s WZC goals: ‘Pluralism, peace, economic justice’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Stephen Karam’s drama The Humans, 2016 recipient of The Tony Award for Best Play, is currently showing at The San Diego Repertory Theatre downtown on the Lyceum Stage through Feb 2nd. I’ve said it in jest and in truth that I wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall just to see what goes on behind closed doors in X Y or Z’s house. [Carol Davis]
A wall fly’s view of an intense family dinner Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Thanksgiving dinner: A time for families to be thankful for one another even as they bicker about religion, politics and life-choices between forkfuls of turkey and glasses of wine. Brigid Blake and her boyfriend Rich have moved into a garden duplex in Chinatown. There are noises from above and a view of an alley filled with cigarette butts from the only window. The movers haven’t arrived with all of their stuff yet, so furnishings are pretty spare. It’s modestly pleasant by New York City standards. But driving in from the quiet suburb of Scranton, it’s not exactly what Brigid’s parents are used to. [Eric George Tauber]
‘The Humans’ speak to all of us Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
In playwright Steven Dietz’s Bloomsday, currently in a charming and reflective production at North Coast Repertory Theatre though Feb. 2nd, Robert (Martin Kildare), a handsome and rather distinguished 50-something former professor tells the audience ‘that” Ulysses is the most under-read and over praised piece of doggerel ever hemorrhaged onto the world! Don’t take my word for it. Ask half the critics and every college sophomore on earth. [Carol Davis]
Whatever you think of ‘Ulysses,’ ‘Bloomsday’ delights Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
North Coast Rep’s s Bloomsday is a sweet and charming story of love lost, re-imagined, and possibly regained. Bloomsday is a clever switch of past and present with four excellent actors taking us along their past, or is it the present? [Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel]
‘Bloomsday’: A time-bending love story Read More »
Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
In charge of these auditions in this show is the director, Zach, (Jeffrey Ricca) who barks out orders to this chorus of those wannabe chosen. He does this by relentlessly probing, questioning, and eliminating while all the while getting under their collective skins by having each one give a brief background of themselves as the “I Hope I Get It” mantra is chanted in the background. This is the heart of A Chorus Line. One by one Zach prods, encourages and yells out orders from some place in the back of the ‘theatre’ for information from each with the usual suspects and personalities standing out over and above the others. [Carol Davis]
Welk Village revives ‘A Chorus Line’ Read More »
Carol Davis, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Between Jan. 21 and March 11, American Jews may participate in the selection of U.S. delegates to the World Zionist Congress, which will meet in Jerusalem from Oct. 20-22 to help set policy for three major Jewish organizations: the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. The Congress’s policy decisions will influence how approximately $1 billion is allocated. [Donald H. Harrison]
Balloting begins Jan. 21 for World Zionist Congress Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Last Friday, I popped into the office of San Diego Junior Theatre (based in Casa del Prado in Balboa Park) to say hello to their Artistic Director, Desha Crownover. She was both excited and exhausted about opening night of their “gender fluid” production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Having written about issues related to gender identity before, I smelled a story. [Eric George Tauber]
Gender-bending at San Diego Junior Theatre Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Jeopardy continues to make the news. Host Alex Trebek and his wife recently gave an interview to Michael Strahan about his struggle with pancreatic cancer. One of last week’s episodes has raised some controversy when a contestant’s answer of Palestine as the location of the Church of the Nativity was not accepted (with Israel being given as the correct answer). And the show is generating huge ratings with its Greatest of All Time tournament between Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer, with the winner to be determined this week. Over the years there have been many Jeopardy questions with a Jewish theme. In 2015, returning champion Choyon Manjrekar won a match despite his wrong answer to the question “A Christian hymn and a Jewish holiday hymn are both titled this, also the name of a 2009 Tony-nominated musical.” What was his funny/controversial wrong answer that went viral at the time? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish trivia quizzes: Jeopardy, Herman, Giuliani Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire
“All is not well on the cli-fi front,” Diamond said. “The Kingsman movie franchise appears to be a repository for conservative politics. When I saw the movie I could not believe they were able to persuade a bunch of decent minded actors to portray the climate scientist as the villain, fulfilling many a right-winger’s fantasies. The same was true of the Disney movie, Tomorrowland, starring George Clooney, a noted liberal activist, in 2015. Both movies portray the arch-villain as a climate scientist and climate change as the purview of a cabal of elitists. It looks to me that the cli-fi wars are well underway.” [Dan Bloom]
Climate activist warns deniers financing movies Read More »
The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
StandWithUs, a national organization combating anti-Semitism on American college campuses, has congratulated San Diego State University for blocking a speaking invitation to Ava Muhammad, who is a spokeswoman for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. [Donald H. Harrison]
SDSU wins plaudits for blocking anti-Semitic speaker Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAAmid the angst, anticipation and anxieties felt by an awaiting audience in the lobby of the Civic Theatre downtown at the performance I attended of the long awaited national touring production of Dear Evan Hansen, now playing through Jan. 12th; there is a young man on stage, seventeen year old Evan Hansen (Stephen Anthony Christopher) with complex issues that frame his isolated life. [Carol Davis]
Teen loneliness, suicide probed in ‘Dear Evan’ Read More »
Carol Davis, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastPrior to Iran’s retaliation on two Iraqi bases where American troops are stationed, congressional candidate Sara Jacobs denounced the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by American forces. She wrote: “This ill-conceived operation was the culmination of a reckless strategy toward Iran that started with the Trump Administration pulling out of the Iran deal. Of all the hyperbole and questions being thrown around, the only one that needs to be asked is this: is the United States safer for having done this? The answer is clearly no.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Strong opinions surface over Soleimani assassination Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA