Guide to the Arts

The Buzz: What's Hot in the Arts 

THE (JEWISH) GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD

After the successful run of “Shlemiel the First” at NYU’s Skirball Center, another play about Jewish folk culture — the National Theatre’s “Travelling Light” — will cross the pond, if only for an evening and by satellite feed. Written by Nicholas Wright and called “a theatrical valentine to the movies” by The Daily Telegraph, the play examines what the American dream meant to Motl Mendel, a famous American film director with humble roots. Reminiscent of the plays of Sholem Aleichem, “Travelling” follows the young Mendel’s life at the turn of the century in Eastern Europe, where he learns the art of story telling through the lens of a camera. Fast-forward 40 years and Mendel is still exploring that art, now as a Hollywood director during the Golden Age of film. A Q&A with Nicholas Hytner, who directed the production, follows the performance.

—NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place. (212) 998-4941. Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m., $25.

MANDY PATINKIN ON HIS CAREER

From the big screen (“The Princess Bride,” “Yentl”) to Broadway (Che in the original “Evita,” Georges Seurat in “Sunday in the Park with George”) to the small screen (the current hit “Homeland”), Mandy Patinkin has done it all. The falsetto-voiced singer was born in Chicago to Polish-Jewish parents. After singing in shul and Jewish summer camp, he attended Juilliard and has recorded albums, including “Mamaloshen,” which is sung in Yiddish. And he just finished a run of “An Evening with Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin” on Broadway. This week, he will be appearing at the 92nd Street Y to discuss his career with Thane Rosenbaum, a novelist and law professor who frequently hosts programs at the Y (full disclosure: he’s my father).

—92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. (212) 415-5500. Mon., Feb. 6, 8 p.m., $29 ($40 with cocktails).

EAST VILLAGE KLEZMER WITH DAVE LEVITT

Dave Levitt’s klezmer roots have a real New York — and Florida — history. After playing at bar/bat mitzvahs and weddings with his musician parents as a boy in Florida, he attended LaGuardia High School in New York, the arts high school that served as inspiration for the musical “Fame.” He has worked with artists including Elizabeth Swados and jazz greats Al Grey and Clark Terry. He started his own record company, Progressive Music, and released an album with his father titled “Marty Levitt’s Greatest Hits.” And this week he will be appearing at the Sixth Street Synagogue as part of its East Village Klezmer series. The synagogue offers a full Wednesday evening of klezmer, with a workshop and a Yiddish class before Levitt’s performance, and a jam session afterwards.

—Sixth Street Synagogue, 325 E. 6th St. (212) 473-3665. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m. (performance at 8 p.m.), $35.

— Basia Rosenbaum

BAD JEWS – A READING

The Roundabout Theatre Company will be holding a staged reading of a new play, “Bad Jews,” written by Joshua Elias Harmon and directed by Sheryl Kelly. The story of Daphna Feygenbaum and her desire for the religious emblem of her recently deceased grandfather, the play examines what is lost when someone dies.

—Roundabout Theatre Company, Black Box Theatre, Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 W. 46th St. (212) 719-1300. Wed., Feb. 8, 7 p.m. Call for ticket information.

THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS

A new, controversial adaptation of Jewish brothers George and Ira Gershwin’s most famous work, “Porgy and Bess,” is playing at the Richard Rogers Theater. The musical, which made headlines for altering the show’s book, is about Porgy’s attempts to rescue Bess from the slums of Charleston and features well-known musical numbers including “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” This version is directed by Diane Paulus and stars Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier.

—Richard Rogers Theater, 226 W. 46 St. (212) 221-1211. Call for tickets.

 

 

 

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT

The New Group will begin previews for a new play, “Russian Transport,” this week. The play is about a Russian Jewish family from Sheepshead Bay and their struggle to achieve the American dream. “Russian Transport” is written by Erika Sheffer, directed by Scott Elliott and stars Janeane Garofalo, Daniel Oreskas, Morgan Spector, Sarah Steele and Raviv Ullman. Through March 10.

—Theatre Row—The Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42 Street. (212) 560-2183. Call for tickets.  

FREUD’S LAST SESSION

After a popular run last year, “Freud’s Last Session” returns to the Upper West Side’s Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater for an open run. The play centers on a meeting between Freud and the then rising academic star C.S. Lewis. Lewis, expecting to be chastised for satirizing Freud in a recent book, soon realizes Freud has a much more significant agenda. Freud and Lewis discuss God, love, sex, and the meaning of life—days before Freud is set to take his own life.

—New World Stages, 340 West 50th St., (212) 239-6200, $65.

 

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Based on the Jonathan Safran Foer (one of the most well-known current Jewish writers) novel, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” will be opening on Christmas Day in New York before a wider commercial release in mid-January. The story follows a young boy searching throughout New York for a key left by his father after his death in the World Trade Center.

—Check local listings for theaters and showtimes.   

A DANGEROUS METHOD

David Cronenberg's latest film tells the story of Freud and his complicated relationship with his young, non-Jewish acolyte, Carl Jung.  Starring Viggo Mortensen, as Freud, and Michael Fassbender.

—Check local listings for showtimes.

 

 

 

MICHAEL TIPPETT’S ORATORIA “A CHILD OF OUR TIME”

British composer Michael Tippett’s thundering oratorio “A Child of Our Time” (1941) combines subject matter from the events leading up to Kristallnacht, philosophies of Carl Jung, and texts and music of African-American spirituals.  It is intentionally structured in three parts to emulate Handel’s “Messiah”, and Tippett uses the spirituals to create a format similar to Bach’s use of the chorale in his “Passions”, all with a powerful and decidedly twentieth-century musical language. The American Symphony Orchestra and Collegiate Chorale bring the music to Carnegie Hall this Friday night, in a program that also includes Bruckner’s “Te Deum in C Major.”

—Carnegie Hall, 57th St. and Seventh Ave. (212) 247-7800. Fri., Feb. 3, 7 p.m. Call for prices

  LOWENBERG PIANO TRIO

  The Lowenberg Piano Trio (Hannah Lowenberg-Harnest, Ilya Movchan and Jordan Gregoris) will be performing at the Center for Jewish History on Sunday. The group will be playing pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, Shostakovich and Ernest Bloch, the latter being a Swiss-Jewish-American composer.—Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16 St. (212) 294-8301. Sun., Feb. 5, 2 p.m., $10-15.

ISRAELI CHAMBER PROJECT

The Israeli Chamber Project will be performing at Carnegie Hall this week. Winner of the 2011 Israeli Ministry of Culture Outstanding Ensemble Award, the Israeli Chamber Project will be performing works by Shostakovich (who embraces Jewish themes in the work “Babi Yar”) and Paul Ben-Haim (who focused on creating a Jewish musical style), among others.

—Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, 881 Seventh Ave. (212) 247-7800. Wed., Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m., $15-$30.

THE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB

"Ukrainian Avant-Garde Art: The Odessan Parisians." This show, produced by the Russian American Foundation and co-curated by Marina Kovalyov, president of the Russian American Foundation and Sonya Bekkerman, senior vice president of Russian paintings at Sotheby's,  kicks off a world tour for this monumental collection of works by the “Society of Independent Artists,” or “Odessan Parisians.” The paintings on view were all completed in the early 20th century by avant-garde Ukrainian artists including Amshei Nurenberg, Micail Gershenfeld, Isaac Malik, Theophil Fraerman, Sigismund Olesevich and Israel Mexin.

—The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South. Call (212) 475-3424 for more information.

ANDREA MEISLIN GALLERY

“Second City Psychastenia.” American-Israeli artist Daniel Bauer is the curator of a new multi-artist exhibition entitled “Second City Psychastenia” on display now at the Andrea Meislin Gallery. The exhibit addresses the question of what it means to pass through a city – in this case, Chicago, the so-called second city of the United States. Through Feb. 18.

—Andrea Meislin Gallery, 526 W. 26 St., #214. (212) 627-2552. Free.

CHULENT YIDDISH THEATER

"Nishy Kayn Shuh." A new exhibit entitled “Nishy Kayn Shuh” (“Not Even One Hour,” in Yiddish) will be opening at the Chulent Yiddish Theater this week. The subject of this series of paintings and pastels by Shoshannah Brombacher is mainly biblical Judaism and Chasidism.

—Chulent Yiddish Theater, 127 W. 24 Street. (917) 670-1631. Call for prices.

THE HEBREW HOME AT RIVERDALE

“Jane Trigère: Women of the Balcony.” The Hebrew Home at Riverdale will be opening a new exhibit this week featuring the work of Jewish artist, Jane Trigère. The exhibit, entitled “Jane Trigère: Women of the Balcony,” is an homage to the women of the former Congregation Ohav Sholaum in upper Manhattan. The pieces in the exhibit are a combination of sculptural pieces and work with fabric from the synagogue. On October 30, there will be an opening reception with an artist’s talk at 3:30p.m. Through Feb. 5.

—The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Jacob Reingold Pavilion, 5901 Palisade Avenue, Riverdale. (718) 581-1596. Free.

Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum

“Leonard Everett Fisher: 70 Years An Artist." The career of Leonard Everett Fisher has spanned 70 years and includes work in various different mediums. The Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum will present an exhibit of the Jewish artist’s work, which includes everything from illustrations for books and postage stamps for the United States Postal Service, to maps made for the government in World War II. This weekend will be the opening reception for the exhibit with special guests Leonard Everett Fisher and curator Laura Kruger. Through June 29.

—Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum, Brookdale Center, 1 W. 4 St. (212) 824-2298.

 

CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY

"Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles." Known for more than a century as the author of the lines “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . ,” the poet Emma Lazarus gave voice to the Statue of Liberty and generations of newcomers to America.  However, few people know her life's story, including her Sephardic background, her American roots, and her work for Jewish causes and a Jewish homeland.  This exhibit, which commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, shows how Lazarus was inspired to craft an enduring message on exile, refuge, and the promise of America. Through the summer of 2012.

—Center for Jewish History, 15. W. 16th St., cjh.org.

THE JEWISH MUSEUM

“The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936-1951.”  The Jewish Museum’s new exhibit entitled “The Radical Camera” focuses on collective known as The Photo League. Composed mostly of first generation Jewish immigrants, and inspired by the city and its potential to portray the time period, the league was known for its progressive politics, and used documentary photography to express socialist ideals. Many of the images on view feature ordinary city scenes taken from of a time period spanning the Great Depression through the Cold War. Through Mar. 25.

 

“Jem Cohen’s ‘NYC Weights and Measures”: The Jewish Museum will features an exhibit of experimental documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen’s film “NYC Weights and Measures.” Made in 2006, the work looks at New York as a hectic but also beautiful city. Cohen combines street images with portraits and sounds. The exhibit is presented in the Goodkind Media Center in conjunction with the museum’s “The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League.” Through March 25.

—The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. (212) 423-3200.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMY-JILL LEVINE ON THE JEWISH ANNOTATED THE JEWISH ANNOTATED NEW TESTAMENT

The biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine will be appearing at the 92nd Street Y in conjunction with the publication of her new book “The Jewish Annotated New Testament.” Levine is a professor of New Testament and Jewish studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and a self-described Yankee Jewish feminist.

—92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. (212) 684-7047. Thurs., Feb. 9, 8 p.m. Free.

TOBI KAHN ON POST-WAR JEWISH ART

Jewish Art: The Art Story Foundation will be presenting a program entitled “The Greatest Jewish Achievements in Modern Art: Post War Art, The New York School and Jewish Art.” Artist and lecturer Tobi Kahn will present the program which will focus on Jewish achievements – mainly since the 1950’s – from both an artistic and historical perspective.

—JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. (646) 505-5708. Tues., Feb. 7, 8 p.m., $15-$20.

NATHAN ENGLANDER

The acclaimed novelist Nathan Englander will be appearing at the New York Public Library to discuss his new collection of short stories entitled “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.” Many of the stories include Jewish themes; the title story uses the metaphor of a parlor game to represent the Holocaust and “Sister Hills” is about Israeli settlements since the Yom Kippur War. Englander will be in discussion with playwright and performer Sarah Jones.

—New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, South Court Auditorium, 455 Fifth Ave. (212) 930-0800. Wed., Feb. 8, 7 p.m. Free.

 

 

 

ROZ CHAST

Roz Chast, the very neurotic and very Jewish New Yorker cartoonist, will be introducing stories from her new book, “What I Hate from A to Z” as part of Symphony Space’s Selected Shorts series. Some of the readers include Jerry Stiller of “Seinfeld,” Anne Meara of “Sex and the City” and Stephen Lang of “Avatar.” In addition, Belle Boggs will be reading “Havahart” from the Selected Shorts Commissioning Project.

—Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway. (212) 864-5400. Weds., Feb. 8, 7 p.m.,$15-$27.      

 

 

SHALOM AUSLANDER

Shalom Auslander will be appearing this week at McNally Jackson bookstore to discuss his new darkly comic novel “Hope: A Tragedy” with Jessa Crispin, editor-in-chief of Bookslut. Auslander is a lapsed Orthodox Jew who has previously written about his upbringing in “Foreskin’s Lament: A Memoir.”

—McNally Jackson, 52 Prince St. (212) 274-1160. Thurs., Feb. 2, 7 p.m. Free.

 

 

ANDRE ACIMAN

The author and critic Andre Aciman will be appearing at The Jewish Museum to share stories from his new collection “Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere.” The stories are connected by ideas about time, place, identity, and art and includes stories focusing on different cities, memories and Aciman’s Jewish heritage.

—The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. (212) 423-3200. Thurs., Feb. 2, 6:30 p.m., $10-$15.

 

 

“THE BRODER SINGER: FORERUNNERS OF YIDDISH THEATER”

The Center for Jewish History will be hosting a lecture “The Broder Singers: Forerunners of Yiddish Theater” that discusses the first performers to bring Yiddish song and dance into a secular setting in the mid-19th century. The lecture will be presented by Miryem-Khaye Seigel, librarian for the Dorot Jewish Division of the New York Public Library.

—Center for Jewish History, 16 W. 15 St. (212) 294-8301. Thurs., Feb. 2, 3 p.m., Free.