9/11 musical ‘Come From Away’ returns, with Jewish values at its core By Jacob Gurvis, JTA Sep 10, 2021 When U.S. airspace closed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, 38 planes were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, stranding nearly 7,000 international travelers “on the northeast tip of North America.” So begins the story of “Come From Away,” the Tony Award-winning Canadian musical chronicling the real experiences… Read More
Comedy S.F. comedian’s side hustle: helping people get vaccines in Florida “Everything I’ve made fun of in my comedy career in the last 30 years, I’ve been living it,” Lisa Geduldig said at the beginning of a virtual show earlier… By Andrew Esensten Aug 27, 2021
Celebrity Jews Mayim Bialik gets 'Jeopardy!' gig; Beanie Feldstein in 'Funny Girl'; etc. “What is the new host of ‘Jeopardy’? … sort of” Everyone had been wondering who would host “Jeopardy!” on a permanent basis after the death of longtime… By Maya Mirsky Aug 16, 2021
Theater Tackling Shylock, and audience expectations, in San Jose show Actor Doug Brook is not portraying the infamous moneylender Shylock in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” next month in San Jose. Rather, he is… By Andrew Esensten May 26, 2021
Comedy Jewish and Muslim stand-up comedians share virtual stage A Jewish comedian, a Muslim comedian and a Christian comedian enter a Zoom room. That’s the setup for a Covid-era joke, but it’s actually happening… By Andrew Esensten Apr 29, 2021
Culture Our Pandemic Year: Artists faced a choice — pivot or perish Part Three of OUR PANDEMIC YEAR, a week-long series examining how the Covid pandemic has changed our local Jewish world. Debra Schaffner has spent much of… By Andrew Esensten Mar 15, 2021
Theater A queer, heretical Yiddish play too edgy for 1906 lives again on Zoom In spite of months of tsuris over production challenges, the Yiddish Theatre Ensemble soon will stream an adapted, videotaped performance of “God of… By Patricia Corrigan Mar 9, 2021
Religion What are we ready to joke about this Purim? Among Purim’s traditions, perhaps the most well known is the Purim spiel, a theatrical retelling of the Book of Esther that can be pointed, satirical,… By David A.M. Wilensky Feb 17, 2021
Theater Local treasure Naomi Newman: 90 years old and still acting Ask Naomi Newman what it’s like to hit the big 9-0, and she gives a straight answer. “It feels similar to 89,” she says dryly. “The experience is quite… By Dan Pine Feb 1, 2021