How Stephen Sondheim helped me find my gay Jewish sensibility By Rabbi Irwin Keller Nov 30, 2021 If I had to identify my first self-actualizing gay experience, it would be back in high school in the mid-1970s. A friend and I nervously got in the car and drove downtown to the Chicago Loop for a performance of “Side by Side by Sondheim,” the 1976 musical revue featuring songs from musicals by Stephen… Read More
Theater The last and greatest gift Stephen Sondheim gave us This piece first appeared at the Forward and is reprinted with permission. The thing about Stephen Sondheim is that there is almost nothing meaningful to… By Talya Zax, Forward Nov 29, 2021
Theater Sweden’s national theater stages its first ever Yiddish production Actors in a recent production of “Waiting for Godot” at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm performed neither in the classic play’s original English… By Katarzyna Andersz, JTA Nov 22, 2021
First Person My first viewing of ‘Fiddler’ was underwhelming — until it wasn’t When the Forward’s culture desk met earlier this year to plan coverage for the 50th anniversary of the 1971 movie musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” I had to… By Irene Katz Connelly, Forward Nov 4, 2021
Opinion No, Jewish characters do not need to be played by Jewish actors I was never a fan of the late Joan Rivers. Nevertheless, I would have looked forward to the television series based on her life. Except, it is not… By Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, RNS Nov 4, 2021
Cultured Bay Area in-person performances mark a step back to normal “Cultured” is a new column by Culture Editor Andrew Esensten with his recommendations of new and noteworthy events in the community. According… By Andrew Esensten Oct 26, 2021
Philanthropy Koret Foundation to give $2M to local arts, cultural orgs The San Francisco-based, Jewish-founded Koret Foundation has committed $2 million in grants to a dozen Bay Area arts organizations. The grants, announced… By J. Staff Oct 12, 2021
Dance After setbacks, aerial dance on mass incarceration to premiere in S.F. Choreographer Jo Kreiter faced numerous challenges in her quest to stage the second installment of her “Decarceration Trilogy,” an aerial dance series… By Andrew Esensten Oct 5, 2021
On Stage 9/11 musical ‘Come From Away’ returns, with Jewish values at its core 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,… By Jacob Gurvis, JTA Sep 10, 2021