Ed Rampell
By Ed Rampell
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The Schmooze Maccabee on the Mantel, For Jewish Tyke Who Has Everything
Move over “Elf on the Shelf” — the “Maccabee on the Mantel” may be just the ticket for the Jewish child aged three to eight who has everything. The 10-inch plush depicting a smiling, bearded, robe-, sandal- and helmet-clad ancient Maccabean warrior bearing a Star of David-emblazoned shield comes with an illustrated storybook that briefly…
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Culture A People’s Theatrical History of Howard Zinn
Is the bard mightier than the sword? As war rages around the globe, playwright Bianca Bagatourian ponders this question as she brings “The Times of Our Lies, A Play about the Life and Times of Howard Zinn” to debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Brooklyn-born and raised son of Jewish immigrants, Zinn, who died…
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Culture Zayd Dohrn’s ‘Muckrakers’ Is Ripped From His Radical Royalty Bloodline
Zayd Dohrn’s ripped-from-the-headlines “Muckrakers” is a drama about transparency in the digital age that asks: When does disclosure of the public and personal become too much openness? The one-act play was inspired in part by Julian Assange and WikiLeaks’ exposure of Chelsea Manning’s Iraq and Afghan war revelations. Assange’s alleged sex scandal also informed the…
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Food Love, Sex and Hummus
It’s a sunny January day in West Hollywood, Calif., and I’m breaking pita with Australian filmmaker Trevor Graham at the Lebanese restaurant Pi on Sunset, over a table laden with Middle Eastern classics: Falafel crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle; grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomatoes and parsley; labneh with Kaffir cheese, garlic…
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Food The World’s Best Hummus
At Hummus Lina in Jerusalem, bowls of hummus are topped with mashed fava beans. Photo: Courtesy of ‘Make Hummus Not War.’ On his hop around the world, filmmaker Trevor Graham sampled countless bowls of hummus. But which are his favorites? We found out: Lina, Jerusalem: This Palestinian-owned restaurant is buried deep in the Armenian quarter…
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The Schmooze A Different Kind of ‘Right of Return’
The Jewish people’s “right of return” is a cornerstone of Zionist philosophy, and was enshrined into law shortly after the creation of the State of Israel. According to this principle, any Jew from around the world can relocate to Israel and become a citizen. Playwright Israel Horovitz’s “Lebensraum” — currently being revived in Los Angeles…
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The Schmooze Finding ‘Homeland’ at L.A. Women’s Theatre Fest
Photo Credit: Caideco Productions For 20-plus years, the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival has been one of L.A.’s top theater events, highlighting multi-cultural female performers for the live stage. This year, LAWTF — which begins properly on March 27 — is being preceded over three February weekends at the Fremont Centre Theatre by “From the…
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The Schmooze Hard Questions About the Holocaust
Those who forget the past may be doomed to repeat it, and Jews and others strive to ensure that the Shoah does not disappear down the collective memory hole. Remembrance is one thing, but Helene Cixous raises another perplexing point in her poignant, aptly named drama “Oy,” now being performed in Los Angeles by The…
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