Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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Theater Jason Alexander lives out a lifelong dream, playing Tevye in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
'I wanted to do a piece that is proudly Semitic' said the Tony winner and ‘Seinfeld' star
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Film & TV Why Elaine May Is A National Treasure
When “The Waverly Gallery” makes its official Broadway debut on October 25, Elaine May will appear as Gladys, the Alzheimer’s-afflicted grandmother in Kenneth Lonergan’s 1999 comic drama that brings multiple meanings to the term “memory play.” Fans of the comedian/actress/writer/director, who has been American comedy’s insurgent genius as well as its Jewish mother, have greeted…
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Yuval Noah Harari Thinks We Should Challenge Liberal Myths
When I interviewed Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari for the Forward last month, I asked him about his newest book “21 Lessons For The 21st Century” and its critique of liberalism, something that caused him considerable anxiety on the road to publication. He answered me by defending liberal ideas, but voiced concern over their durability….
The Latest
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Theater Annette Bening and Tracy Letts To Star In Miller’s ‘All My Sons’ On Broadway
Arthur Miller’s work is returning to the Broadway boards. The New York Times reports a new production of “All My Sons” will open at Roundabout Theater Company’s American Airlines Theater bringing some marquee names with it. The World War II family drama, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, follows the Keller family, whose son Larry…
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Music Listen To A Track From William Shatner’s Christmas Album
Christmas came early. Consequence of Sound reports that William Shatner, the King David of spoken-word song is releasing his first ever Christmas album with an impressive roster of guest artists. It gets better: It’s called “Shatner Claus — The Christmas Album.” The track list, boasting 14 standards, has Stooges legend Iggy Pop on board for…
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Music Paul Simon Gets Exceedingly Jewish At His Penultimate Concert
The first major Jewish moment of the first of two “farewell concerts” by Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden last night (the second takes place tonight and the curtain comes down on the final show of the “Homeward Bound Farewell Tour” at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday night) occurred at an unlikely moment. It…
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The Secret Jewish History Of ‘60 Minutes’
As of this month, the influential TV newsmagazine “60 Minutes” has brought investigative journalism, political commentary and celebrity interviews into American living rooms for half a century. If you ever detected something inherently Jewish about the program, its creator and longtime producer, Don Hewitt — whose Russian-born father changed his name from Hurwitz when he…
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The New York Times Crossword Was Yiddish-Themed For Yom Kippur
While many of us spent yesterday reflecting in shul, The New York Times crossword section paid tribute to Yom Kippur with a Yiddish-themed puzzle. Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t done it yet. Because it was just a Wednesday puzzle the answers weren’t too esoteric. “Tchotchke,” “Schmaltz,” “Chutzpah,” “Oy Gevalt,” “Megillah” and “Verklempt” dotted the…
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Rachel Kushner Makes The Man Booker Shortlist For ‘The Mars Room’
The 2018 Man Booker Prize announced on Thursday, September 20 that Rachel Kushner has made the short list for her novel “The Mars Room.” Kushner’s book follows Romy Hall, a woman serving two consecutive life sentences in a California correctional facility. “The Mars Room” was lauded for its unsentimental portrait of prison life and its…
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‘Sesame Street’ Writer Confirms: Bert And Ernie Are Gay — And One Is Jewish
In a September 16 interview “Sesame Street” writer Mark Saltzman put years of speculation to rest, letting the world know that Ernie and Bert are a gay couple — at least, he wrote them that way. Saltzman told Queerty that while he worked on scenes between the odd couple roommates, he drew from his own…
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Music Paul Simon’s 7 Most Jewish Songs
This past summer, Paul Simon has been touring across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe on what is billed as “Homeward Bound — The Farewell Tour.” This month, the singer-songwriter brings the traveling show to its conclusion with one last mad dash across the Eastern United States, including stops in New Orleans; Florida; Atlanta;…
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The ‘Lolita’ Story Nabokov Kept Hidden
Sarah Weinman probably reads more than you do. According to tallies she has shared on Twitter (where she has more than 400,000 followers), she read 462 books in 2008, 400 books in 2010, 340 books in 2011 and 380 books in 2013. She started reading at two and a half years of age, she explained…
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