This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
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‘Illyria’ Mixes Joe Papp, Robert Moses And McCarthyism, But It’s Not Shakespeare
Is there one right way to make art? Should it be an idealistic endeavor, best pursued without interest in fame or compensation? Can artists seek professional success without having to compromise their art to match their patrons’ values? If ideals and commercialism clash — for instance, if one has a young child to provide for,…
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50 Years Later, Just How Jewish Was ‘The Graduate?’
As a superfan of “The Graduate” I was thrilled to get my hands on Beverly Gray’s new book “Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How ‘The Graduate’ Became the Touchstone of a Generation.” Fellow enthusiasts of the film will more than enjoy this brisk voice-y historical read timed to the fiftieth anniversary of the film’s release in…
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Art Leonard Cohen’s Depth, Style Shortchanged By Montreal Tribute Exhibit
A Mona Lisa grin became one of Leonard Cohen’s signature facial expressions. For a poet of self-mocking intimacy, it made a perfect mask. As I walked through “A Crack in Everything,” the new exhibit about Cohen’s life and work at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, I imagined Cohen appraising the show with that half-smile….
The Latest
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‘Indecent’ To Air On PBS ‘Great Performances’ This Friday
“Indecent,” Paula Vogel’s loving paean to Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance,” will get its own resurrection this Friday; a filmed performance of the play from its Broadway run will air on PBS’s “Great Performances.” “Indecent,” which won two Tony Awards — including one for director Rebecca Taichman, a member of this year’s Forward 50 —…
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Masha Gessen’s Definitive Take On Contemporary Russia Is The Work Of A Lifetime
“I wanted to write a story about how Russian democracy didn’t come to be,” Masha Gessen said. We were discussing Gessen’s “The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia,” a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction. In the book, Gessen tells the story of Russia’s post-Soviet evolution through the intertwining stories of seven…
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Film & TV Louis C.K. Responds To Sexual Misconduct Allegations: ‘These Stories Are True’
Louis C.K. says that the “stories are true.” We knew that Louis C.K.’s world was dark and conflicted. But we hoped that he had transmuted all of those roiling observations and desires into comedy gold. Now it turns out that he had some desires that found an end not in comedy, but in tragedy. Rather…
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A 95-year-old war hero tells his story
Guy Stern still remembers the day he almost saved his family
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Movie News: Polanski, Dunham, ‘Bar Bahar,’ And The Trailer For Spielberg’s Latest
The weekend is almost upon us, so its time for Movie Thursday, that most venerable of Forward traditions. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last 120 years – or since last week, when we debuted the feature – Movie Thursday is the day when we talk about movies: Thursday. It’s a…
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Film & TV Fran Drescher, Forward Gala Host, Discusses ‘The Nanny,’ Cancer Activism And Netanyahu
The voice. The hair. The unpretentious, absolute Jewishness. Fran Drescher, creator, writer and star of the hit 1990s sitcom “The Nanny,” healthcare advocate and recent “Broad City” guest star, is an essential figure in contemporary Jewish American culture. Luckily for the Forward, she’s also serving as Master of Ceremonies at our 120th Anniversary Gala on…
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This Sexual Assault Story From 1913 Is All Too Familiar Today
Though some of the presentation is different, this story from the Forward’s June 23, 1913, edition is all too familiar: A man in power abuses a young woman or girl so egregiously that she can’t even stop to think of the consequences of speaking out, and she protests. As soon as her protest is made…
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Why Brandeis University Cancelled A Lenny Bruce-Inspired Play
A production of Michael Weller’s “Buyer Beware” at Brandeis University was cancelled following objections to its Lenny Bruce-inspired content, The New York Times reported on Monday. Weller, best known for his plays “Moonchildren” (1971) and “Loose Ends” (1979), also wrote the scripts for the film adaptations of “Hair” (1979) and “Ragtime” (1981). “Buyer Beware” was…
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