METROPOLITAN NEW YORK
Sukkot
Hoof It Up: Rikuday Dor Rishon, an Israeli folk dance company, has an Israeli Folk Dance Sukkot Party and Marathon in which participants learn dances to songs about Sukkot and then demonstrate their steps in an open dance session. Refreshments celebrating the harvest festival are served. Bridge for Dance, 2726 Broadway; Oct. 12, class 7 p.m., open session 8 p.m.; $6 open session, $10 class and open session. (917-207-0093, [email protected] or www.rikud.net)
Sukkot Concerts: Singer-songwriter Basya Schecter and her ensemble Pharaoh’s Daughter bring their mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Arabic, European Jewish melodies and pop music to two Sukkot concerts. The first is for high school students only and features a coffeehouse in a synagogue sukkah. The second is open to all and takes place in a bookstore in a setting of pillows, incense, oriental carpets and tea, followed by an optional visit to the same sukkah. Synagogue for the Arts Gallery, 49 White St.; Oct. 12, 9 p.m.; $10. (212-966-7141, [email protected] or www.synagogueforthearts.org) Sufi Book Store, back room, 227 West Broadway; Oct. 15, 7 p.m.; $15. (212-334-5212 or www.pharoahsdaughter.com)
Song and Dance: Children ages 3 to 7 and their families are invited to celebrate Sukkot with David Grover and the Big Bear Band, including drummer, actor, songwriter and producer Terry “A La Berry” Hall and actress Kathy Jo Barrett. The festivities include music, song and dance, focusing on trees, living things and nature. Following the concert, children create decorative hangings for the sukkah, the temporary structure erected for Sukkot. The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave.; arts and crafts Oct. 13, 1 p.m.-4 p.m., concert Oct. 13, 2 p.m.; arts and crafts $3, concert $10, $8 members. (212-423-3337 or www.thejewishmuseum.org)
Class
Klezmer Workshop: Klezmer mandolinist-guitarist Jeff Warschauer teaches klezmer music in a six-week workshop for students who can play and read music at an intermediate level or higher. Participants work in ensembles with instruments, learn klezmer tunes and develop the tools needed for improvisation. Guest instructors from the contemporary klezmer scene participate in the workshop. The Workmen’s Circle, 45 E. 33rd St.; Tuesdays Oct. 14-Nov. 18, 7 p.m.; workshop $170, $140 members, $30 per session, $25 members. (212-889-6800, ext. 270 or 215)
Lectures and Discussions
Yiddish Theater: Irish-born actress, writer, translator and Yiddish-theater scholar Caraid O’Brien leads a six-part lecture series on Yiddish theater. In its heyday during the 1920s, the Yiddish theater had more than 11 Broadway-style houses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, the oldest artists’ union in the United States and many well-known actors, including Molly Picon, Joseph Buloff, Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky, Jacob and Sara Adler and Luba Kadison. 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave.; Tuesdays Oct. 14-Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m.; $25, $120 series. (212-415-5500 or www.92Y.org)
Feminist Recap: Susan Weidman Schneider, the founding editor of Lilith, a Jewish women’s magazine, speaks on “Jewish and Female: What to Change and What to Celebrate in the 21st Century.” Lilith has often been credited with changing the way Jewish women see themselves and their roles in the Jewish community. Westchester Reform Temple, 255 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale; Oct. 14, 8 p.m.; $15, reservations required. (914-723-7727 or [email protected])
‘Schlemiels to Big Deals’: Kenneth Libo, a collaborating author with Irving Howe on a number of books on American Jewish history, speaks on “From Schlemiels to Big Deals: American Jews in Big Business.” Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center, 15 Neil Court, Oceanside; Oct. 8, 2 p.m.; $4 suggested, reservations recommended. (516-766-4341, ext. 114, [email protected] or www.friedbergjcc.org)
‘Ghetto to Suburb’: Jenna Weissman Joselit, author of “Wonders of America: Reinventing Jewish Culture 1880-1950” and a Forward columnist, speaks on “From Ghetto to Suburb: The Shaping of the American Jewish Landscape.” Queens College, City University of New York, LeFrak Concert Hall, Long Island Expressway and Kissena Boulevard; Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.; free. (718-997-5730 or www.qc.edu/Jewish_Studies)
Bookish: Samuel Gruber, a professor in Judaic studies at Syracuse University, discusses his new book, “American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community” (Rizzoli), about the evolution of synagogue architecture in the United States in the 20th century. Temple Beth-El, 5 Old Mill Road, Great Neck; Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.; free members, $5 nonmembers. (917-282-6793) Columbia University, Avery Hall, Room 114, enter at W. 116th Street and Broadway; Oct. 10, 12:30 p.m.; free. (212-854-8165) Lev Raphael discusses his latest book, “The German Money” (Leapfrog), about a son of Holocaust survivors who revisits old memories when he inherits Holocaust reparations money after the death of his mother. KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St.; Oct. 8, 7 p.m.; free. (646-505-5708 or www.jccnyc.org)
Music
Heartfelt Songs: Songwriter David Friedman takes center stage in an off-Broadway musical revue “Listen to My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman.” Friedman’s songs — which include “Listen To My Heart,” “Help Is on the Way” and “I’ll Be Here With You” — have been recorded and performed by artists such as Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Petula Clark, Kathie Lee Gifford and Jason Alexander. Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St.; Tue.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., Wed. 2 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., beginning Oct. 9; $60-$65. (212-239-6200, www.telecharge.com or http://ListenToMyHeartSite.com)
Arab-Israeli Duo: Shai Wosner, an Israeli soloist and chamber musician, and Saleem Abboud Ashkar, an Israeli-Arab pianist, perform a sonata in D Major for two pianos by Mozart and La Valse for two pianos by Ravel. Mexican violin virtuoso Francisco Fink, 15, as well as Israeli cellist Carolina Singer also perform in the concert, at which all four musicians will receive fellowship grants by Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi. Salon de Virtuosi, 109 W. 57th St., Oct. 7, 7 p.m.; $100. (212-369-3911)
All Things Klezmer: The Cracow Klezmer Band — including Jaroslaw Bester on accordion, Jaroslaw Tyrala on violin, Oleg Dyyak on accordion, clarinet and percussion, and Wojciech Front on double bass — perform a virtuosic performance of klezmer music with a Polish flavor. Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St.; Oct. 9, 8 p.m.; $25. (212-501-3330 or www.kaufman-center.org)
Religious Art: Mima’amakim: Journal of Artistic Expression on the Jewish Religious Experience celebrates its fourth annual issue with a party featuring Jewish poets, writers, artists and musicians. Highlights of the evening include performances by neo-chasidic slam poet Jake Marmer, avant-garde psalmist Sipai Klein, existential midrashist Daniella Ross, chasidic reggae singer Mattissyahu and Jewish folk rockers the Seth Nadel Band. Mima’amakim, Hebrew for “from the abyss,” is an international network of contemporary Jewish artists. The event is part of the Second Annual Daniel Pearl Music Day, a worldwide series of concerts dedicated to tolerance, understanding and global harmony, sponsored by the Daniel Pearl Foundation. Makor, 35 W. 67th St.; Oct. 13, 7 p.m.-midnight; $12. (212-601-1000 or www.mimaamakim.org)
Performances
‘Middle Beast’: Joe Kodeih’s “The Middle Beast” is a black comedy about three men, Joseph, Josef and Youssef — representing the three monotheistic religions — who meet to negotiate a deal over a piece of land. Before signing the contract, they discover a corpse and dispute over what should be done. As they struggle, each falls in love with a woman named Eva. Only she knows who the dead man is, but the situation runs out of control. The play is an ironic vision of the struggles in the Middle East with Lebanese, Arabic, Jewish, Russian, French and American singing, dancing and opera. La Mama E.T.C., Annex Theater, 66 E. 4th St.; Oct. 9-Oct. 19, Thu.-Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; $20. (212-475-7710 or www.lamama.org)
‘Divine Right’: The Interborough Repertory Theater presents a reading of “Divine Right,” written by Roy Doliner and directed by Jeffrey Sanzel. In 1263 C.E. in Spain, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman — aka Nachmanides — participated in a public disputation against a Christian monk, Pablo Christiani, himself a converted Jew. Nachmanides took advantage of a royal guarantee of free speech to argue his side in an argument in which the Jewish faith itself was put on trial. “Divine Right” is loosely based on transcripts from the trial and Nachmanides. American Sephardi Federation, Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St.; Oct. 7, $10. (212-294-8301 or www.cjh.org)
Exhibit
Getting Older: “The Art of Aging” is an international exhibit of works by 82 contemporary artists from North America, Israel and England that explores the ways in which aging is a lifelong journey affecting the dynamics of human relationships, creativity, memory, continuity and growth through paintings, sculpture, photography, installations, fiber, mixed media and video. Hebrew Union College–Institute of Religion, 1 W. 4th St.; exhibit through June 25, 2004, Mon.-Thu. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m.- 3p.m., selected Sundays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., reception Oct. 9, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; free. (212-824-2205 or www.huc.edu.museum/ny)
Natural Reflections: New York-based Japanese choreographers Eiko & Koma perform “Offering,” a dance installation — part ritual, part vigil — reflecting on nature’s rhythms and meditating on the lifecycle, providing solace amid despair, reflection after loss. The dance is performed to the recorded music of David Krakauer of Klezmer Madness!, whose clarinet at times sounds like a shofar. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles; Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m., free. (210-440-3400 or www.skirball.org)
MASSACHUSETTS
1 Man, 10 Opinions: Writer-actor-director Steve Greenstein performs in “Voices From the Holy and Not-So-Holy Land,” a one-man show using the voices of 10 characters to give the audience a “tour” of Israel through observing its people and its land. Greenstein’s performance is at times funny, insightful and horrifying, reflecting the many perspectives on Israel’s politics and its prospects for peace. Bentley College, Lindsay Hall, Koumantzelis Auditorium, 175 Forest St., Waltham; Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.; $7. (781-891-2100 or www.bentley.edu)
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