That Controversial ‘Julius Caesar,’ And More To Read, Watch, And Do This Weekend
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Talya Zax June 15, 2017
If you, unlike this author, anticipate that your weekend will involve anything other than frequent doses of cold medicine, a couch, and “The Great British Bake Off,” we’ve got arts and culture picks for you. Read on!
1) Read
Intriguing new releases include Allegra Goodman’s “The Chalk Artist,” Daniel Kehlmann’s “You Should Have Left,” and Teju Cole’s “Blind Spot,” which the Forward’s Jake Romm praised for its depth and ingenuity. If you can bear to read about politics, Vanity Fair has a fascinating profile on how President Trump’s aide Jason Miller, originally from a super-liberal Jewish California community, become an advocate of white nationalism. And The Forward recently won a spate of Rockower Awards from the American Jewish Press Association — including, I must bashfully confess, one for yours truly — so take some time to read through the prize-winning pieces.
2) Watch
Get ye to a theater for “Wonder Woman,” if you haven’t yet seen it, and get ye to a newsstand for a copy of the Forward’s most recent print edition, which has the titular superhero on its cover. And if you’re in the mood for rude humor, don’t miss T.J. Miller’s HBO special “T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous,” which will air on Saturday.
3) New York
In New York, check out the offerings of the River to River Festival in Lower Manhattan. Highlights include an excerpt of the opera “A Marvelous Order,” which follows the famous urban planning battles between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs, and features a libretto by the country’s next poet laureate, Tracy K. Smith. Try to get a rare ticket to the Public Theatre’s “Julius Caesar” at Shakespeare in the Park, and read Jake Romm’s take on the controversy over its depiction of Caesar as distinctly Trump-like. And grab a ticket for Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning “Indecent” before it closes on Broadway on June 25.
4) Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., yearn for Julie Andrews at the Kennedy Center’s production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music.” And Sunday, get your toes tapping at this month’s installation of the Washington Jewish Music Festival’s Klezmer Brunch.
5) Chicago
Don’t miss Holocaust scholar Peter Hayes’s talk on his book “Why?: Explaining the Holocaust” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Also worth visiting will be the Chicago Cultural Center’s programs for World Refugee Day, as well as the Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, featuring performers like Jessica Besser-Rosenberg and Amanda Cohen.
6) Los Angeles
Friday, hit The Wiltern for a 30th anniversary screening of “Dirty Dancing,” complete with a dance party. And Sunday, head to Theatre 40 for an evening with actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who will be presenting stories from his new book “My Adventures With God.”
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