Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

By Talya Zax July 20, 2017

If you’re planning to spend your weekend blissed-out on a beach, we don’t blame you. If you’re looking to beat the heat, check out our top picks for weekend plans, below.

1) Read

Look back to an iconic summer or two of the past with The New Yorker’s newly-released “The 60s: The Story of a Decade.” Highlights from the volume include Hannah Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” Calvin Trillin’s reporting on integration, and profiles of Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg. In fiction, Joshua Cohen’s “Moving Kings” and Astrid Dehe and Achim Engstler’s “Eichmann’s Executioner” are both promising new releases.

2) Watch

Jenny Slate of “Parks and Rec” and “Marcel the Shell” stars in the new film “Landline.” Given her penchant for hilarity, the movie seems like a safe bet for comic relief. Monday, turn to PBS for the documentary “Shalom Italia,” which follows three brothers as they go in search of the Tuscan cave where they hid through the Holocaust.

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3) Los Angeles

Get ye out of Los Angeles and in to San Diego for Comic-Con! Before you go, make sure you’re up-to-date on the convention’s best Jewish offerings with the Forward’s guide. If you insist on staying L.A., the Gustavo Dudamel-directed Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of the musical “Sondheim on Sondheim” at Hollywood Bowl should be dreamy, and Hershey Felder’s performance of his one-man show “Our Great Tchaikovsky” provocative.

4) New York City

Friday, catch the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America at Carnegie Hall. The program includes Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and a new work from contemporary composer Gabriela Lena Frank. Lincoln Center Festival’s Israeli-imported production of a stage adaptation of David Grossman’s novel “To the End of the Land” doesn’t open until Monday, July 24, but get it on your calendar well in advance; this one is not to be missed. And the Joyce Ballet Festival is also promising, this weekend featuring work from the choreographer Claudia Schreier.

5) Chicago

It’s a good weekend for theater in Chicago. Grippo Stage Company’s “The God of Isaac” at the Piven Theatre at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, “My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, and “Ragtime” at the Griffin Theatre Company should each make for a compelling evening.

6) Washington D.C.

Friday night, catch songwriter and guitarist Robbie Schaefer performing snippets from his musical “Light Years” at Signature Theatre. And Saturday, head to the Kennedy Center for a comedy showcase featuring the New York-based Jared Freid.

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