The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Two Yiddish Plays Get Drama Desk Nods
Two Yiddish-language theatrical productions, “Toyt fun a Salesman” and “The Golden Bride,” have been nominated in several categories for the Drama Desk awards. “Toyt fun a Salesman,” a translation of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” produced by the New Yiddish Rep, was nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Play, and its lead actor, Avi…
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Bruce Springsteen Sidekick Steve Van Zandt Lashes Out at Boycott Israel ‘Idiots’
(JTA) — Amid rumors that Bruce Springsteen will perform in Tel Aviv this summer, he and his E Street band have come under fire from supporters of boycotting Israel. On Monday, band guitarist Steven Van Zandt — who is also known for playing a mobster on HBO’s “The Sopranos” — responded in typically direct style. In…
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Jewish Celebs Bring Glitz and Glamour to the Met Gala
The Met Gala, otherwise known as the Oscars of the fashion world, was held tonight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The guest list for Anna Wintour’s exclusive event, which opens the yearly costume exhibit at the museum, includes only A-list celebrities and top designers. The theme is “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age…
The Latest
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Asians Fall for Manischewitz — Creating New Buzz for Much-Maligned Wine
Manischewitz wine, which is often mocked among Jews for its overly sweet taste, has found a new set of customers — Asian Americans. The kosher beverage, which apparently resembles a fermented grape drink from northern China, is becoming a household staple in Asian households across the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. Huy Trieu,…
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WATCH: Reimagining the Maccabee Revolt — as a Superhero Flick
The more Ilan Rosenberg pondered the Chanukkah story, the more the Hollywood stunt performer came up with one explanation for how a group of Jewish guerilla fighters beat the much larger Greek army. Maybe the Maccabees had possessed superhuman powers. Drawing on his stunt experience for movies such as “300” and “Pompeii,” and his Krav…
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5 Ways the Estée Lauder Family Is Just Like Us — Not!
The Lauder clan of the Estée Lauder makeup behemoth are billionaires who, if an April profile of the family in Town and Country is any indication, like to accessorize their 1% status with allusions to their Jewy-bougie roots. 1) “Estée was a fairly typical Jewish mother and grandmother — with the emphasis on grand. Leonard…
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Is Pregnant Bar Refaeli in a Bikini Too Hot for Israeli TV?
It seems Bar Refaeli’s new swimwear line is just too risqué for Israeli television. The Second Authority for Television and Radio, which controls Israeli TV and radio advertisement, deemed Refaeli’s new ad campaign for her swimsuit line with Hoodies to be too racy and inappropriate for broadcast. The authority has ordered the company to make…
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Harry Belafonte and Liz Smith Among ‘Eight Over 80’ Honorees at New Jewish Home Gala
“Who better to teach us what it means to ‘age like a New Yorker’ than tonight’s honorees?” Audrey Weiner president and CEO of The New Jewish Home told the 440 guests at its third annual “Eight Over Eighty” benefit at the Mandarin Oriental. Emceed by Soledad O’Brien the evening offered self revelatory and laughter-eliciting video…
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In Brooklyn, a Jewish Troubadour Is Born
It’s the golden hour in Brooklyn and somewhere, deep at the edge of Red Hook, a folk musician is toying with his track. Richard Aufrichtig bobs back and forth before a mic in his band’s dimly lit rehearsal space strumming on an electric guitar. He and his bandmates are a silhouette at dusk and they’re…
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Idina Menzel Works to Create A Generation of Confident, Nonconformist Girls
As the days lengthen and the weather warms, Idina Menzel — star of stage (an Obie winner for “Rent” and a Tony winner for “Wicked”) and screen (on TV in “Glee” and, of course, a worldwide cartoon mega-smash on film in “Frozen”) — is thinking about summer camp. At the Tribeca Film Festival in New…
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Google Doodle Celebrates Jewish Inventor Hertha Ayrton
Happy 162nd birthday, Hertha Marks Ayrton! Ayrton, a British Jewish-born inventor — who was also an engineer, mathematician, and physicist, putting those of us proud of our double majors to shame — is the subject of today’s Google Doodle. Among her many achievements, Ayrton was the first woman to present a paper of her own…
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