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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Elie Wiesel And Evgeny Kissin At YIVO Gala
The piano was tuned, the vodka was flowing and world renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin posed for photos with noshers and nibblers at the pre-concert reception of the YIVO Institute for Yiddish Research’s 12th Annual Heritage Gala at the Center for Jewish History on May 7. “Just as there is love at first sight, there is…
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Drawing London Before and After Gentrification
“London seems to be in my bloodstream,” said artist Leon Kossoff. “It is always moving — the skies, the streets, the buildings. The people who walk past me when I draw have become part of my life.” Kossoff’s current exhibition, “London Landscapes,” which opened in London May 8, includes over 90 drawings and 10 paintings…
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Baz Luhrmann Shrugs Off Bad ‘Gatsby’ Reviews
The Cannes film festival conjured up the “Roaring Twenties” on Wednesday with a glamorous opening night premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby”, complete with dancers in flapper dresses on the red carpet and umbrellas to keep off the rain. Nicole Kidman, a member of the jury at the biggest cinema gathering of the year,…
The Latest
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Would You Watch A Show Called ‘The Goldbergs’?
Ah, Jews and the ’80s. Clearly a winning combination. ABC’s fall lineup includes a time machine to society’s most amusing (or made-fun-of) decade, via “The Goldbergs.” There’s the typical Jewish mother Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey — whose bright purple eyeshadow is thickly painted on), gruff dad Murray (Jeff Garlin), crimp-iron abusing oldest sister Erica (Hayley Orrantia),…
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Zachary Quinto Talks ‘Star Trek,’ Spock And Coming Out
LOS ANGELES – Actor Zachary Quinto has transitioned swiftly from a television villain into an unlikely action film star in J.J Abrams’ rebooted “Star Trek” franchise, playing the series’ most recognizable half-Vulcan, Spock. The 35-year-old actor, who gained fame as super-villain Sylar in sci-fi television series “Heroes,” will reprise his role as the pointy-eared first…
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‘Gatsby’ Brings Swagger Back to Cannes
The Cannes film festival may get some of its swagger back on Wednesday when it opens with Baz Luhrmann’s lavish 3D period drama “The Great Gatsby,” an opportunity to shed the caution of recent years overshadowed by broader economic gloom. Leonardo DiCaprio and his British co-star Carey Mulligan will walk the red carpet on the…
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Books Taking Yiddish Translation to the Masses
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. Academics and enthusiasts of Yiddish studies have long been pushing for the translation of Yiddish literature. Unfortunately, few efforts have met with much success, even among Jewish readers. The New Yiddish Library Series, from Yale University Press, had plans to translate and publish dozens of Yiddish…
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Books Ordinary German Citizens During World War II
In her first installment of “Collective Guilt vs. Collective Fear,” Randy Susan Meyers wrote about an essay in which the writer met with an elderly former SS officer. Her newest novel, “The Comfort of Lies,” is now available. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My…
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First Peek at Ari Folman’s New Film
The first trailer is out for Ari Folman’s new film, “The Congress” (see here for background), and though I hate to say it, it’s a little disappointing. I’ve been looking forward to this movie for ages, mainly because it seems like the perfect creative pairing. Folman, in his 2008 film “Waltz With Bashir,” used groundbreaking…
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Krakow Synagogue Now ‘Mezcal’ Night Club
To the dismay of guardians of Jewish heritage in Poland, a former Krakow beit midrash, or Jewish house of prayer and study, reopened as a disco this past weekend. It was first reported in Gazeta Wyborcza, a local media outlet, that a new club called Mezcal would be opened in the Kazimierz district in a…
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Stewart Rahr Forks Over $250 Million
Stewart Rahr, pharmaceutical billionaire and self-styled “King of All Fun,” has reportedly agreed to pay a $250 million divorce settlement to Carol, his wife of 43 years. According to the New York Post Rahr, 67, will hold on to the couple’s $45 million home in the Hampton, while Carol gets the $30 million Trump Park…
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