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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David vs. Goliath in Brooklyn
Photo by Tracy Collins “Our city grows so fast that there is some danger of the events and incidents of more than ten years gone being totally forgotten.” So wrote Walt Whitman in the early 1860s, describing the development of Brooklyn. But could the poet and long-time Brooklyn resident have foreseen the battles waged between…
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Max Greenfield Relives ‘SNL’-Themed Bar Mitzvah
Max Greenfield’s bar mitzvah was clearly a major milestone — as The Shmooze hopes it would be for any young Jewish man. The 31-year-old “New Girl” actor has been telling just about anyone who will listen to him about his “Saturday Night Live”-themed coming-of-age celebration. On Wednesday night, Greenfield referenced his bar mitzvah again during…
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Books Acknowledging the Tenement Museum
Earlier this week Debra Spark wrote about meeting Adin Steinsaltz and why she makes her characters Jewish. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: These days, when people write a book, they…
The Latest
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Friday Film: James Franco on Dylan and Crane
Actor James Franco was named by Salon.com as one of “10 men who might just inspire the rebirth of Jewish male cool.” Though of Russian Jewish heritage on his mother’s side, Franco never had a Bar Mitzvah. “I wish I had though,” he said wistfully. He played a Jewish drug dealer in Pineapple Express and…
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Jason Segel Gets Touchy-Feely
Jason Segel has been very into sharing lately. He’s a sensitive and communicative guy, but it might also have to do with generating publicity for his new movie, “The Five-Year Engagement.” The film, which Segel, 32, co-wrote with director Nicholas Stoller, tells the story of an interfaith couple (he’s Jewish, she’s Christian) whose wedding plans…
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Rabbi Will Perform Drew Barrymore’s Marriage
Rumors that actress Drew Barrymore is planning to convert to Judaism and that she is pregnant (there have been alleged baby-bump sitings by the paparazzi) are yet to be confirmed. E! News, however, did ascertain that she will be wedding Will Kopelman on June 2, and that the Kopelman family’s rabbi will officiate at the…
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An Artist Struck With Admiration for Herzl
The German Jewish graphic artist Hermann Struck (1876-1944), who emigrated to the Holy Land in 1922, was famed for the multiple portraits which he created of Theodor Herzl. But he was more than just a pioneering artist before Israel’s statehood was declared. A small, well-chosen exhibit, Hermann Struck in Galilee, was on view at the…
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Going Back to Chaim Grade
When Yiddish writer Chaim Grade died in 1982 he was highly regarded in Yiddish literary circles, though less known to English readers. Only a few of his novels had been translated, and hardly any of his poetry. He was also overshadowed by his more famous contemporary, Isaac Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in…
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Architects and Artists Building the Jewish State
The half-century before the declaration of Israel’s statehood was a time of wild artistic ferment. Some of the nuances of the feverish creativity in the realm of architecture are described by two studies from Ashgate Publishing, “Constructing a Sense of Place: Architecture and the Zionist Discourse” edited by Haim Yacobi and “Architecture and Utopia. The…
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Out and About
Meet Yiddish sensation Libby Pollak. Take a look at a trove of previously unseen old New York City photos. Eight American cities are getting money for new arts journalism initiatives. Step into the weird and wonderful world of women’s arm wrestling. Listen to Habitus editor Joshua Editor reflect on Berlin. Christian Lorenzten expounds on the…
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Q&A: Richard Lewis on Comedy and Therapy
While he is waiting for Larry David to decide if there is going to be a ninth season of the HBO hit “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” comedian Richard Lewis is embarking on a comedy tour that will take him to Carolines on Broadway in New York City and the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia in the…
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