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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Andrea Miller’s Emotional Dance Workout
Beauty, confrontation, solitude, change: these are some of the things that make us feel strong emotions, and “Blush,” a 55-minute work from New York’s Gallim Dance, has them all. The desire to feel deeply is what motivated artistic director Andrea Miller to create the piece, which marked the company’s Portland, Ore., debut this month in…
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Arik of All Trades
Crossposted from Haaretz “Who the f—k is Arik?” That’s what designer Arik Levy says his exhibition opening at the Alon Segev gallery in Tel Aviv this week could have been called, as the world-famous designer forays into the art world. “Everyone in Israel knows Arik the designer, but they don’t know Arik the artist at…
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Charles Shaughnessy on Jewish Stereotypes and Nearly Boycotting ‘The Nanny’
Charles Shaughnessy, best known for his exasperated bellow “Miss Fine!” on the ‘90s television sitcom “The Nanny,” spoke this past Saturday evening at the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham, Mass. During the evening, a benefit for one of the actor’s favorite causes, the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, Shaughnessy answered questions from audience members. Attendees…
The Latest
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Lenin, Stalin, and Jewish Musicians
On October 12, Paris’s Cité de la Musique opened a new exhibit, “Lenin, Stalin, and Music” which includes much fascinating material about the fate, and often the plight, of Russian Jewish musicians. With the benefit of hindsight it’s difficult to see why any Jews stayed in Soviet Russia. However, a brilliantly concise and well-illustrated exhibition…
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A Rising Tide of Art at the Rose
Earlier this month, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University formally opened its 2010-2011 season with two new exhibits: “Regarding Painting” and “WaterWays.” The museum has been the subject of much negative media controversy over the past few years. Between rumors of its closing and lawsuits over artwork being sold, one of the university’s gems…
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Street Art Gets the Gallery Treatment
Crossposted from Haaretz Walking through the streets of Tel Aviv can be a culturally enriching experience: Colorful carousel horses have invaded the city walls and other public spaces, accompanied by the message “always keep moving.” The horses are the imprints of DEDE, a street artist from Tel Aviv. And along with fellow artists from Philadelphia,…
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Praying Along With Avishai Cohen’s Latin Jewish Jazz
In the high-ceilinged atrium of the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen gave a free concert Saturday in a forest of palm trees. The show was part of Daniel Pearl World Music Days, an international network of concerts honoring the slain American journalist. For the project’s mission of reaffirming a commitment to…
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Reporter Scoops Shin Bet, Interviews Illegal Woman Who Worked for Defense Minister’s Wife
Does the Israeli press have more powerful research capabilities than the Israel Security Agency, Shin Bet? Nili Priel, the wife of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, has admitted to employing an illegal foreign worker as a housekeeper. Last week, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein closed the case as the state, even with the help of Shin Bet,…
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U.S. Businessmen May Launch Israeli Baseball League
The Israel Baseball League’s web site boasts a full slate of games, fun tidbits about players, and even a tongue-in-cheek take on “Baseball in the Time of Our Forefathers.” And “as one would expect, the majority of this season’s players will be of Jewish extraction,” the site trumpets. Trouble is, the league went bust in…
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The Berenstain Bears Get Biblical
We’d always assumed the Berenstain Bears — the cuddly, anthropomorphic ursine stars of bestselling kids books — were sort of Jewish. Maybe it was the name, given by series creators Stan and Jan Berenstain, whose kids now keep the franchise going. There’s even been serious investigation of the Semitic-bear issue on web sites like Jew…
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Star (of David) Wars in European Soccer
Are Italian police banning shirts and flags displaying the Star of David at a European soccer championship match to be held this week? Both the London Jewish Chronicle and Haaretz reported over the weekend that a warning to fans appeared on the website of the Tottenham Hotspur team. The London club is about to face…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward As Supreme Court considers religious charter schools, Justice Kagan speculates about publicly funded yeshivas
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Fast Forward A Jewish city attorney is going after pro-Palestinian protesters. Her Oct. 7 tweets are making it complicated.
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Fast Forward Kehlani responds to Cornell concert cancellation: ‘I am not antisemitic’
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Fast Forward David Horowitz, ’60s radical turned right-wing firebrand and critic of Islam, dies at 86
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