‘Once Upon a Mattress’ started at a Jewish summer camp. Now it’s making a rowdy return to Broadway
A look into the socialist Jewish summer camp origins of the campy musical theater hit
Borscht Belt
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Culture A museum exhibit on Jewish food and humor puts the ‘borscht’ in Borscht Belt
Jewish comedy and cuisine provided an ethnic haven for Jews looking for a break from the big city
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Art The Bob Ross of the Borscht Belt is finally getting a New York City show
Morris Katz’s ‘instant art’ will be on view at YIVO
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News The Borscht Belt is burning: In the Catskills, abandoned resorts keep catching fire
For longtime Catskills residents, the fires are resurfacing grief over a fading chapter in American Jewish history
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Culture The Borscht Belt resorts were abandoned long ago. But these signs point to a brighter future
A new trail of historical markers pays tribute to a Jewish vacation hub — and could spur Catskills tourism
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Culture Mel Brooks delivers 500 pages on his favorite subject – himself
All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business By Mel Brooks Ballantine Books, 480 pages, $25 Mel Brooks’ memoir begins with a promise. In a preface, the 95-year-old actor-writer-director vows to make an intimate confession to his reader — one not to be shared with anyone. Then, he thinks a bit more about the…
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Culture On Rodney Dangerfield’s 100th birthday, remembering his legendary sandwich
Rodney Dangerfield has my respect — and continues to inspire my sandwiches. The comedian, who would have turned 100 today, and made a career playing a lovable schlub in films like “Caddyshack” (and once an animated dog version of himself) is not always my cup of tea. His signature jokes about his wife — a…
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Culture A museum devoted to the Jewish Catskills? In Ulster County, one man’s ready to break ground
Half a century after their heyday, the Catskills are having a moment. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” recently devoted the bulk of a season to the Jewish Alps’ tummling past. The passing of comedian Jackie Mason recalled a bygone era, when families fled urban sprawls to get some mountain air and kibbitz with their coreligionists in…
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