Dec. 15-21

By Ryan Torok
Published on December 12, 2012

Set in 1930s Algiers, this animated adaptation of the beloved series by French comic-book artist Joann Sfar tells the story of a widowed rabbi, his beautiful daughter and a cat that swallows the family parrot and gains the ability to speak.

Oct. 27–Nov 2, 2012

By Ryan Torok
Published on October 24, 2012

IKAR’s Rabbi Sharon Brous and Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, American Jewish University’s Rabbi Aryeh Cohen and leaders of social justice organization Bend the Arc discuss the November ballot initiatives through a Jewish lens, addressing what Jewish tradition says about the death penalty, criminal justice and income equality.

Calendar Picks and Clicks: Oct. 13-19, 2012

By Ryan Torok
Published on October 10, 2012

Dedicated to the life and memory of journalist Daniel Pearl, this October music month features concerts across the globe, including today’s performance of “Songs of Salomone Rossi: Harmony for Humanity” by Tesserae at Contrapuntal Recital Hall in Brentwood. Other concerts include Ray Dewey (Oct. 16);

An X-Mas Like No Other

By Shoshana Lewin-Fischer
Published on November 24, 2005

"The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway. There's never been such a day in Beverly Hills, L.A. But it's December the 24th, and I am longing to be up north."

While it isn't likely the above stanza sparks many memories, the next line should: "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas."

Bing Crosby's popular version of the song -- introduced in "Holiday Inn" (1942) and later sung in "White Christmas" (1954) -- cut out the satirical introduction.

Pinter’s Plays Give Voice to the Victims

By Lucy Komisar
Published on October 20, 2005

Provocative, ambiguous, biting, subtle, Harold Pinter, who has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, is one of the major playwrights of the English language and the author of 29 plays and two dozen film scripts. He is also one of the most political of writers, with an overriding concern for social justice and an abhorrence of fascism, authoritarianism and brutality. His plays deal with power and powerlessness, dominance and subservience, resistance to authority, doublethink, hypocrisy and the perversion of language.

Actor’s Missing Dad Takes Center Stage

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on August 25, 2005

In his raw, autobiographical monologue, "Who Is Floyd Stearn?" actor Michael Raynor struts onstage with a swagger reminiscent of James Caan. Raynor, playing himself, jabs a finger at a faded photograph.
The photo was taken on 185th Street in Queens, on his grandmother's lawn. In the photo, an athletic, brawny man embraces a 3-year-old. The man is Raynor's father, Floyd Stearn. The smiling boy is young Michael, who clutches a toy banjo, his blond bangs peeking out from a cowboy hat.

Raynor tells the audience that, even at 40, he cannot discuss the photo; should anyone pressure him, he angrily departs.

"Every time I see the picture I cry," he adds quietly. "That's why I can't look at it. I see the happiness in my face, and it scares me. I'm hoping it won't go away."

Still’s ‘Waters’ Run Deep

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on May 26, 2005

To structure the sprawling "Waters," James Still drew on Arthur Schnitzler's classic play, "La Ronde," in which scenes are connected by protagonists moving from one sequence to another.

Kishon—The Writer

By Tom Teicholz
Published on February 24, 2005

The world lost one of its great comic artists last month. I am referring not to Johnny Carson, who was little known outside of the United States, but to Israeli satirist Ephraim Kishon, 80, who, although little known in America, was beloved around the world.

Calendar

By Keren Engelberg
Published on January 13, 2005

Calendar.

7 Days in the Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on December 9, 2004

7 Days In The Arts

Calendar

By Keren Engelberg
Published on October 28, 2004

Calendar

Uncle Leo Fulfills a Dream

By Tom Tugend
Published on November 13, 2003

"If you're a pretty good actor and live long enough, you can play any role," said Len Lesser, sitting on a worn couch just after finishing an evening performance at A Noise Within in Glendale.

Homecoming From Hell

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on September 5, 2002

One day during his junior year abroad in Vienna in 1978, Jon Marans told a professor of his intention to visit the concentration camp Dachau.

7 Days In Arts

By Solange Borna
Published on August 23, 2001

Gene Simmons, Bob Dylan, the Beastie Boys and Susanna Hoffs are proof positive that Jews know how to rock.

Rage Becomes Power in Writer’s Hands

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on May 3, 2001

"I still write a lot from anger," playwright Mark Medoff said. "I've wanted to flagellate the world."

Medoff, 61, is the author of the smoldering plays "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" "Children of a Lesser God" and "Road to a Revolution," now at Deaf West Theatre. His intense work often rails against a world he perceives as rife with violence, racism and sexism. Several childhood memories fuel the rage, he revealed during a telephone interview from his New Mexico ranch.

From Fandom to ‘Phantom’

By Michael Aushenker
Published on May 18, 2000

It all began when Steve Cisneros, as an 11th grader at La Mirada High School, was exposed to the plays of his English teacher, Bruce Gevirtzman.

Kabbalah: Scary Jewish Stories

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on December 30, 1999

At one point in the play, "Kabbalah: Scary Jewish Stories," a yeshivabocher and a severed talking head careen across the Abyss.

Three’s Company

By Ruth Stroud
Published on July 17, 1997

The Pluralism Debate Continued