Stage dramedy tackles interfaith marriage taboo

Published on August 15, 2012

If you take Israel out of the equation, there’s little in the Jewish world that gets people as riled up as the idea of intermarriage.

Shlomo Carlebach’s life comes to the stage in ‘Soul Doctor’

Published on August 14, 2012

As he researched the complex life of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach for a new musical, playwright Daniel Wise found a surprisingly candid source.

“Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s” Steven Berkoff:  ‘in yer face’

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on December 18, 2011

Will Sasson Gabai hit the stage for ‘The Band’s Visit’?

By Lauren Bottner
Published on December 8, 2011

C’mon, Amanda Green, ‘Bring It On’

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on September 6, 2011

At one point in “Bring It On: The Musical,” inspired by the rival cheerleading film of the same name, Bridget, the team’s chubby mascot, gets some moxie from a pep talk about a boy she likes.

TV ‘terrorist’ plays Jewish hero on stage

By Orit Arfa
Published on August 12, 2008

Israel’s ‘grande dame’ grows up on the big screen

By Jessica Steinberg
Published on March 1, 2007

There is a scene in Dina Zvi-Riklis' award-winning drama, "Three Mothers," in which Gila Almagor, once a popular singer, stages a comeback concert to raise money for her sister, Yasmin, who needs a kidney transplant. At the start of the concert, she introduces herself as one of three sisters. "Sixty years ago, my sisters and I were born in Alexandria, in Egypt. We're triplets," she says, with a coy smile. "Triplets are like twins, but a lot harder."

Gay Romeo Tale Set on Mideast Stage

By Tom Tugend
Published on February 24, 2005

Astute trend-spotters have noticed a new genre -- "Love Across the Green Line" -- in which Israeli boy meets Palestinian girl, or variations on this theme, like boy meets boy.

Screen Scribe

By Tom Tugend
Published on May 13, 2004

Norman Hudis is a patient man, not by temperament but by necessity. It took the ex-Londoner and current Woodland Hills resident some 30 years to see his play produced on stage, and if the venue is Santa Ana rather than Manhattan, he is as pleased as any playwright savoring his name on a Broadway marquee.

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.

The Joy of ‘Oy’

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on March 15, 2001

Richard Lewis is a comedian who has perfected the art of the kvetch.

Up Front

By Michael Aushenker
Published on June 11, 1998

If anyone was preordained to be a rabbi, it was Jackie Mason. Born in Sheboygan, Wis., in 1937, the Yiddish-accented comedian comes from four generations of rabbis. All three of his brothers are rabbis. And, once upon a time, Mason himself was a rabbi, teaching Talmud in far-out places like Lathrop, Pa., and Walden, N.C.

A Window to the Soul

By Diane Arieff
Published on September 25, 1997

The Arts.