From Ramah to Broadway: Where Best Musical Tony Award Winner Ben Platt Got His Start

Ben Platt, the 23-year-old actor who last week won the coveted Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical for his starring role in Dear Evan Hansen, has been singing the praises of Camp Ramah in California. That's where Platt got his start in writing and acting in Broadway musicals that were translated into Hebrew.


As Shiryn Ghermezian wrote in The Algemeiner,

Platt, who plays the titular role in the upcoming show “Dear Evan Hansen,” sang a Hebrew version of “Luck be a Lady” — from the musical “Guys and Dolls” — on NBC‘s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

The 23-year-old actor, who previously starred in the film “Pitch Perfect,” told Meyers that he learned the song when he was at a Jewish summer camp, where all productions were performed in Hebrew, and noted that campers would sometimes run into trouble translating lyrics.

The following videos show Platt accepting his Tony Award and discussing the Jewish influences on his career with Seth Meyers .

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

The Joys of Jewish Camping: Ramah Day Camp Presents Its Zimriah

More than 70,000 children attend Jewish summer camps across the United States each summer. 

When they start the next school year, whether it's in a Orthodox or Conservative day school or in a public school, they come with a strong sense of their Jewish identity and a personal connection with Israel, its culture, and its music.

A 2011 study found that camp alumni show higher levels of Jewish engagement in everything from ritual observance to Jewish charitable giving to marrying within the faith.

Overnight (sleepaway) camp is a total immersion in Jewish life and is the usual subject of studies like this one, but day camps also play a major role in keeping Jewish connections alive during the summer months.

Notable among these summer day camps is Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, New York, which provides children who are entering grades K-8 with a camping experience in a setting of love, friendship, wonder and discovery, a setting where Judaism is integral to daily activities. Camps like this one are feeder camps for overnight camps when the children get older.

One of the most anticipated days in the Ramah camp calendar is the Zimriah, a songfest where all of the children, together with their counselors and staff, display their singing talents and command of Hebrew.

Last week, only a few weeks into the camp season, the Zimriah took place outdoors on the camp grounds.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)