Standup comedian Robert Klein is 83 now and doesn't have any performances currently scheduled, but he was in his prime in 1986 when he performed on Broadway.
Klein was the first to have a standup special on HBO. He is legendary due to his smart humor and funny insights into the everyday. In this piece he turns his attention to cheating at golf, hunting and fishing and then cutting corners in food processing.
Enjoy!
A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2024.
Here's a summary of his many achievements. He's still active and busy developing new productions, including the sequel to Spaceballs. Go Mel!
Today we turn the clock back to 1968 when Joel Grey and the cast of the Broadway musical George M performed two of the hit numbers from the show on The Ed Sullivan Show.
George M was based on the life of George M. Cohan and covered the period from the late 1880s until 1937. It focused on Cohan's life and show business career from his early days in vaudeville with his parents and sister to his later success as a Broadway singer, dancer, composer, lyricist, theatre director and producer.
Joel Grey, born Joel David Katz in 1932, and son of comedian and musician Mickey Katz, is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award for his performances in the Cabaret stage musical and film. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023.
Enjoy!
On February 13, stars of Broadway and the Jewish world gave us a preview of this hopeful season by combining the candle lighting with the song Tomorrow from the musical Annie.
The songs were performed in the New York theater district while walking on Broadway and in Times Square by Julie Benko (Broadway’s “Funny Girl” and “Harmony”) and Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue with a chorus of Broadway talent.
It's a timely juxtaposition of two themes that combine to give us hope as we enter a new era of American optimism.
Enjoy, and Happy Chanukah!
Peerce, who was born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth in New York, was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. Peerce became the brother-in-law of fellow American tenor Richard Tucker when Sara Perelmuth, Peerce’s only sister, married Tucker, who was then a part-time cantor, in 1936.
Enjoy!
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It was quite fitting for an event taking place at the site of Oklahoma's original premiere.
For the first time ever, a Shabbat service was brought to the Broadway stage. Featuring leading Broadway stars at the St. James Theatre for Shabbat Shira last week, Shabbat on Broadway was an inclusive experience that blended prayer and inspirational showtunes. Produced by Amanda Lipitz and Henry Tisch, this event fostered a sense of togetherness during a challenging time for Jews worldwide.
Cantors in this video (in order of appearance): Azi Schwartz, Mira Davis (Park Avenue Synagogue); Jenna Pearsall (Central Synagogue); Irena Altschul (Temple Israel); Daniel Singer (Stephen Wise Free Synagogue); Mo Glazman (Temple Emanuel); Shiree Kidron (Or Olam); Shimon Smith (Romemu); Shayna De Lowe (Congregation Rodeph Sholom); Todd Kipnis (Temple Shaaray Tefila); Olivia Brodsky (East End Temple); Natasha Hirschorn (Ansche Chesed); Luis Cattan (Sutton Place Synagogue)
Enjoy!
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The war triggered by Hamas' invasion of Israel on October 7, and the open antisemitism of the last two months has led to an 'in-depth' backstage cast discussion about how to handle a joke about Jews in the entertainment business in the current climate.
As Nicki Gostin wrote in the New York Post,
There’s a song in the second act of the Monty Python musical called “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway.” It’s sung by Michael Urie and he brings down the house with the line, “We won’t succeed on Broadway if we don’t have any Jews.”
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, who plays “The Lady of the Lake” in the show, told Page Six in an exclusive interview that producers were aware that the war in Israel, as well as the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the US, would affect how the gag lands.
They concluded that the best way to proceed was to infuse the number with joy and celebration. And the celebration of the Jewish contribution to the arts, which is huge.
Here's a subtitled video from the 2005 original cast production with David Hyde Pierce singing the song. Enjoy!
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Shulem will be performing live in concert again at Anshei Emuna Congregation in Delray Beach, Florida on Tuesday night, January 23, 2004. We'll be there and if you're planning to be in South Florida in January, we'll see you there.
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Gormé was born in the Bronx to Sephardic Jewish parents Nessim Hasdai Gormezano and Fortuna "Fortunee" Gormezano. Both her parents were born in Turkey. The Gormezanos spoke several languages at home, including Ladino (also referred to as Judaeo-Spanish). Due to its close relationship with Castilian Spanish, Gormé was able to speak and sing in Spanish. She was distantly related (by marriage) to Neil Sedaka.
In June 2019, her husband and singing partner Steve Lawrence announced that he was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and that treatment to slow its progression had so far been successful. Last month he celebrated his 88th birthday.
Enjoy!
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After the group’s breakup, Doherty joined the New Journeymen, with John and Michelle Phillips and convinced John to let Cass join and in 1965, The Mamas and The Papas were officially born.
The group performed a total of three times on the Ed Sullivan Show with Cass making a solo final appearance on the show at the Hollywood Bowl in 1970 that was a tribute show to the genius of Richard Rodgers.
In this 1970 video clip from the show, Cass sang a medley from The Girlfriend, by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Enjoy!
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In this video clip from the show 35 years ago, Mason gives a tutorial on hate, armies, and images of the Jew as a fighter in daily and military situations.
Enjoy!
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As Ingrid Vasquez wrote in People Magazine,
Neil Diamond made theatergoers at opening night of Broadway's A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical feel so good, so good!
The New York native surprised fans and audience members at the Broadhurst Theatre — where the new musical about his life opened Sunday night — with an impromptu performance of his hit song "Sweet Caroline."
It marks the first time Diamond, 81, has performed in his hometown since 2017 and was a rare appearance for the music icon, who announced in 2018 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and would be retiring from concert touring.
Enjoy!
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Last week international stars of Fiddler On The Roof from productions staged all over the world, united in singing “Sabbath Prayer” in eight different languages.
The piece was meant as a collective prayer for the safe return of Broadway and theatres everywhere -- a prayer for protection, ease, health, and a safe return of in-person gatherings, and for the relief those communal moments will bring.
The piece was produced by Adam Kantor and Reboot and presented by OneTable and Broadway.com. It features singers from performances in English, Yiddish, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, and Tagalog.
Shabbat shalom!
Oliver!, the musical play and film created by Lionel Bart (born Lionel Begleiter) and based on Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist has always been one of our favorites. We have a personal connection with the production because our grandson Gil played the title role in the Encore Theatre production in Jerusalem in May 2014.
The role of Fagin was played by Ron Moody in the original London production and the movie. In the preface to the novel, Fagin is described as a "receiver of
stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children who he teaches to
make their living by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in
exchange for shelter.
Moody, who was born Ronald Moodnick, was a second-generation native Briton whose father came over from Russia and whose mother was proud of her Vilna roots. A very Jewish bachelor, he shared his house with his mother and other family members in the Jewish North London suburb of Southgate.
Moody's portrayal of Fagin just oozes with Jewishness, but not in the anti-semitic way that Dickens portrayed him. On the contrary, he is humanized as a lovable crook who shows real affection for his pickpocketing children.
He reprised his role as Fagin at the 1985 Royal Variety Performance in Theatre Royal, Drury Lane before Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Here is a clip from this performance in which Moody sings Reviewing the Situation, where he considers his past life and wonders about his future.
Enjoy!
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#Throwback Thursday #TBT
The film presents a deep dive into the cultural history of the show, which will no doubt thrill theater aficionados. There's production footage from Broadway and world productions, demos performed by songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, and interviews with everyone from Chaim Topol (the Tevye of the 1971 film adaptation) to Lin-Manuel Miranda.
As the documentary shows, whether it's presented as a traditional Fiddler on Broadway with professional actors, or in Brownsville, Brooklyn with a cast of African-American elementary school students, or in Thailand with an all-Thai company, the performers and audience find a way into the material.So when and where can you see it? The hour and a half long documentary will be playing in Manhattan at the Landmark Theatre on West 57th Street starting Friday August 23. It will also be at select AMC Theatres. Dates and times will be posted at the AMC website starting tomorrow.
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