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Arts & Entertainment
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Gail Zimmerman
Arts Editor
Jewish Hipsters
Jon Stewart is a sex symbol. Madonna
demands to be called "Esther." And every-
one seems to speak at least a little
Yiddish. It's never been hipper to be a Jew
So in the midst of all
the Christmas pro-
gramming, welcome
All Access Presents: So
Jewtastic, a one-hour
TV special premiering
9 p.m. Monday,Dec. 19,
on VH1 that celebrates Brooke Burke
everything you knew
— and lots of stuff you
didn't — about being
Jewish.
The one-hour show
will cover the trendy
rise of Kabbalah, the
new hip Jews in
Hollywood, the mar-
Scott Ian
riage of Jews and hip
hop, the connection between Jews and
heavy metal music and the domination of
Jews in comedy.
Jackie Mason will give a Yiddish
primer, while comic actor Elon Gold will
visit a famous Jewish showbiz deli to ask
why Jews are so funny.
In addition, a panel of celebrities will
convene to dish on all things Jewish,
including stereotypes — from Jewish
mothers to whether or not Jews know
how to play sports to Jewish neuroses.
Making appearances, among others, are
musicians Ben Lee, Scott Ian of Anthrax,
Evan Seinfeld of Biohazard and Chasidic
reggae star Matisyahu; journalist Joel
Stein of Time magazine; and hot babe
Brooke Burke (whose mother is Jewish).
Check your local cable listings.
Windy City Comedy
Another look at Jewish culture comes to
Chicago with Second City Theatrical's
newest production, Second City's Jewsical,
a blend of classic Second City sketches
and songs, along with new material, all
providing an irreverent and comic look at
Jewish life and culture. A debut perform-
ance of the production — in advance of a
potential national tour — takes place
7:30 p.m, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006, at the
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 618
Michigan Ave., in Chicago.
The evening will include a talkback
session.with the cast and Director
Sheldon Patinkin.
The following day, sessions will explore
the past, present and future of Jewish
humor through the eyes of Second City's
stable of writers, producers, directors and
performers.
From. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22,
an interactive.workshop with Second City
performers and staff members will
demonstrate how they excavate their own
personal experiences to create comedy.
Topics will include the basic elements of
improvisation as well as how comic
premises are based on cultural and indi-
vidual life events. From 1:30-3:30 p.m., an
all-star collection of comic actors, direc-
tors and producers — including founding
members of Second City — will discuss
the history of Jewish comedy and the
contemporary role of Judaism in comedy
today. -
The Saturday Jewsical performance is
$20; the Sunday sessions are $12 for one
or $20 for both. For reservations, call
(312) 322-1743 or e-mail
rsvp@spertus.edu . For more information,
visit www.spertus.edu or call (312) 322-
1700.
Channeling The Dead
Each performance night, the Chicago-
based Dark Star Orchestra re-enacts one
complete show from the 2,500 that the
FYI: For Arts and Life related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to:
Gail Ziffinierman,
JN Out & About, The Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax us at (248) 304-8885; or e-mail to gzirnmerman@thejewishnews.com
Notice must be received at least three weeks before the
scheduled event. Photos are appreciated but cannot be returned. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change.
AN.
•®
O
Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
la Family Stone
Opening Friday, Dec. 16, is The
Family Stone, about a bohemian farn-
111 , .1111
fly's Christmas reunion. While-pro-
w moted as a comedy, early reviews
describe the flick as a strong drama
with some humor.
Sarah Jessica
Parker has top
billing as the
uptight girlfriend
of one of the fami-
ly's sons, a charac-
ter played by
Dermot Mulroney.
Sarah Jessica
In a recent inter- Parker
view found in
4,
CI)
58
December 15 • 2005
Abigail Pogrebin's book Stars of
David, Parker corrects some long-
standing misinformation about her
Jewish background found in many
bios. Parker says that her father (now
dead) was Jewish and not her mother
—although her mother may have
some Jewish ancestry.
Although raised in no faith, the
actress says she always has felt
Jewish. Likewise, she says her hus
band, Matthew Broderick, considers
himself a "cultural Jew," although he
was not raised in his mother's Jewish
faith or any faith.
The couple hasn't yet decided
whether to raise their child in any
religion. Parker did add that her only
full sibling, a sister, formally convert-
ed to Judaism and is now modern
Orthodox. She said she turns to this
sister for advice on "Jewish things."
Penguin Parody
Some fans of the hit documentary
March of the Penguins, now on DVD,
are looking forward
to comedian Bob
Saget's satirical
takeoff, Farce of the
Penguins, due out in
March.
Saget says he now
has enough penguin
footage to create an Bob Saget
R-rated "love story"
takeoff on the original.
The comedian says he was inspired
by his own ad-libs when he first saw
the documentary ("I did more
sounds of old Jews than you've ever
heard, because it looked like the
movie Exodus").
He added that lots of big names
want to do the voices for the takeoff,
including singer Adam Duritz,
leader of the Counting Crows, who
yearns to be "a singing, cursing pen-
guin"
Upper Crust
Based on real events and people, Mrs.
Henderson Presents,
directed by Stephen
Frears, is the type of
film the Brits do
best: naughty (but
not un-nice) stuff
with finely etched
class divisions. The
Stephen Frears