Arts & Ente tamment
On Her Toes
Eleven-year-old
Abby Fisher
returns to dance
in The Nutcracker.
Miss Barbara's and then took lessons at
Country Day."
Abby, daughter of Lauren and Phillip
Fisher, would like to have a dance career
but plans to take up teaching if ballet
doesn't work out. She appeared in last
year's tour as a Tree Angel and is excited
because she has a bigger part this year.
Suzanne Chessler
"I've seen performances of The
Special to the Jewish News
Nutcracker, and I really like the music,
the emotion and the fun ending,"Abby
he Joffrey Ballet, touring with -
says. "I'm also glad I was chosen again
The Nutcracker, gives young
because I made lots of friends last year
local dancers moments on the
and hope to make more this time."
professional stage, and Abigail "Abby"
One of those new acquaintances might
Fisher of Bloomfield Hills is
be professional performer John
among the 80 aspiring per-
Gluckman, who takes many
formers working with 50 pros.
parts in this production. He's
Abby, an 11-year-old
Fritz/Snow Prince, a Russian
enrolled at Detroit Country
man and a doll. Gluckman
Day School and Temple Israel,
has been associated with the
is only "a little nervous" about
Joffrey for five years.
taking on the role of the
"I like the discipline and
Russian Doll in six perfor-
self-control of ballet and the
mances running Nov. 30-Dec.
wonderful music of The
3 at the Detroit Opera House. Joffrey da ncer
Nutcracker," says the 25-
John Gluc kman
The production is set in 1850
year-old Gluckman, who has
America and uses Victorian
danced in Romeo and Juliet,
scenery and costumes.
Cinderella, The Dream, Confetti and
"I've taken ballet lessons since I was 3,
Light Rain among many productions.
and I'll try to relax and pretend it's only a
"My mom enrolled me in dance
rehearsal: says Abby, who also likes danc-
classes at a nearby school when I was
ing hip-hop. "I started taking lessons at
5, and I just liked it and kept up with
Pho to by Johq Gr ig a lt is
T
Abby Fisher: Last year a Tree Angel, this year a Russian Doll.
firm
- lam
52
I
Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
Paula Adbul Comes Out
American Idol judge and '80s
dance-music star Paula Adbul
is planning to tour Israel during
Chanukah as the guest of Israeli
tourist minister Isaac Herzog.
According to
Ynet news, the two
recently met in Los
Angeles, and Abdul
said Herzog's invita-
tion was "a dream
come true. Not many
Paula Abdul
people know, but
both my parents are
Jewish. My father is a Syrian Jew
whose parents immigrated to Brazil.
My mother is a Canadian with
Jewish roots."
In response to Herzog's offer
to find "a nice Jewish match for
November 30 • 2006
iN
Abdul," she responded; "He has
to be a nice boy; I don't mind if he
doesn't have much money as long
as my parents are happy." (Actually,
one of Abdul's three brief marriages
was to a religious Jewish guy.)
Years ago, I wrote a piece that
described Abdul's background
exactly as she told it to Herzog.
However, Adbul played coy for so
Ibng about being "totally" Jewish
that even I had begun to doubt my
sources.
I think I know why Abdul didn't
set the record straight early in her
career.
Abdul's music and dance style
was decidedly "black." She has an
Arab last name. Based on looks,
she could be taken for a lot of
things — including black, Hispanic
or Sephardic. Articles called her
Syrian, Brazilian, French Canadian,
or American. Intentionally or not,
Abdul became a marketing dream
— just about every group of fans
could believe she was "one of us."
showbiz, and he does a lot of work
for Israel.
Krumholtz & More
Just out on DVD is Looking for
Kitty, an indie flick starring David
Krumholtz (Num3ers) as a high-
Last week, I reported that
Christopher Guest, the director
and co-star of the Jewish-themed
comedy For Your Consideration,
had three Jewish grandparents
— the only one
not being Jewish,
I said, was his
English paternal
grandfather, a
guy who got the
Elissa.
title of baron
Haden Guest
back in 1950.
A British friend, intrigued,
checked the back issues of the
London Jewish Chronicle. A 1910
issue of the paper reported that the
(future) Baron Leslie Haden-Guest
was married by the Chief Rabbi of
Britain to Muriel Goldsmid (Chris'
.
school baseball coach who hires
private detective
Ed Burns to hunt
for his estranged
wife. Kitty is a
lovely character
study, rather than
David
a mystery, and it
Krumholtz
shows off a side
of Krumholtz's acting ability you
might not expect.
Meanwhile, Joshua Malina (The
West Wing) has just joined the cast
of CBS' Num3ers on a recurring
basis as an FBI agent. Malina is
one of the few _ Orthodox actors in
For The Record