arts & entertainment >> editor's picks CLASSICAL NOTES Gustav Mahler, the Austrian-Bohemian great-grandson of a Jewish slaughterer and son of one of the founders of a synagogue in his native Iglua, was circumcised accord- ing to Jewish law at his birth in 1860 but converted to Roman Catholicism in 1897 — an act of opportunism, some say, which resulted in his eventual appointment to the Vienna Court Opera. He died in 1911 at the age of 51. His music suffered years of neglect — including a ban on its per- formance during the Nazi era — and only achieved worldwide admiration and fame 50 years after his death when, ironically, a Jew, Leonard Bernstein, restored him to the pantheon of oft-performed composers. In honor of the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death, Maestro Arie Lipsky conducts the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra 8 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, in Mahler's rarely performed Symphony No. 3, which the composer himself called a "monster." With six movements and employing an expanded orchestra, alto soloist, a children's chorus and a women's chorus, it explores what nature and innocence of children teach us about life and love. Preceded at 7 p.m. by a lecture about the program. $10- $53. (734) 994-4801; a2so.com . Classical pianist David Syme, cur- rently splitting his time between Houston, Texas, and Ireland, returns home 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1, to Temple Israel, 5725 Walnut Lake Road, in West Bloomfield, to perform as part of the temple's Schmier Concert Series. To order complimentary tickets, contact Brandi Houghton at (248) 661-5700 or bhoughton@temple-israel.org. POP/ROCK/JAZZ A longtime music coordinator at Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, guest conduc- tor Richard Kaufman leads the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Disney in Concert The Magical Music From Christopher Campbell the Movies 10:45 a.m. grew up Catholic, attend- Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday ing Catholic school, in and 3 p.m. Sunday, April Philadelphia. But his recov- Gail Zinimerman 29-May 1, at Orchestra ery from substance abuse Arts Editor Hall in Detroit. The as a teenager led him to a Pops concerts include higher spiritual path — music from Beauty and the Beast, The Little and three Jewish conversions (first to Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lion King with Reform then to Conservative and finally to excerpts from these classic movies projected Orthodox Judaism — with three circum- on large screens. $20. (313) 576-5111; cisions along the way!). detroitsymphony.com . Currently a resident "I come from that great of Jerusalem and now tradition of urban Jewish known as Yisrael folk singers," says Chicago Campbell, he chron- native and Cape Cod resi- icles his experiences dent David Roth, who in his comic theater has earned top honors at piece, Circumcise Me, songwriter competitions which he'll bring to Yisrael in his two decades of West Bloomfield, co- performing and describes Campbell sponsored by Jewish David Roth himself as "Will Rogers- Ensemble Theatre and meets-David Letterman-meets-James the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit, 9 p.m. Taylor-meets-Jerry Seinfeld." He takes the Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, May 7-8, at stage 8 p.m. Monday, May 2, at the Ark in the new Berman Center for the Performing Arbor, where he'll be joined by fellow folk- Arts at the JCC (note: the performance has singer Anne Hills. Also at the Ark, 8 p.m. been moved from Handleman Hall to the Thursday, May 5, is Natalia Zukerman, Berman, and ticketholders can exchange daughter of classical musicians Eugenia their tickets at the Berman box office and Pinchas Zukerman, but a woman who before the performance). $41; $38 seniors. performs her own blend of folk, jazz and Tickets are still available. (248) 788-2900; sultry blues while accompanying herself on jettheatre.org. slide guitar. Doors at 7:30 p.m.; $15 for each concert. (734) 763-8587; theark.org. The BIG SCREEN He may be 80 years old, but actor/singer Hal Linden believes it's never too late to The Windsor Jewish Community Centre reach for your dream— in this case, the hosts the Ruth and Bernard Friedman release of his first CD, aptly titled, It's Never Windsor Jewish Film Festival Monday- Too Late. The 14-track disc is a diverse col- Thursday, May 2-5, at Cineplex Odeon, lection of Broadway and film tunes, classic Devonshire Mall, in Windsor, Ontario. pop songs, as well as jazz standards and The festival opens 8 p.m. May 2 with favorites from the American songbook the Canadian premiere screening of The recorded over three decades. $20; available Yankles, about a washed up, ex-Major on amazon.com. League ballplayer who gets a second v iiit I Nate Bloom emus Special to the Jewish News Rivers Does Royalty Joan Rivers is at her best when she has a focused target for her acerbic humor so I'm looking forward to the special "Royal Wedding" edition of her E! cable show, The Fashion Police, airing 10 p.m. Friday, April 29, with many encore showings. Kathy Griffin, who says Rivers is her role model, will offer her vinegar-laced comedic take on the nuptials on the TV Guide Channel at 8 p.m. the same night. Sweet Teen Movie Opening Friday, April 29, is Prom from Walt Disney Studios. Surrounding an upcoming high school prom, it's simi- 40 April 28 2011 About ON THE STAGE 111•11 lar in plot structure to some other recent romantic comedies (Valentine's Day, He's Just Not That Into You) in that it focuses on how a number of romantic couples get together rather than on just one romance. The direc- tor is Joe Nussbaum (Sydney White), 38, who specializes in non-raunchy teen movies. Nussbaum is a practic- ing Jew who keeps kosher. The cast of Prom is made up of rela- tive newcomers. It includes Jared Kunitz (Justin), 20, and Jonathan Keltz (Brandon), 23. Keltz, whose father is Jonathan Jewish, is probably Keltz the best-known cast member. Last year, he joined HBO's Entourage, playing the new assistant to star character Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). TV Land Awards You still have a chance to see The TV Land Awards, which aired on the sta- tion earlier this month. Through May 17, you can watch the whole show on the TV Land website (tvland.com ). This year, TV Land honored the casts of four classic hit sitcoms: The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Family Ties and Welcome Back, Kotter. Marcia Appearing on Strassman stage were Jewish chance at life and love by managing a yeshivah baseball team. Tickets: $10 each. For schedules, visit jewishwindsor.org or call 519-973-1772. THE ART SCENE The Detroit Artists Market presents Northern Lights, an exhibition of 20 contemporary northern Michigan artists, April 29-May 27. Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 29; 2-4 p.m. gallery talk with the artists Saturday, April 30. 4719 Woodward, Detroit. (313) 832-8540; detroitartistsmarket.org. AUTHOR! AUTHOR! Writers participating at the Metro Detroit Book & Author Society's Spring Book Luncheon, noon Monday, May 16, at Burton Manor, 27777 Schoolcraft, in Livonia, include novelist Diane Ackerman (One Hundred Names for Love), with a memoir about coping with her husband's stroke and inability to speak; Erik Larson (In the Garden of Beasts), with a nonfic- tion drama set in Nazi Germany; Karl Marlantes (Matterhorn), with his best- selling novel on Vietnam; Sebastian Junger (War), with a new book on his reporting from the front lines in Afghanistan; and John Gallagher (Reimagining Detroit), who looks at the shaky future of Michigan's largest city. The event includes lunch, book sales (beginning at 11 a.m.) and the opportunity to have books autographed by all the authors. To purchase tickets ($30; tables of 10; purchase together to sit together), go to the ticket request form at the society's web site, bookandauthor.org. Email items you wish to have considered for Out & About to Gail Zimmerman at gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com . cast members Gabe Kaplan, 66, and Marcia Strassman, 63 (Kotter); Charlotte Rae, 85, and Mindy Cohn, 44 (Facts); and Tracy Pollan, 50 (Ties). Charlotte Rae Pollan was accom- panied by Michael J. Fox, her Ties co- star and real-life husband. Strassman, who played Kaplan's wife on Kotter, recently survived breast cancer. For those of you who don't know, Charlotte Rae is the maternal aunt of JN Story Development Editor Keri Guten Cohen. P1 Contact Nate Bloom at middleoftheroadl@aol.com .