arts & entertainment The Forum: THE TITag ST747,, =AND JEWS 4 1 H1 Special events enhance the Stratford experience. Suzanne Chessler Contributing Writer B arry Avrich has filmed Stratford Festival productions, including The Tempest, to be shown in movie theaters. Stratford, this season, will be spot- lighting an independent film Avrich directed, and it will be part of "The Forum" programming, in this case to supplement plays with Jewish themes. An Unlikely Obsession: Churchill and the Jews will be shown at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, at the Stratford campus of the University of Waterloo. It will be followed by a discussion with Avrich and producer Michael Levine. The film, based on a book by Martin Gilbert, examines the ways in which Churchill became an ally of the Jews and includes commentary by Gilbert, Churchill family members and attorney Alan Dershowitz. The cost is $20. "While so many countries were turn- ing away from the Jews during the Nazi reign, Churchill embraced them," Avrich says. "He was often a lone voice, but he was very influential. "It was fascinating making a film about that time period, and I believe the documentary is very appropriate as the Stratford Festival addresses issues of tolerance through many of its plays. "This film hasn't been seen outside of Canada yet, so I'm glad it is being shown to the large [international] Stratford audience. I'm also glad to lead a discussion because great per- formances should be about discussion and debate." Other Forum programs with Jewish content or related to Jewish-themed productions of Fiddler on the Roof and The Merchant of Venice, arranged by date, include: May 31: Adam Gopnik: Shakespeare and Feasting A staff writer for the New Yorker gives his thoughts as a meal is served; $75. June 14: Dark Lullabies Canadian filmmaker Lilienheim Angelico presents her documentary on the Holocaust; $20. June 16 and Sept 21: ARC Ensemble Concerts In June, Simon Wynberg, artistic direc- tor of Toronto's Artists of the Royal Conservatory Ensemble, introduces a program with the theme "Tradition and the Jewish Composer," exploring the Russian-Jewish musical roots of Fiddler on the Roof. The September concert will examine music suppressed by fascist regimes to inform the pro- duction of The Merchant of Venice, which will be set in 1930s Italy. June 23 and Sept. 21: Israeli Folk Dancing Learn dances that the grandchildren of the characters in Fiddler on the Roof might have done at their weddings. No observers, please; $15. July 11 and Aug. 2: Fiddler on the Roof: Song and Dance Company members teach a song and dance from Fiddler on the Roof. No observers, please; $30. July 12: Marlis Schweitzer: Breaking with Tradition: Fiddler on the Roof and the 1960s Generation Gap Schweitzer is an associate professor of theater at Toronto's York University; free. July 14: Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream Film captures lives of men who found- ed the movie industry; $20. FILM BY BARRY AVHRH EIASD ON SIP rl pm GILBERT S ACC F POOP. SIILIPCPPL AND 1. 1 4;;;P■ 1 ;;;; :=IrM;11"". &PR Aug. 1: Astrology and Shakespeare: The Secret Key to The Merchant of Venice An Unlikely Obsession screens July 10. With Priscilla Costello, counseling astrologer; free. Aug. 21: Anti-Semitism and The Merchant of Venice onr.R. fggg Panel discussion explores issues; $10. Aug. 11: Who Chooseth Me Practicing psychoanalyst Mavis Himes speaks about the insights psycho- analysis can bring to The Merchant of Venice; free. Aug. 24: Shylock Aug. 11, 15 and 17: How to Disappear Completely Sept. 21: Alisa Solomon: Fiddler's Fortunes: The Mighty Afterlife of a Broadway Musical A dramatic reading of a play by Arnold Wesker that tells the story from Shylock's point of view; $25. Israeli-born, Vancouver-based lighting designer Ital Erdal's solo stage piece demonstrates his approach to theatri- cal lighting and reflects on what hap- pens after his mother asks him to take her life; $25. Solomon, a former theater critic for the Village Voice, directs the arts and culture concentration in the master's program at Columbia Journalism School; $10. Aug. 13: Shylock Revisited: Oct. 5: Shylock Appeals Discussion covers ideas about what happens if Shylock is a she ... an examination of the co-mingling of anti- Semitism, sexism and The Merchant of Venice; $20. Witness the appeal of Shylock's sen- tence by prominent lawyers before a court of Canadian judges; free. —I Aug. 14: Budrus Film and discussion about saving a Palestinian village with the help of Israelis; $20. For more information and to register, go to www.stratfordfestival.ca . See related story on page 57. Jews Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News Wolk-Mania me The April 7 premiere of the sixth sea- of AMC's Mad Men introduced a CD son new character, Bob Benson, played Al by none other than Farmington Hills ■ native James Wolk, 28. ' 1 Here are excerpts from an April 8 Hollywood Reporter piece that explains all: "Benson, a hyper- enthusiastic, brown-nosing accounts employee at Sterling Draper Cooper Pryce, attempts to get into the good graces of Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the superstar adman he's always wanted to meet. "And there's something about Wolk – an intelligence and intensity – that makes him more than just a L 58 April 18 • 2013 pretty face. The 28-year-old actor has racked up a host of TV credits [includ- ing] a leading role on the short-lived Fox series Lone Star and a recurring part on Showtime's Shameless and ABC's Happy Endings. The Michigan native also portrayed Sigourney Weaver's son in the 2012 USA minise- ries Political Animals. "Besides Mad Men, Wolk is part of a buzzy new comedy project also focused on an ad agency. Called The Crazy Ones and produced by David E. Kelley, the CBS pilot – which could be green-lit for next season – touts Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, 35, as Wolk father-and-daughter co-owners of a firm." By the way, a writer for the website Buzzfeed, who is bonkers for the actor, maintains that Wolk could give the very hunky Jon Hamm a run for his money and has compiled a raft of pics for an article titled: "19 Reasons Don Draper Should Feel Threatened By James Wolk": http://tinyurl.comktg6z6e . Bully For Bobo The film Disconnect, which opens on Friday, April 19, tells three mostly sepa- rate stories that ulti- mately join up. All the characters' lives are heavily influenced by the Internet. The first story focuses on a teen- Bobo age boy (Jonah Bobo, 16), who is being cyber-bullied. Bobo, who most recently co-starred in the 2011 comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, was raised in an Orthodox home. The other stories con- cern a couple whose identity is stolen and a young man who makes his living by taking his clothes off online. Another Love Story On April 9, the Jewish Book Council named Francesca Segal, 33, the win- ner of the $100,000 2013 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature in fiction for her debut novel, The Innocents. The author, is the daughter of Erich Segal (Love Story). ❑ Segal