42 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 
 
 
 
 

MUCH JEWISH INPUT IN 
SOPRANOS PREQUEL; 
TWO MUSICALS; EMMYS
The Many Saints of 
Newark, a film, is a 
prequel to The Sopranos, 
the hit HBO series. It will 
be released to theaters 
on Oct. 1. and also will 
begin streaming that day 
on HBO Max for 30 days. 
The film, set in the late 
1960s, was co-written by 
Sopranos creator David 
Chase (who is Italian-
American and not Jewish) 
and Lawrence Konner, 
70, (who wrote many 
Sopranos scripts).
The late James 
Gandolfini, of course, 
played the series star 
character, Mafia family 
head Tony Soprano. 
Michael Gandolfini, 22, 
James’ son, plays Tony as 
a young man (about 18) in 
Many Saints. 

Jon Bernthal, 44, plays 
Tony’s gangster father, 
Johnny “Johnny Boy” 
Soprano, and Corey Stoll, 
45, plays “Junior” Soprano, 
Johnny’s gangster brother 
and ally. The role of Silvio 
Dante, Tony’s right-hand 
man in the HBO series, is 
played by John Magaro, 

38. Magaro was raised in 
his mother’s Jewish faith.
A major character in 
the film is gangster Dickie 
Moltisanti, the father of 
gangster Christopher 
Moltisanti, a major 
Sopranos character. Dickie 
is played by Alessandro 
Nivola, 49, an excellent 
actor who I talked to years 
ago when he played a 
Jewish character in a little-
seen film. Nivola told me 
he’s secular and confirmed 
that his father’s mother 
was an Austrian Jewish 
refugee. I hope Saints is 
his well-deserved “break-
though” role. 
David Chase once 
said that he tried to cast 
Italian-Americans in Italian 
parts on The Sopranos, 
but didn’t hesitate to 
cast Jewish actors in 
Italian parts because 
they were so like Italians. 
This comment helps 
explain why so many Jews 
are in Many Saints. By 
the way, Moltisani means 
“many saints” in Italian. 
The Addams Family 2, 
an animated film, opens 
in theaters on Oct. 1. 
Because of the Delta 
variant upsurge, it is also 
available via streaming 
rental on Oct. 1. This 
film is a sequel to The 
Addams Family, a hit 
in 2019. The returning 
(voice) cast includes Nick 
Kroll, 43, as Uncle Fester 
and Bette Midler, 75, as 
Grandmama. 
The Guilty had a limited 
theater opening on 
Sept. 24 and will begin 
streaming on Netflix on 
Oct. 1. It is a crime thriller. 
Jake Gyllenhaal, 40, 
stars as a troubled police 
detective demoted to 911 
operator who scrambles to 
save a distressed caller. 
Diana: A Musical will 

also begin streaming on 
Netflix on Oct. 1. It’s based 
on the life of Princess 
Diana. Diana began as 
a stage production that 
premiered in San Diego in 
2019. It began previews 
on Broadway in March 
2020 but closed because 
of the pandemic. It’s now 
set to open on Broadway 
this November. In the 
summer of 2020, a stage 
production of the show 
was filmed without an 
audience (that’s what 
Netflix will stream). The 
cast includes Judy Kaye, 
72, as Queen Elizabeth II, 
and as Barbara Cartland (a 
romance novelist critical 
of Diana). Kaye, a Tony 
winner, has an amazing 
voice and range and often 
sings opera, too.
David Bryan, 59, wrote 
the music for the show’s 
songs and co-wrote the 
song lyrics. Born David 
Bryan Rashbaum, he’s the 
keyboardist for the famous 
band Bon Jovi. He was 
inducted into the Rock Hall 
of Fame with the band. 
Dear Evan Hansen 
opened yesterday in 
theaters. It’s based on 
the mega-hit Broadway 
play of the same name. 
The title character is a 
troubled teen. Ben Platt, 
27, who created the stage 
role, plays Hansen in the 
film. Also, the music and 
lyrics, as on stage, are by 

the Oscar-winning team 
of Benj Pasek, 36, and 
Justin Paul (La La Land). 
Sadly, almost all advance 
reviews are (surprisingly) 
terrible. Best to wait for it 
to stream and, perhaps, 
enjoy the songs. (Pasek 
and Paul met when they 
attended the University of 
Michigan.)
The “Jewish showing” 
at the Emmys wasn’t as 
“bleak” as some leading 
Jewish media outlets have 
said. Here is the “real 
back story.” Many Emmy 
categories have recently 
increased the number of 
nominees. It’s this simple: 
more nominees equals 
more Jews nominated, but 
also more competition. 
Here are the “tribe” 
winners. Some of them 
were omitted from that 
same “bleak” coverage: 
Scott Frank, two Emmys: 
directing and producing 
The Queen’s Gambit, the 
best limited series; Peter 
Morgan, two Emmys: 
writing and producing The 

Crown, the best drama 
series; Brett Goldstein, 
best supporting actor, 
comedy, Ted Lasso; Maya 
Rudolph, two Emmys — 
voiceover performance 
(Big Mouth) and guest 
actress, comedy (SNL); 
and Genndy Tartakovsky, 
the creator/producer of 
Primal, the best animated 
series. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

Maya 
Rudolph

Jake 
Gyllenhaal

WIKIPEDIA/GLENN FRANCIS

Jon 
Bernthal

WIKIPEDIA.ORG/GAGE SKIDMORE

WIKIPEDIA.ORG/MINGLEMEDIATVNETWORK

