50 | OCTOBER 27 • 2022 

ARTS&LIFE
JEWISH BOOK FAIR

B

roadway stars light 
up this year’s Detroit 
Jewish Book Fair, Nov. 
1-13, hosted at the Jewish 
Community Center in West 
Bloomfield, where some guest 
speakers will appear in person 
and others will make their 
presentations virtually.
On Patron Night, Saturday, 
Nov. 5, actor-comedian 
Harvey Fierstein, will discuss 
his memoir, I Was Better 
Last Night, in a live virtual 
presentation hosted by Sam 

Dubin, creator and co-host of 
the FedRadioDetroit podcast. 
For Patrons only, a live 
program after the talk, at 7:30 
p.m., will feature nightclub 
entertainer David LaMarr, 
accompanied by Brian Buckner. 
French specialty foods will be 
served.
Going back in time and with 
segments featured remotely 
and in person, the fair offers a 
program at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 
Nov. 12, that will salute famed 
lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. 

Mark Eden Horowitz will 
talk about his work on the 
book The Letters of Oscar 
Hammerstein II. He will be 
in conversation with Neil 
Michaels, Temple Israel 
cantor.
After the conversation, 
Broadway stars Josh Young and 
Emily Padgett, now based in 
Michigan, will be at the event to 
perform Hammerstein hit songs 
from shows such as Carousel, 
South Pacific and Oklahoma. 
(See page 52.)
Moving from Broadway to 
the kitchen, Shannon Sarna will 
go over her text from Modern 
Jewish Comfort Food at 11 a.m. 
on Friday, Nov. 11. She will 
demonstrate how to prepare 
some sample comfort foods and 
offer program participants a 
tasting.
Approaching the subject of 
discrimination, Liza Wiemer 
will appear in person at 2 p.m. 
Wednesday, Nov. 9, when her 
topic will relate to the young 
adults in her novel about 
students being given The 

Assignment as it is related to 
Nazis. She will talk about how 
the assignment was handled. 
(See next page)
Another book about the 
Nazis is David Kertzer’s The 
Pope at War: The Secret History 
of Pius XII, Mussolini and 
Hitler. It will be the topic at 
7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 
in a virtual discussion with 
Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld of the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center in 
Farmington Hills.
A personal story about a 
family reacting to the Holocaust 
is the subject of an in-person 
presentation by sportsman 
Dan Grunfeld with his book 
By the Grace of the Game: The 
Holocaust, A Basketball Legacy, 
and an Unprecedented American 
Dream at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 
10. He will be in conversation 

The Detroit Jewish Book Fair, Nov. 1-13, 
offers something for everyone.

A
Smorgasbord
ofChoices

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

David LaMarr 
in Ain’t 
Misbehavin

Josh Young and Emily Padgett will perform Oscar Hammerstein tunes.

