JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 55

STRONG JEWISH IDENTITY
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Axelrod 
grew up with a strong Jewish identity. 
He attended Ann Arbor Hebrew Day 
School and went to Israel on a Birthright 
trip when in college and later staffed a 
Birthright trip. 

His family belongs to Beth Israel 
Congregation in Ann Arbor, where he 
became a bar mitzvah, and has close ties 
to the Jewish community. 
Ari’s mother, Robin Axelrod, directed 
University of Michigan’s Jewish 
professional leadership program, was 
director of education at the Zekelman 
Holocaust Center in Farmington 
Hills and was appointed to the State 
of Michigan’s Governor’s Council of 
Genocide and Holocaust Education. She 
serves on boards of numerous Jewish 
organizations, including the Detroit 
Jewish News Foundation. 

Brad Axelrod, Ari’s dad, has worked as 
a neuropsychologist at the Department 
of Veterans Affairs in Detroit and has a 
private practice in Ann Arbor. He served 
on the Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival 
Committee and on the boards of Beth 
Israel Congregation and the Hebrew 
Day School. Presently, he is the liaison 
from Ann Arbor to the Detroit Steering 
Committee for the Jewish Federation’s 
Partnership Together Committee. 
Robert Axelrod, Ari’s brother, is a 
screenwriter in L.A. He has been honored 
with numerous awards, including the 
inaugural Jewish Writers Initiative. 
“Within five minutes of meeting 
Ari, you know the things in his life he 
holds most dearly are his family, Jewish 
identity and his dog Leo (who sometimes 
appears with him on stage),” Robin says. 
“He is multi-hyphenate — that rare 
combination of actor, singer, director, 
teacher, deep listener, storyteller and 
mensch. He makes us proud every single 
day.” 
Axelrod attended Skyline High 
School in Ann Arbor. Growing up, he 
performed in local musical productions, 
including at Pioneer High School where 
he was Raoul in Phantom of the Opera, 
Tony in West Side Story and Mr. Mayor 

in Seussical. After studying musical 
theater in college in St. Louis, he began 
landing parts in plays and building a 
career. 
Perhaps his biggest challenge wasn’t 
breaking into show business, rather 
dealing with a serious medical condition. 
During his junior year in college, 
he was diagnosed with a rare and 
potentially fatal disease called Arnold-
Chiari Malformation. (It’s a condition 
in which brain tissue extends into the 
spinal canal.) Fortunately, he underwent 
successful neurosurgery at U-M Hospital 
and was given a clean bill of health. He 
says because of that experience, he is 
“choosing to live every second of his new 
lease on life to the fullest.” 

FINDING CABARET 
A few weeks after his surgery, his career 
took a significant turn. He applied to 
the St. Louis Cabaret Conference, where 
he was introduced to the transformative 
art of cabaret and concert performance. 
Soon after, new doors opened for 
him. He was able to work with two-time 
Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole 
and Tony Award winner Faith Prince, 

who would later go on to direct Axelrod’s 
first solo show titled Taking the Wheel, 
in which he debuted at 54 Below in New 
York. 
He created a name for himself as a 
“cabaret star,” says Stephen Mosher, 
editor-in-chief of the online Broadway 
World Cabaret. Axelrod received the 
2022 Bistro Award for Theatrical Artistry 
in Song. He was also named to the 2019 
New York Jewish Week’s prestigious 
36 Under 36 Award, which honors 36 
noteworthy Jewish leaders, all 36 years 
old or younger, who make the world 
— and its many Jewish communities — 
better. And last November, he released 
his debut album, Ari Axelrod Live at 
Birdland (see sidebar). 
At age 22, Axelrod moved to New York 
to pursue his career. He performed Off 
Broadway in Jerry Herman’s Milk and 
Honey at the York Theatre Company, 
where he was asked to sing like a cantor 
and dance the hora. He also founded a 
master class series called “Bridging the 
Gap,” which focused on bridging the gap 
between musical theater and cabaret. 
The idea to do “A Celebration of 
Jewish Broadway” was introduced by 
Marty Shichtman, director of the Center 
for Jewish Studies at Eastern Michigan 
University. 
“He suggested I speak about being an 
actor and a Jew,” Axelrod recalls. “He 
said to build the show about the Jewish 
influence in musical theater, and ‘come to 
Eastern Michigan and do it for us.’ I did 
it in October 2018 at EMU and brought 
the show to Birdland in January 2019. I 
have done it three times at Birdland and 
each time it has sold out. The last time 
Tovah Feldshuh joined me as a featured 
performer.” 
Axelrod says doing his show is very 
rewarding. “Oftentimes, the audience 
will sing along with me, and after a 
performance, people will come up and 
tell me what the show and music meant 
to them. For some, the songs and stories 
transport them back in time — having 
seen those musicals in the past — or even 
reminding them of their Shabbat dinner 
table. It’s a very empowering feeling.” 

Last November, Ari Axelrod 
released his debut album: Ari 
Axelrod Live at Birdland. It can 
be heard and downloaded on 
many streaming platforms, such 
as Spotify, Amazon Music, You 
Tube Music and iHeart. It can 
also be purchased. Some songs 
on the album are Over the 
Rainbow, Being Alive, My Funny 
Valentine and If I Were a Rich 
Man. For more information, go to 
ariaxelrod.com.

ROBBIE ROZELLE

