|
|
|
Jewish World Review July 21, 2004 / 3 Menachem-Av, 5764 Jewz in the Newz By Nate Bloom
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
This year, like most years, the Jews did "just fine" at the June 2004 Tony Awards. IDINA MENZEL, a nice Jewish girl from Long Island, plays the green-faced witch in the musical "Wicked." She brought down the house when she sang a number from the show before the award/TV audience. Later in the evening, Menzel picked-up the Tony for best leading actress in a musical. ("Wicked" co-stars veteran actor JOEL GREY).
While the TONY KUSHNER musical about a Jewish family in Louisiana, "Caroline or Change," did not win the big prize —-black actress Anika Noni Rose did win the Tony for best featured actress in a musical.
The revival of STEVEN SONDHEIM's musical "Assassins," won five Tonys, including best musical revival. Sondheim always seems to win, so the surprise of the night was the Tony for best new musical going to "Avenue Q," a bright satire. New talent JEFF MARX is one of the co-composers of the musical. Marx is a Cardozo Law School graduate —-but decided on a different career after finishing his legal studies.
It wasn't a surprise that the current revival of "Fiddler on the Roof," didn't pick up many nominations or any wins. The revival got at best mixed reviews from the critics, many saying that somehow the "Jewish soul" of the show was just not there.
Finally, a big "mazel tov" to JAMES NEDERLANDER, the 82-year-old head of the Nederlander Theater Organization, for his lifetime achievement Tony.
SPIDERMAN'S JEWISH CONNECTIONS
Prominent Jewish actors in the cast include ELIZABETH BANKS, who plays "Betsey Brant." Banks was also seen in last year's hit, "Seabiscuit," as "Marcela Howard," the pretty second wife of Seabiscuit's owner. Ms. Banks converted to Judaism last year when she married her Jewish college sweetheart and their Jewish wedding was featured in "InStyle" magazine. Apparently her family approves: her mother sewed the couple's chuppah. (wedding canopy)
Also look for the handsome JAMES FRANCO repeating his role as "Harry Osborn," the best friend of star Tobey McGuire (Spiderman). Franco is Jewish on his mother's side. His maternal grandmother runs a prominent art gallery in Cleveland. James, who paints on the side, gave her a painting of his last year as a Chanukah present.
The tabloids say that the pair started dating last January, and that "friends say" they split because they "had nothing in common." Meanwhile, in an April 2004 interview with web site asiance.com, Lee responded to the Schwimmer rumors: "We're just friends. It's absolutely disgusting how the tabloids flat-out lie. It's so trashy... I hate those headlines calling me "David Schwimmer's Exotic Arm Candy" I mean why am I exotic? Because I'm Asian? It's so absurd."
So, in conclusion: they may not have broken-up since they weren't dating in the first place, and Lee will now have to fight headlines calling her "Schwimmer's Ex-Exotic Arm Candy."
Now (July 2004) there are reports that Schwimmer is dating the sexy AMANDA PEET, star of "The Whole Nine Yards" and "Something's Gotta Give." The New York-raised Peet is Jewish on her mother's side.
Advice to David —-Don't be an idiot —-Peet is really cool. Stay with this one a while.
FOR THE HOME PLAYERS
What about JAKE GYLLENHAAL, who is really hot now because of the global warming blockbuster, "The Day After Tomorrow?" Jake's mother is Jewish and a couple of years ago he said he considered himself "more Jewish than anything else." (Pretty good). Then last month a Malaysian paper profile said that Jake was brought up Jewish, but is now a Buddhist. (Not good). But in a London Times profile that came out almost the same day he said that he studied Buddhism in college under Uma Thurman's father, but "I'm not a card-carrying Buddhist, but I do try to practice mindfulness." (We are confused).
Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal's love interest in "The Day After Tomorrow" is the about-to-be-hot EMMY ROSSUM. Rossum can now be seen on DVD in a good little 2003 film-"'Passionada" —about Portuguese-Americans. It co-stars English Jewish actor JASON ISAACS ("Peter Pan") and he recently told an interviewer that the lack of Portuguese actors gave a "New York Jewish girl" (Rossum) her casting opportunity. (Good news). Rossum will open next year as the co-star of the musical film version of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera." While only 18, she has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera 20 times.
BEBE BITS
"Jenny" is a different sort of show — —the scenes are inspired by the lyrics of Weill's songs —but, as Neuwirth said, the location and time period are vague. "Jenny" is scheduled to close July 24th, but Neuwirth told me that the run may be extended. She looked wistfully sad as she told me that a road production was not in the works. She added that she very much enjoyed appearing as a Jewish mother in BARRY LEVINSON's 1999 film about a Jewish family, "Liberty Heights." She had only good words about Levinson and she also noted that she liked WOODY ALLEN. This despite the fact that like most Allen-movie actors, her script only contained her lines and nothing more!
Neuwirth, of course, is best known for her role as the (Jewish) Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane on "Cheers" and "Frasier." She picked-up two Emmys as Lilith, which matches her two musical Tonys for roles in "Chicago" and "Sweet Charity." Her stellar musical career comes as a surprise to those who only know her as Lilith. She said that she would love to have TV audiences see her musical and dancing talents, but her proposals for a variety show have never been picked-up by a TV network.
Neuwirth told me that "Lilith" wasn't originally described as a Jewish character. She found out Lilith was Jewish when a script with a Chanukah theme was written well into her Cheers run. She added that when she joined "Cheers" she was completely unaware of the Lilith figure in Jewish folklore (Adam's "evil" first wife —who refused to be subordinate to him). As Neuwirth put it, she didn't know about the legendary Lilith because, I am just a plain Jew; I mean have no training."
Ironically, she said, the Jewish "Cheers" writer who created Lilith also didn't know about the "Lilith legend." Later, a religious Jewish acquaintance told the writer and Neuwirth about the Lilith legend and they were amazed that the strong, independent Cheers character bore some resemblance the folklore Lilith. What's the real Bebe Neuwirth like? Well, during the interview she described one colleague as "very menschy." That description fits her perfectly, too. You can also add gracious, funny, and sexy.
FAIRY TALE ENDINGS DO OCCUR
Brown has also lost and he knows winning is better. As JWR contributor MITCH ALBOM, writing in the Detroit Free Press, put it: "He [Brown] had been talking about his Detroit players, how lucky he felt, how they didn't complain about his coaching moves, even when it meant they had to sit. He gave that familiar shrug and he lifted his eyebrows and said, in that croaky voice, 'We haven't had, you know what they call it, tzuris?" [Yiddish for "trouble"].
It's also a nice time for Pistons' owner BILL DAVIDSON, 81, a low-key owner who made his fortune in glass manufacturing —-he was star athlete in his youth and is a member of the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. His incredible philanthropy includes major donations to Israel.
Another fairy tale just happened in Kansas City, where a Jewish friend was watching the Red Sox play the Royals. He pointed-out to his sons that a rare event was about to take place: Sox Jewish outfielder GABE KAPLER was going to bat just ahead of rookie Jewish Sox third baseman KEVIN YOUKILIS. Kapler then hit a screaming foul and my 50-something friend caught it —-the first ball he ever caught! Youkilis, we should add, was named American League rookie of the month (for May).
(We might add that our Kansas City friend is a regular reader of JWR and donates to JWR. Moreover, since we first wrote the column item immediately above, third baseman DAVE NEWHAN joined the Orioles. Newhan and Youkilis bring up the current total of Jews in the majors to eleven, one of the highest numbers ever. Most Jewish baseball mavens, including me, define Jewish players as those who have one or two Jewish parents and identify as Jewish or "nothing" in a religious sense. Excluded are players who were raised-in and practice a faith other than Judaism.)
THIS I DIDN'T KNOW
In short, while Charles was quiet about his charitable work, one exception was the State of Israel and World Jewry. The Sentinel, citing "Ray Charles Online," noted that Charles' favorite world leader was DAVID BEN-GURION, with whom he had an hours-long conversation just before Ben-Gurion's death. (Charles was on an Israeli tour.) Moreover, Charles said that being named "Beverly Hills B'Nai Brith Man of the Year" (1976) was the award he was most touched by.
Charles told an interviewer, "Even though I'm not Jewish and even though I'm stingy with my bread, Israel is one of the few causes I feel good about supporting. Blacks and Jews are hooked up and bound together by a common history of persecution. If someone besides a black ever sings the real gut-bucket blues, it'll be a Jew. We both know what it's like to be someone else's footstool."
In a related vein, it is worth picking up ex-Lakers star Kareem Abdul Jabbar's new book: "Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes." One part of the book carefully covers the role of these black soldiers in liberating concentration camps. Jabbar went all the way to Israel to interview some survivors.
HAMILTON SPOKE HEBREW
Hamilton was a fascinating figure: a penniless 'bastard' who became a military aide to Washington at 20; an author of the Constitution; and the first Secretary of the Treasury. Chernow, who describes himself as "Jewish, but more in the breach than in the observance," covers Hamilton's Jewish connections.
Hamilton's French Protestant mother was married to a Dane named Lavien and this last name has lead to speculation that Lavien was Jewish —-but Chernow notes there is no real proof of this. Hamilton's mother left Lavien and took up with a non-Jewish Scot named James Hamilton —-who fathered Alexander. The terms of her divorce forbade her re-marriage and Alexander was born out-of wedlock.
Chernow writes that Hamilton, like Ben Franklin and Washington, had a high opinion of Jews. No doubt the prosperous Jewish community on the West Indian Island of Nevis, where Hamilton grew up, influenced his attitude. Hamilton, himself, wrote that a Nevis Jewish woman tutored him as a child and that he once recited the Ten Commandments in Hebrew before her. As an adult, Hamilton several times defended Jews from the bigoted attitudes of the day —-like "all Jews" were untruthful.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
California-based Nate Bloom writes a column on Jewish celebrity news that appears weekly in the Baltimore Jewish Times and in JWeekly, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California. A monthly version appears in the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Column items often appear in the Detroit Jewish News. Bloom will appear twice a month in Jewish World Review. While most column items in JWR are recent "best of"s from his newspaper column, Bloom sometimes will include in this column some items not appearing in his column and/or will expand on items that had to be shorter due to the space limitations of a newspaper. If you are interested in having Bloom's column appear in your paper or publication contact him at here.
Bloom is also the editor of www.Jewhoo.com, a web site that covers famous Jews in the arts, sports, and sciences. A long planned overhaul of the site will begin in the not-too-distant future. This may include a name change.
To comment on this column, please click here.
© 2004, Nate Bloom | ||||||||||
