Broadway had a very Jewish year, but there is more to the Jewish story than antisemitism and the Holocaust

((JR)) — Broadway gave out its Tony Awards last month, and as I kept whispering to my wife, it was “a big night for the Jews.” “Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s Holocaust drama, won best play. “Parade,” about the lynching of a Jewish man in the American South, won best musical revival. Miriam Silverman (“The Sign in […]

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‘Funny Girl’ national tour casts non-Jewish actor as Fanny Brice, reigniting ‘Jewface’ criticism

((JR)) — The announcement this week that Katerina McCrimmon would star as Fanny Brice in the national tour of “Funny Girl,” the Broadway musical about a trailblazing Jewish comedian, has ignited criticism from some Jewish actors who say the role should be played only by someone who identifies as Jewish. The casting, announced on Tuesday, […]

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In Australia’s remote Tasmania, Jews welcome a rare visit from a former Israeli chief rabbi

MELBOURNE, Australia (JR) — Tasmania, Australia’s smallest state in both population and size, is home to about half a million people. It is best known for its rugged terrain, its breathtaking natural beauty and its unique animal species — including the Tasmanian devil and the now extinct thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger. But Tasmania has also […]

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