NYC Jewish-y Events, March 30- April 9

RESISTANCE AMSTERDAM
Cellist Frieda Belinfante, poet Willi Arondeus, composer Jan Van Gilse, sculptor Gerrit Van Der Veen and museum curator Willem Sandberg were among the handful of Dutch artists who risked their lives in World War II’s occupied Amsterdam to save their Jewish neighbors. The play “Verzet Amsterdam” (Resistance Amsterdam) dramatizes the true story of these unsung heroes. Written and co-directed by Barbara Kahn. — Thursday, April 5-Sunday, April 22, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., (212) 254-1109, theaterforthenewcity.net.

MUSICAL MEETINGS AT THE BORDERLANDS

Grammy-nominated klezmer cross-over clarinetist David Krakauer and noted pianist Kathleen Tagg traveled together to a remote area of Poland, at the invitation of the Borderlands Foundation, and created a multi-disciplinary, evening-length piece about migration, interconnectedness and global upheaval. In this unique performance, the artists play excerpts of this sprawling work and discuss their transformative experience of creating it with Krzysztof Czyżewski, one of Poland’s best-known cultural activists and Borderlands’ co-director. The evening will include screenings of independent films by Kuba Kossak and live performances by Krakauer, Tagg, John Zorn, Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and more. — Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, (212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org.

WHY THE JEWS?
From Moses to Maimonides, Mahler to Marx, Buber to Bernstein to Brandeis, and some 197 Nobel laureates, the Jewish people are famously over-represented in mankind’s hall of fame. John Curtin’s BBC documentary poses a freighted question, asking “Why us? How do we do it?” Some of the world’s most prominent thinkers tackle the mystery, doing their best to unpack the question from the prejudice that shrouds it. They draw a startling link between our people’s achievements and the darkest hours in our history. — Friday, April 6, noon, Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St., (212) 924-3363, cinemavillage.com. 

Theater

ADMISSIONS
Director Joshua Harmon’s (“Bad Jews”) new satire about the values of liberal white America. Sherri Rosen-Mason (Jessica Hecht) is head of the admissions at a New England prep school. Alongside her husband, the school’s headmaster, she’s fighting to diversify the school’s largely white student body. But when their only son sets his sights on Yale, personal ambition and lofty lefty values collide. — Through May 6, Lincoln Center Theater, 150 W. 65th St., (212) 239-6200 or visit lct.org.

GOLDSTEIN
Louis Goldstein has written a tell-all family memoir. The book is a best-seller — but is it true? Directed by Brad Rouse, with musical staging by Sarah O’Gleby, “Goldstein” drives home the message that families are complicated, the truth is multifaceted and forgiveness is key.— In previews (opens April 5), Actors Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47 St., (212) 239-6200, Goldsteinmusical.com.  

OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY

Written by Christian Barry, Hannah Moscovitch and Canadian klezmer-folk sensation Ben Caplan — who also plays the lead role — this music-theater hybrid is inspired by the real-life story of Moscovitch’s great-grandparents, both Romanian Jews, who immigrated to Canada in the early 20th century. The Guardian called it “A hugely entertaining experience.”—Through April 22, 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59 St., (212) 279-4200, 59e59.org. $35 and up.

THE BAND’S VISIT
In the hit Israeli film, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra travels to Israel from Egypt for a concert, ending up in the wrong place and bonding with local Israelis in the process. David Yazbek’s musical of the same name and based on the film won the 2017 Obie for Best Musical. It continues on Broadway after a sold-out Off-Broadway run. — Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th St., telecharge.com, thebandsvisitmusical.com.

Film

GI JEWS: JEWISH AMERICANS IN WORLD WAR II

The first feature-length, national public television documentary to tell the story of the 550,000 Jewish Americans who served in World War II. — Wednesday, April 4, 7 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, cjh.org.

THE AUTOMAT
This doc about the iconic Horn & Hardart cafeterias, “The Automat” features original music by Mel Brooks and interviews with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Colin Powell, Carl Reiner and other customers. — Tuesday, April 3, 4 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444. jccmanhattan.org.

BYE BYE GERMANY

Frankfurt, 1946. David Bermann (Moritz Bleibtreu) and his Jewish friends have escaped the Nazi regime and are now dreaming of leaving for America. They go into business and it flourishes … but then Bermann’s murky past catches up with him. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sam Garbarksi. — Tuesday, April 3, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444, jccmanhattan.org.

CLOSENESS

Director Kantemir Balagov’s debut feature film centers on a young woman trapped in a tight-knit Jewish community in a war-torn, poverty-stricken area of Russia. While demanding her dedication, the community provides her with little protection from the perpetual violence encompassing all aspects of life in the region. — Saturday, March 31 – Sunday, April 1, 4:30 p.m., Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St., (212) 875-5600, newdirectors.org.

7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE

In July 1976, four terrorists hijacked an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris. They forced the flight crew to land in Entebbe, Uganda, where crew and passengers were held hostage for a week. José Padilha’s new crime thriller chronicles the rescue operation orchestrated by IDF commandos, one of the most daring counter-terrorism feats to date. — In wide release.

Music

GILAD HEKSELMAN TRIO
Israeli-born jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman has drawn praise for his “warm and clean guitar tone, clear articulation, crazily extended improvisational ideas,” says The Times. — Thursday, March 29 , 8 and 9:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com.

THE JEWBADOURS: THE SEDER CONTINUES

The Jewbadours offer a celebration of pop and rock classics from the late-’70s and early-’80s, filtered through the prism of the Jewish experience. In the spirit of Passover, band leaders Yakob Veivelman and Ariel Hammerstein lead a non-traditional seder, featuring a Haggadah written by “Rabbis” Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan and Daryl Hall and John Oates, with their greatest hits woven through. — Wednesday, April 4, 9 p.m. doors, 9:30 p.m., Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., (212) 539-8778, publictheater.org.

ISRAELI JAZZ SPOTLIGHT
Curated by Israeli-American bassist Or Bareket, Cornelia’s monthly “Israeli Jazz Spotlight” features vocalist Sivan Arbel, whose distinctive music draws on jazz and Israeli/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern folk music, and the Eden Bareket Trio, which draws on Sonny Rollins as well as Peter Gabriel. — Sunday, April 8 (8 p.m., Arbel; 9:30 p.m., Bareket), Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com.

ANBESSA ORCHESTRA

Ethiopian pop/funk fuses American rock, soul, blues and jazz with the pentatonic scales and melismatic vocals of Ethiopian music to create a powerful, guttural groove. Anbessa, a seven-piece group of Israeli-born, New York-based musicians, riffs off Ethiopian hits from the ’60s and ’70s, spicing up the mix with Middle Eastern and Israeli influences. — Thursday, April 5, 10:30 p.m.,  Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

KLAZZ-MA-TAZZ

The brainchild of violinist and pianist Benjamin Sutin, this jazz/klez ensemble has a multicultural spirit and a healthy sense of humor. Rooted in the jazz idiom and drawing its inspiration from the different ethnic backgrounds of its members, Klazz-Ma-Tazz playfully mixes influences from klezmer and Balkan folk music to Indian classical and Native American tribal dances. The gig celebrates the release of its second album, “Meshugenah.” — Sunday, April 8, 10 a.m. doors, 11 a.m. concert, City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com/newyork/tickets. . $10.

TAMUZ NISSIM & GEORGE NAZOS
With “originals that are so smart they can bend light” (All About Jazz), Israeli-born vocalist and composer Tamuz Nissim presents original songs as well as arrangements of jazz standards. Her 2016 debut album, “Liquid Melodies,” is a stylish collaboration with guitarist George Nazos that moves effortlessly through many jazz styles.  — Sunday, April 8, 6 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com. $10 cover plus $10 minimum.

Talk

COMICS AS PROTEST ART
Lecturer, writer and cartoonist Eli Valley speaks about his work, followed by a conversation with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an NYU professor of history and Italian studies. Coinciding with “Diaspora Boy,” his critically acclaimed compendium of comics, Valley will present a slide show on the urgency of our political moment and the meaning of Jewish pride. —  Sunday, April 8, 7:30 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, cjh.org.

ISRAEL AND ITS NEIGHBORS: IS PEACE POSSIBLE?
Seventy years after Israel’s creation and five decades after victory in the Six-Day War, peace remains elusive. Currently, the region is undergoing unprecedented change. Professor Ralph Buultjens, a noted political analyst, discusses the current prospects for peace. — Sunday, April 8, 5 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 92y.org.

Exhibitions

YOUR PLACE OR MINE
Marc Camille Chaimowicz’s first solo museum show in the U.S. brings together the artist’s cross-disciplinary works in painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, installation, furniture, lighting, ceramics, textiles and wallpaper.— Through Aug. 5, The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.

MEMORY UNEARTHED
In 1940, when photographer Henryk Ross, who died in 1991, was confined to the Lodz Ghetto in Poland, he was put to work by the Nazi regime as a bureaucratic photographer. “Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross” presents more than 200 of his photographs, supplemented by artifacts and testimony and presented in the context of Lodz Ghetto history. — Through June 24, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.

HERBERT FERBER AND MARK ROTHKO
Sculptor Herbert Ferber, who died in 1991, and iconic painter Mark Rothko, who died in 1970, deeply influenced each other’s works. A new gallery show explores the long artistic and personal dialogue between the two; it showcases their Abstract Expressionism. — Through April 14, David Zwirner Gallery, 34 E. 69th St., (212) 517-8677.

ZURBARÁN’S JACOB & HIS TWELVE SONS
Painted by 17th-century Spanish Golden Age master Francisco de Zurbarán, “Jacob And His Twelve Sons” is an ambitious series of 13 paintings that depict life-size figures from the Old Testament. On loan from Auckland Castle; prior to 2017 the paintings have never before traveled to the U.S. — Through April 22, Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St.,  (212) 288-0700, frick.org/exhibitions/Zurbaran.

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