Editors Picks:
ANDY STATMAN TRIO
The virtuosic clarinetist/mandolist Andy Statman lies at the sonic intersection of American roots music and Jewish roots music. He brings klezmer, prayerful chasidic music and bluegrass into close — and often ecstatic — contact. And he is deeply influenced by the incantatory jazz of saxophonists like John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. The New Yorker has called him “an American visionary” and “a phenomenon that only New York could have produced.” Statman, one of the original klezmer revivalists, who holds down a regular monthly gig at Barbés in Brooklyn, performs in Manhattan next week with star drummer Larry Eagle and bassist Jim Whitney. Expect folk tunes and free jazz in equal measure. — Thursday, Aug. 15, 9:30 p.m. Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., (212) 539-8778, publictheater.org.
KASHROOTS AND FRIENDS
The multilingual vocal ensemble KashRoots, led by Russian-American Marina Gusel, presents songs written by diaspora Jews in Hebrew, Ladino, Russian, Yiddish and English, performed both a cappella and with acoustic accompaniment. With a sensitivity to both preservation and modernization, the group focuses on the lyrics, rhythm, sentiment and the historical meaning of being “a displaced people.” Program narration in English. — Wednesday, Aug. 14, 7:30-9 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444, jccmanhattan.org.
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
Set in the stand-up comedy world of late-1950s New York, Amazon’s hit “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” written and directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, is the first streaming program to win 11 Emmys (including for Outstanding Comedy Series, and one for Rachel Brosnahan, pictured above, in the title role). Following the show’s plotline, a new exhibit here offers fans “a magical summertime sojourn to the Maisel world,” according to advanced billing. Visitors begin in the studio of the Arthritis Telethon, where Midge made her first TV appearance, and browse through costumes from the series as they make their way to B. Altman’s switchboard and Rose’s Paris apartment. The show culminates in the Bennack Theater, where Season 2 episodes are broadcast on the big screen. — Opens Saturday, Aug. 10, The Paley Center for Media in New York, 25 W. 52nd St. Through Sept. 6, paleycenter.org.
Theater
THE BUILDER
Vassili Schedrin of Queen’s University in Canada discovered a Russian version of Shloyme Mikhoels’ century-old play, and Dov Ber Kerler translated it back into Yiddish. This upgraded version gets a dramatic reading (in Yiddish) starring Allen Rickman and Yelena Shmulenson, Shane Baker and Boris Sandler. Schedrin, currently working on a Mikhoels biography, will introduce the play and take questions afterward. — Monday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m., YIVO Institute, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 246-6080, yivo.org/The-Builder.
TWO’S A CROWD
They say opposites attract — they haven’t met Tom and Wendy. Forced together by a computer error, freewheeling Tom and uptight Wendy do their best to ruin each other’s vacations, but the bright lights of Vegas may still work their magic. This new musical comedy stars Broadway and comedy icon Rita Rudner, Kelly Holden Bashar, Brian Lohmann and Robert Yacko. — Through Sunday, Aug. 25, 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St., (646) 892-7999, 59e59.org.
THE LAST JEW OF BOYLE HEIGHTS
Set in the industrial east side of Los Angeles, in what was once a heavily Jewish area, three Holocaust survivors meet on a factory floor amid talk of deportations, poor wages and fading memories. Written and directed by Steve Greenstein (“Voices From the Holy and Not So Holy”). — Extended Through August, Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Actors’ Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47th St., actorstempletheatre.com.
FOLKSBIENE’S HANNAH SENESH
Presented with music and song, this one-woman show tells the true story of Hannah Senesh, one of many Jews who escaped from Axis-allied Hungary in 1939 to the safety of British Mandate Palestine. There she joined Haganah and then volunteered for a daring Special Operations mission to parachute back into Europe to save Jews from Nazi hands. — Through Aug. 18, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.
YIDDISH FIDDLER
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“Fiddler on the Roof” (A Fidler Afn Kakh) in Yiddish continues its Off-Broadway run. Directed by the acclaimed Joel Grey, a rich Yiddish translation by the late Shraga Friedman adds new depth to the iconic musical. With English and Russian supertitles. — Stage 42, 422 W. 42nd St., (212) 239-6200, broadway.com.
Music
CLASSICAL BRIDGE
Classical Bridge, an initiative designed to create “partnerships among musicians, music lovers and professionals,” presents a series of concerts and ensembles featuring two highly acclaimed Israeli-American musicians, cellist Michael Katz and violinist Shmuel Ashekenazy. — Though Saturday, Aug. 10, at various locations, classicalbridge.org/concerts-2019.
DISTANT COUSINS COMES HOME
Starring Dov Rosenblatt, former lead singer of Blue Fringe, Ami Kozak and Duvid Swirsky (Moshav band), Distant Cousins is an L.A.-based folk/pop trio with strong Jewish and local roots. Their new album is aptly titled “Next of Kin.” — Wednesday, Aug. 14, 9:30 p.m. doors, 10 p.m. show, Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., rockwoodmusichall.com.
Film
NOBODY WANTS US
In August 1940, the S.S. Quanza left Lisbon carrying several hundred Jewish refugees bound for freedom in the U.S. (They were carrying visas from diplomat Sousa Mendes.) But the passengers became trapped on the ship because no country would take them in. Laura Seltzer-Duny’s new 35-minute documentary tells the gripping true story of how Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in. The film will be followed by a discussion featuring Blanche Wiesen Cook, Eleanor Roosevelt’s biographer; Michael Dobbs, author of “The Unwanted” (2019); and a passenger who was on the ship. — Sunday, Aug. 11, 2 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (800) 838-3006, storyofthessquanza.bpt.me.
TEL AVIV ON FIRE
Palestinian director Sameh Zoabi’s “Tel Aviv on Fire” turns the Mideast conflict into a satire about the perils of producing a soap opera. — Through Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Quad Cinema, 34 W. 13th St., quadcinema.com., and Landmark 57 West, 657 W. 57th St., landmarktheatres.com.
FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES
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This first in-depth documentary about the making of “Fiddler on the Roof” chronicles the back story, life and themes of the iconic story. — Monday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444. jccmanhattan.org.
Exhibitions
BACKSTORY
Street artist Sara Erenthal gives new life to discarded items by drawing on them, re-designating them from “trash” to “art.” Most of the works in this new solo show are created from “thrifted” paintings, upon which Erenthal, who left the Orthodox fold to find herself as an artist, paints her signature motif: a graphic silhouette of a woman’s form with wide eyes and red lips. — Through Aug. 18, The Storefront Project, 70 Orchard St., storefrontproject.com.
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