What’s Going On In NYC This Week

AVIV GEFFEN

In 1993, Israeli trailblazer Aviv Geffen — son of the beloved Israeli composer and poet Yehonatan Geffen — took the stage wearing white face paint and heavy black eyeliner, screaming that “We Are a F***ed Up Generation.” His was a shockingly different act in Israel’s music scene, which until then favored conventional folk-pop-soft rock personas. It was also a stark departure from the legacy of his father, a national bard who wrote many of the country’s favorite soft-rock anthems. Aviv launched Israel’s first Goth era and gave birth to the surly ’90s generation of “Moon Children,” so called after Aviv’s first album, “It’s Just the Moonlight.” Several years later, he inadvertently fathered another moody teen movement, “The Candle Children,” when one of his songs became the unofficial anthem for the mourning of slain Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. His career has taken many turns since then, including a stint in English, but while his style matured the iconic scowl remains. — Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m., City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com.

NOAH’S ARC — YUVAL BANAY AND SHLOMI BRACHA

Singer/songwriter Yuval Banay and guitarist Shlomi Bracha are longtime staples of Israeli rock. In 1982, the two formed Mashina, drawing on ’70s rock musicians such as Dylan, Pink Floyd and The Stones; the band would become Israel’s most influential rock band. In “Noah’s Arc,” Banay and Bracha offer personal and intimate takes on their long backlist. With young singer Omer “Joe” Naveh and violist Galia Hai. — Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 p.m. concert, City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com. $10.

WRESTLING JERUSALEM —
THE FILM

In his acclaimed one-man show, Aaron Davidman plays 17 characters from various Israeli subgroups. Deftly shifting between male and female, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian, he offers a glimpse of the personal stories and contradictory political views that make up Israel today. The film adaptation by Dylan Kussman moves seamlessly through three locations — a live theater audience, the open expanse of a vast desert and a small dressing room. The result is a hybrid of stage and cinema. After a preview at JCC Manhattan, the film screens at Symphony Space. — Tuesday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444. jccmanhattan.org; Tuesday-Sunday, Sept. 12-17, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, (212) 864-5400, SymphonySpace.org.

Theater

JUDY GOLD

Emmy-winning comic Judy Gold (“25 Questions for a Jewish Mother”) performs a selection of skits from her one-woman shows. On tap: screaming at the kids in public places, pretending to listen while texting, road rage and other unpleasant habits. “Judy Gold captures the audience from the moment she opens her mouth,” says The Times. — Saturday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m., Rough Trade NYC, 64 N. Ninth St., Brooklyn, (718) 388-4111, roughtradenyc.com.

LILI MARLENE

“Lili Marlene” was the title of a World War II-era German song that became popular with both the Axis and the Allies. Set in pre-WWII Berlin, this similarly titled Off-Broadway musical (with book and music by Michael Antin) centers on the fictional character of Rosie Pen (Amy Londyn), a Jewish cabaret singer whose rendition of the song makes it famous. With Nazism on the rise, Rosie’s unlikely love affair with a young German count named Willi (Clint Hromsco) drives them both to seek ways out of the country. — Tuesdays, 7 p.m., St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St., (212) 239-6200, Telecharge.com.

HELLO, DOLLY!

The Broadway hit that became an even more famous Barbra Streisand movie has returned to its Broadway roots. The widowed, brassy matchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a match for the miserly “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. Played on film by the legendary Babs, this Broadway revival features the no-less-legendary Bette Midler as Dolly. Directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks. — Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., (212) 239-6200, hellodollyonbroadway.com. $59-$189.

Music

TAMUZ NISSIM AND GEORGE NAZOS TRIO

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 to jazz standards. Nissim’s 2016 debut album, “Liquid Melodies,” a collaboration with guitarist George Nazos, was hailed as “ a combination that works so amazingly well through each [jazz] style that it is stunning” (WTJU.net). — Friday, Sept. 1, 6 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com. $20, drinks included.

SHEPASHANABEN

Lead by trumpeter Ben Holmes, with Brad Shepik on guitar and Shane Shanahan on drums, this new trio composed of veteran klezmerists presents a selection of klez modes transposed to unusual and difficult keys. “With oodles of flats and sharps, and also the musicians have to count really hard, but it’s super fun to listen to anyway,” according to the band’s own billing. — Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

ANDY STATMAN

A true force in the revival of klezmer and one of his generation’s premier mandolinists and clarinetists, Statman plays his trademark blend of American roots music, prayerful chasidic music, klezmer and avant-garde jazz. He draws equally from chasidic melodies, folk tunes and Albert Ayler-influenced free jazz; the result reads like a very personal search for the sacred, based on tradition and introspection. — Wednesday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

DOES THIS SONG MAKE ME LOOK FAT?

Isaac Mizrahi has been a leader in the fashion industry for almost 30 years, but his fame comes from his uniquely successful crossover into pop culture. Besides designing clothing for the luxury and mass markets, as well as costumes for the Metropolitan Opera, the American Ballet Theater and more, Mizrahi was both subject and co-creator of “Unzipped,” an award-winning documentary following the making of his fall 1994 ready-to-wear collection. He also serves as a weekly judge on “Project Runway,” has written two books and is currently working on his memoir, due out next year. Hear him sing cabaret — he does that too. — Friday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m. concert, City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com.

ANBESSA ORCHESTRA

Ethiopian pop/funk, for those not hip to it, is a world music revelation. Fusing the familiar sounds of American rock, soul, blues and jazz with the utterly foreign pentatonic scales and melismatic vocal delivery of Ethiopian music, the genre has an otherworldly sound married to a powerful, guttural groove. Anbessa Orchestra, a seven-piece group of Israeli-born, New York-based musicians, riffs off Ethiopian hits from the ’60s and ’70s, the so-called “Golden Age” of Ethiopian pop, spicing up the mix with Middle Eastern and Israeli influences. — Friday, Sept. 8, 10 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

EMMET COHEN

At the tender age of 23, pianist Emmet Cohen’s playing is a mature melding of musicality, technique and concept. Downbeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” In his recent CD, “The Element,” Cohen “makes a brash and bold musical statement on his debut as leader … [he is] musically mature beyond his years,” according to All About Jazz magazine. This performance marks  the launch of the Jazz Standard’s “Smokestack” brunch series. (The club is in the basement of Danny Meyer’s barbecue restaurant, Blue Smoke; it’s not kosher, alas.) — Sunday, Sept. 10, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.com.

RAMI KLEINSTEIN

Rami Kleinstein, one of Israel’s most renowned pop stars, performs an intimate piano concert featuring a selection of original songs. Often compared to Elton John and Billy Joel, Kleinstein is a triple-platinum and gold album-award winner, whose songs are part of the bedrock of Israeli culture. — Tuesday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m. concert, City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com.

SLAVIC SOUL PARTY

The acclaimed Brooklyn-based Balkan brass band plays its fiery signature blend of Balkan brass, funk grooves, Roma, klezmer and jazz. — Tuesdays, 9 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

Film

WONDER WOMAN

Starring Sabra actress/model/former Miss Israel Gal Gadot, the first A-list Israeli movie star ever, the smash-hit film follows Diana, princess of the Amazons and demi-god, as she grows up on an all-female, all-warrior, all-Israeli-accented island. After a handsome British pilot fighter (Chris Pine) arrives on the island and alerts her to the First World War raging outside, the two rush off to save the world through their combined military prowess. — In wide release.

Talk

NATHAN ENGLANDER WITH JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Greenlight Bookstore hosts (offsite) the book launch of Nathan Englander’s new novel, “Dinner at the Center of the Earth,” a political thriller set against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Englander’s 1996 short story collection “For the Relief of Unbearable Urges” marked him as an important fiction voice. Fellow novelist Jonathan Safran Foer (“Everything is Illuminated”) asks the questions. Book signing to follow. — Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m., St. Josephs College, 245 Clinton Ave., Brooklyn, greenlightbookstore.com. $30 includes admission and hardcover copy of Englander’s new book.

EINSTEIN AND

THE RABBI

Bestselling author Rabbi Naomi Levy, the founder of the Jewish spiritual movement Nashuva, is joined by Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife”) for a conversation about the rabbi’s new book, “Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul.” — Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 92y.org.

INTERRELIGIOUS JERUSALEM

Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein leads an interfaith discussion with Rabbi Ron Kronish, founding director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, and a panel of leaders and experts on interreligious initiatives. They’ll discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and whether peace is possible. Rabbi Kronish will sign copies of his book, “The Other Peace Process,” following this event. — Monday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 92y.org.

IRAQI JEWISH VOICES PROJECT

Led by journalist and author Tamar Morad, “The Iraqi Jewish Voices Project” tells the story of the last Jews of Iraq and their integration into Israel and throughout the world through dramatic current and historical photography, film and personal narrative. The project is affiliated with Sephardi Voices USA; the event is hosted by the American Sephardi Federation. — Monday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W.16th St., (212) 294-8301, cjh.org.

NICOLE KRAUSS

Author Nicole Krauss will speak about “Forest Dark,” her new novel about personal transformation. Interweaving the stories of two disparate individuals — a wealthy older lawyer and a well-known woman novelist — Krauss traces how unusual circumstances take the two on a transcendental search, leading them both to the same Israeli desert. Philip Roth said it is “a brilliant novel. … I am full of admiration.” This program is a collaboration between Congregation Beth Elohim and Community Bookstore. — Tuesday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m., Congregation Beth Elohim, 274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, (718) 768-3814, cbebk.org.

Exhibitions

OPERATION FINALE

Playing out more like a spy novel than a museum show, this multimedia exhibit features recently declassified materials charting the tracking, capture, extradition and trial of Adolf Eichmann — Through Dec. 22, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.

FLORINE STETTHEIMER: PAINTING POETRY

Through her critically acclaimed poems, paintings and drawings, as well as a selection of costume and theater designs, photographs and ephemera, The Jewish Museum offers a timely reconsideration of poet/painter Florine Stettheimer, an icon of Jazz Age New York. – Through Sept. 24, The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.

To publish events, submit them to jewishweekcalendar@gmail.com two weeks or more in advance. We cannot guarantee inclusion due to space limitations. Since scheduling changes may occur, we recommend contacting the venue before heading out to an event.