— Eat, drink, be merry— — And decide now to see more ballet and orchestra By JAMES R. CLEVENSON Though summer is officially over, Saratoga Performing Arts Center is still holding programs— an extended food festival with lectures Oct. 1-3 and of course a big dinner and wine tasting festival Oct. 4-5 and a luncheon Oct. 17. Then there are […]

ALBANY–Congregation Beth Emeth’s Brotherhood has three social programs on the summer calendar this July and August. The brotherhood is co-sponsoring a rafting trip with the TRIBE on Sunday, July 14, on the Indian and Hudson Rivers in North River. The cost is $84 a person. Reservations must be made online by July 3 at bethemethalbany.org. Mark Swyer at mdswyer@hotmail.com can […]

CATSKILL–Temple Israel of Catskill will present “In the Voices of Our Mothers” on Sunday, June 30, at 4 p.m. at the temple, 220 Spring St., Catskill. It will be a Readers Theater Production of an original play written and directed by Carol Fox Prescott, veteran actress, director, and teacher. This play is told from the point of view of five biblical […]

ALBANY–The Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center kicks off the 2019 Jules and Paula Stein Live and Learn Lecture /Lunch Series on Thursday, May 30, 11 a.m. in the Albany J.C.C.’s auditorium, 340 Whitehall Rd. Alisa Solomon, drama critic and writer will discuss “Wonder of Wonders:  A Cultural History of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’” in a lecture based on her […]

The Classic Theater Guild has announced June auditions for the cast of  “The Diary of Anne Frank.”  Performances of Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of the original Goodrich and Hackett script will be in November at Beth Israel Synagogue in Schenectady. Auditions will be held at the University Of Albany in Lecture Center 7 near the main fountain on Sunday, June 2, […]

NEW YORK City (JTA) — The Tony Award nominations announced Tuesday, April 30, were dominated by “Hadestown,” a musical about the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that garnered 14. One among the “Hadestown” nods was for best director for Rachel Chavkin, who is Jewish. She also had been nominated in 2017 for directing “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet […]

ALBANY– The Ohav Noodle Pudding Players will perform Jeffrey Sweet’s “The Value of Names” on Dec. 20, 22, at 7 p.m., Dec 23 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and again on Dec 25 at 7 p.m. at Ohav Shalom Synagogue, 113 New Krumkill Rd., Albany. The play describes the impact of the 1950s -60s Hollywood blacklisting of many actors, […]

SCHENECTADY–The Classic Theater Guild will present “Beau Jest” by James Sherman at Beth Israel Synagogue, 2195 Eastern Parkway, Schenectady. Performances will be Oct 25, 27, and 31, and Nov. 1, and 3, at 7:30 p.m. Matinee performances are planned for Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. The comedic play’s story is that of Sarah Goldberg, a young Jewish […]

NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Playwright Neil Simon, known for such Broadway hits as “The Odd Couple,” “Barefoot in the Park,” and “Lost in Yonkers,” has died. Simon, who earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, died overnight Saturday, Aug. 25, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City from complications with pneumonia at the age of 91. Simon began […]

By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN NEW YORK CITY (JTA) — After six years of dating, Joshua Kushner has sealed the deal with supermodel Karlie Kloss. Kushner, 33, the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, proposed to Kloss a few weeks ago, People reported on Tuesday, July 24. A Jewish wedding seems to be in the future for the couple, since Kloss, 25, converted to Judaism […]