Mizel Arts and Culture Center and the Robert E. Loup JCC Present
A Celebration of Jewish Life Featuring Dynamic Art, Authors, Books, Movies, Music, Dance and Theatre
“Big Band and the Trifid”, mixed media on 4 canvases, 36” x 84”, 2014
Bereishit – Heaven and Earth Paintings by Sandra Kaplan and James Cook Singer Gallery exhibit opens October 8 – December 18, 2015 Opening Reception, Thursday, October 8, 5:00 – 7:30 pm
works are in the best tradition of American landscape painting. They are big and gutsy, lavish and gorgeous. Cook’s paintings bring us closer to the sublime splendor of the Earth – an earth not-yet-invaded or touched by human hands. Kaplan’s and Cook’s virtuoso paintings take us back to the “first day” – the day that God created the Heavens and the Earth and “saw that this was good.”
“Bereishit – Heaven and Earth: Paintings by Sandra Kaplan and James Cook” is inspired by the opening verses of Bereishit in which God creates the Heavens and the Earth. Sandra Kaplan, a much-celebrated Colorado artist, has created a body of work called “Galactic Stories.” These paintings and collages, many of which are based on photographs taken by the Hubble telescope, are astonishing in their capacity to reawaken a sense of the wonderment and vastness of the sky and the cosmos. In them, history, science, astronomy, philosophy and art collide. James Cook’s
Sandra Kaplan graduated with honors from Pratt Institute in NYC. She has been living in Denver since 1971. Her paintings may be found in corporate and private collections throughout the United States, as well as in Stockholm, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Hong Kong and Japan. Kaplan is on the faculty of the Art Students League of Denver, and after six years of dedication, has just rotated off of the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver. She has Bereishit - Heaven and Earth continues on page 3
JAAMM Fest Ticket Information
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ART EXHIBIT: “Bereishit – Heaven and Earth” Paintings by Sandra Kaplan and James Cook Singer Art Gallery, free admission. Opening Thursday, October 8 (with a reception from 5:00-7:30 p.m.) through Sunday, December 18.
ART
MUSIC
1 “Bereishit – Heaven and Earth”
13 Kinky Friedman
Paintings by Sandra Kaplan and James Cook
AUTHORS: Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
AUTHOR SERIES
COMMUNITY READ Charles Belfoure
$10-18 Adult, $8-12 Student/Senior
AUTHORS
$18 Adult, $15 Student/Senior
Album Release Kick-Off
13 Yumi Hwang-Williams 14 Michael Feinstein at DU 14 Amit Peled
4 Charles Belfoure
SIGNATURE AUTHOR
“The Paris Architect”
$25 Orchestra, $20 Balcony
4 Evelyn Golden Shafner
SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE:
“Champa Street”
5 Local Authors Showcase
Dr. Rachel Korazim
- Rabbi Joe Black - Megan Feldman - Dafna Michaelson Jenet - Hannah Nordhaus
$18 Adult each event or $36 for all three, students free with current ID
MOVIE SERIES: $10 Adults, $8 Student/Seniors
5 David Axelrod (Signature Author)
MUSIC SERIES:
“Believer: My Forty Years in Politics”
DU SHOWCASE CONCERTS
SALON CONCERTS
$29-57 Adults, $27-55 Senior, $23-46 Student 303.871.7720 or www.newmancenterpresents.com
$18 Adults, $15 Student/Senior
6 Robert S. Weintraub “No Better Friend”
JAAMM AFTER DARK 15 Yoshie Fruchter at Hi-Dive 15 Poetry Slam at Mercury Café with Amina Iro and Hannah Halpern
DANCE 16 Vertigo Dance Company at DU “Reshimo”
16 Wonderbound with Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe “Hidden Constellation”
6 Karen Gooen “Searching for Bubbe Fischer”
MACC SHOWCASE CONCERTS
7 E.M. Rose
$36 Adults, $30 Student/Senior
“The Murder of William of Norwich”
JAAMM AFTER DARK:
7 A Novel Idea – Panel Discussion - Nicole Dweck - Bernie Schein - Kim van Alkemade
CONCERTS $10 Adults Hi-Dive 303.733.0230 or www.hi-dive.com POETRY $5 Ages 16 and up Mercury Café
8 Christopher Noxon
SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE 17 Dr. Rachel Korazim “Hearing the Voice of Women: Exploring Poetry, Commentary and Prayer” “Bialik: Modern Hebrew Poet of Memory and Hope” “The Jewish Renaissance in Eastern and Central Europe”
“Plus One”
DANCE SERIES:
8 Alan Lelchuk
DU SHOWCASE DANCE
MACC SHOWCASE DANCE
$29-57 Adults, $27-55 Senior, $23-46 Student 303.871.7720 or www.newmancenterpresents.com
$36 Adults, $30 Student/Senior
THEATRE:
“Searching for Wallenberg”
9 Children’s Read Leslie Kimmelman “Everybody Says Shalom”
9 Food for Thought - Jessica Fechtor - Chef Rossi
MACC AND THEATRE OR PRESENT My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, a musical $23-27 per ticket
10 Leah Lax “Uncovered”
13TH ANNUAL FRED MARCUS MEMORIAL HOLOCAUST LECTURE
10 David Gregory (Signature Author)
$18 Adults; Free to Holocaust survivors, students and event sponsors
“How’s Your Faith”
SPECIAL EVENTS 18 13th Annual Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Program “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus” - film
18 Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado Seminar Guest Speaker Ron Arons “The Kosher Nostra or Jewish Criminals!” “What’s in a Name? Trouble!” “Nifty Technologies for Genealogical Analysis and Reporting” “Mind Mapping for Genealogists”
JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF COLORADO SEMINAR $20 Members, $40 Non-Members Guest Speaker Ron Arons
TO PURCHASE TICKETS: For tickets and information call the MACC Box Office at (303) 316-6360, or visit maccjcc.org/jaamm Box office, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. or one hour before all events at 350 South Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80246.
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MOVIES 11 11 12 12
Deli Man Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict Bikel Above and Beyond
THEATER 19 Theatre Or Presents at Soiled Dove “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding” a musical By David Hein and Irene Carl Sankoff
JAAMM Fest
A Q&A with Jewish Community Center’s CEO, Stuart Raynor What is JAAMM? JAAMM stands for Jewish Authors, Artists, Movies and Music. JAAMM is our annual arts festival held each fall at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center. It is a celebration of Jewish arts and culture through the presentation of a variety of programs including authors speaking about their new book releases that discuss a Jewish topic or are of interest to the Jewish community. The festival also celebrates Jewish music or music with Jewish connection and themes by world class performers from many genres and the opening of an art exhibition in our Singer Gallery of work focused on Jewish content and much more. We bring some of today’s most interesting authors, artists, musical acts, films, theatre performances and dance to the Denver community, and in some cases, to Colorado for the first time. The common tie is the variety of Jewish content, themes, culture or interest and the presentations are eclectic and cut across so many cultures and disciplines. Where else can you hear a conversation about an insider’s view of the Obama
Whitehouse with David Axelrod and an edgy performance by Texas humorist, politician, satirist and musician Kinky Friedman, all in one festival?
Neustadt, Rose Community Foundation, Ellen Beller and many others loved the idea and were willing to take a risk that this new festival would be successful.
How did JAAMM get started?
How many events were there in the first year?
JAAMM started as the Leah Cohen Festival of Books, which took place here for many years. However, year-round, the MACC presents a variety of programming, so we decided to expand from presenting only authors to many other areas of the arts that our audience will enjoy. We hoped that expanded programming would open the doors to new ideas, bigger audiences and give the festival more energy. We have seen continued growth in each of the 8 years JAAMM has been in existence and we feel this year’s programming is fantastic. Last year, the performances were amazing and while several people walked up to me and said “JAAMM Fest has arrived,” we are still a small niche festival and we need everyone to support JAAMM, bring friends and family and to spread the word. The key to the success of JAAMM has been that philanthropic funders like Kathy
In the last year of the Leah Cohen Festival of Books and Authors in 2007, we had 11 authors presenting at eight events. This year, we have more than 30+ events with noted authors and wonderful performers including two collaborations with the University of Denver. Expanding the festival has allowed us to reach a broader audience and engage fascinating, internationally known authors and artists. See you at the JAAMM Festival!
Stuart Raynor CEO, Denver JCC
2015 Neustadt JAAMM Fest After receiving generous funding from Kathy Neustadt and the Rose Community Foundation, the MACC decided to expand the popular Festival of Jewish Books and Authors by offering several performing and educational events to augment the terrific line-up of nationally known author lectures. Little did we know that our expansion would lead to the colossal success that is our Neustadt JAAMM (Jewish Arts, Authors, Movies & Music) Fest. As we enter the eighth year of the festival, we are humbled by the growth, power and appeal of JAAMM. We have continued to see our attendance grow with more than 5,000 patrons last year. We believe the Neustadt JAAMM Fest offers Colorado the most comprehensive festival focused solely on the celebration of Jewish arts and culture. In fact, JAAMM appears to be relatively unprecedented nationally as it relates to the scope and variety offered throughout our three-week extravaganza. This year’s festival truly offers something for everyone with diverse authors and movies, international dancers and musicians and several exciting collaborative events including a world premiere by Wonderbound. Please join us and spread the word about this amazing celebration of Jewish arts, culture and literature.
Bereishit - Heaven and Earth Continued from Cover
SINGER GALLERY, MACC been awarded: a grant by the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, a Co-Visions Grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts and a fellowship to YADDO. Among the publications in which Sandra’s work has been discussed are the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Art in America, American Artist, Southwest Art and Artist Magazine.
350 S. Dahlia Street | Denver, CO 80246 www.maccjcc.org | (303) 316-6360
Steve Wilson Executive Artistic Director, MACC
GALLERY HOURS Monday–Friday 9:00 am–4:00 pm Sunday 1:00–4:00 pm (Closed Saturday)
James Pringle Cook was born in 1949 in Topeka, Kansas. He received his MFA from Wichita State University in 1972. Cook's paintings are in the best tradition of American landscape painting. He is an artist absorbed with the process of painting. He paints quickly and creates richly colored, highly textured surfaces. While his work is reminiscent of the Abstract Expressionists, it differs from them in that it projects a recognizable reality, dictated by his personal vision and technical skills. His paintings are bold and monumental in scope. Whether he depicts the ripples upon the surface of still pools in mountain streams, or the color studies of a stormy sky, his use of color and contrasting textures and techniques invite the viewer into the scene. Sponsored by Carol and Larry Levin
Mizel Arts and Culture Center
macc at the jcc
JAAMM Brochure 2015 | Vol. 8 Issue 1 Published once a year by the Mizel Arts and Culture Center and the Robert E. Loup JCC 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246
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AUTHOR TALKS Evelyn Golden Shafner
Community Read
“Champa Street” Friday, October 9, 1:00 pm Tea and Dessert RSVP required for this free event at 303.316.6360 Perlmutter Room
“I DREAMED about this novel.” Jenna Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us
Join us to kick off the 8th annual JAAMM Festival with The New York Times bestselling author Charles Belfoure
Charles Belfoure “The Paris Architect” Wednesday, September 30, 7:00 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $18 Adult, $15 Student/Senior
Evelyn Golden Shafner grew up in Denver, Colorado, graduating from North High School and the University of Colorado with three degrees in education. Champa Street at 14th, the location of the original Denver Municipal Auditorium, an epicenter of Denver history and culture, has always prevailed as a central theme in her family from her grandparents to her great-grandchildren. An historical novel taking place in Denver during the Great Depression, this beautiful story is layered with insight and love of family. Originally handwritten on nearly 400 sheets of notebook paper, this novel was published with love by Evelyn’s daughter as a gift to honor her 83 year old mother. Champa Street is truly a gem, a precious jewel, that only a heartfelt author of great perceptiveness, intelligence, and integrity could have put to pen and paper.
Sponsored by Ellen Beller
Charles Belfoure is a New York Times bestselling author and architect. In addition to two novels, The Paris Architect and House of Thieves, he has also written architectural histories. Belfoure has won multiple awards for his books from the Maryland Historical Trust.
About the book: In 1942 Paris, a gifted architect accepts a commission that will bring him a great deal of money and maybe get him killed. All he has to do is design a secret hiding place for a wealthy Jewish man, a space so invisible that even the most determined German office won’t find it. When his hiding space fails and the challenge becomes personal, he can no longer ignore what’s at stake. The Paris Architect asks us to consider what we owe each other, and just how far we’ll go to make things right.
Art & Theatre Academy
Summer Camps for Grades Pre–K–12
Review: In this his first novel, Mr. Belfoure has a knack for designing a tale with high tension and deep conflict. There are few situations that can deliver those elements as clearly as that of European Jews during the Holocaust, and The Paris Architect delivers the tension that is needed to make this an interesting tale.
Painting & Drawing • Set Design • Ceramics Performance Workshops • Glass/Mixed Media Creative Dramatics • and much more!
— Judith Reveal, New York Journal of Books
www.maccjcc.org/camps Mizel Arts and Culture Center
macc at the jcc
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350 South Dahlia Street | Denver, CO 80246 (303) 316-6360 | www.maccjcc.org
AUTHOR TALKS
Local Author Showcase Colorado is known for many things, including great authors. Join four local favorites and learn more about their unique work and how they are navigating the industry.
Rare Denver Appearance! David Axelrod “Believer: My Forty Years in Politics”
Rabbi Joseph Black, “There Once Was a Man From Canaan” Megan Feldman, “Triumph of the Heart” Dafna Michaelson Jenet, “It Takes a Little Crazy to Make a Difference” Hannah Nordhaus, “American Ghost” Sunday, October 11, 11:30 am $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
Rabbi Joseph Black is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Denver, CO. He is also a prolific musician and has published two children’s books, Afikomen Mambo and Boker Tov! Good Morning! There Once Was a Man From Canaan: The Five Books of Limerick is a wonderful blend of storytelling, rhythm and rhyme encapsulating every portion in the yearly cycle of the Torah. Megan Feldman is an award-winning writer and has been featured in Glamour, Details and 5280: The Denver Magazine, as well as newspapers including Newsday and the Dallas Observer. Triumph of the Heart: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World follows Megan Feldman on a global adventure as she seeks to find out not just what forgiveness is, but how it works. From road rage to war crimes, she discovers the remarkable physical and psychological benefits of forgiveness. Dafna Michaelson Jenet is an author, speaker and TEDx Speaker, and is the President and co-Founder of the Journey Institute. It Takes a Little Crazy to Make a Difference tells the story of personal struggle with faith, family and community while one woman travels to all 50 states in 52 weeks to gather and share the stories of so many others facing the same struggles. Hannah Nordhaus is the author of the critically acclaimed national bestseller The Beekeeper’s Lament. She also writes for the Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice and many others. American Ghost: A Family’s Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest is the true story of Julia Staab, a mail-order Jewish bride shipped from Germany to New Mexico in 1866. Her ghost “haunts” an elegant hotel in Santa Fe.
Sunday, October 11, 3:00 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $25 Orchestra, $20 Balcony This event will sell out–get your tickets today. Sponsored by Kathy and Arthur Judd
David Axelrod has been a believer in democracy from his youth. From investigating corruption as a young journalist, to guiding underdog candidates to victory and then into the White House as a senior advisor to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, he has held fast to the belief that democracy is the deepest promise our country has to offer. In Believer: My Forty Years in Politics the great strategist, who masterminded Obama’s historic election campaigns, opens up about his years as a young journalist, political consultant, and ultimately senior advisor to the president. The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century. Believer begins in the inimitable world of 1960s New York, but rapidly moves west. As a young newspaperman in the Chicago of the 1970s and 1980s, Axelrod reported on the dissolution of the last of the big city political machines, along with the emergence of a black, independent movement that made Obama’s ascent possible. Seeing the golden age of Chicago journalism collapse, Axelrod switched careers to become a political strategist, working for pathbreakers like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and morally conflicted characters like John Edwards. For better and worse, Axelrod helped to redefine the techniques by which modern political campaigns are run. The heart of this memoir is devoted to Axelrod’s twenty-year friendship with Obama, a warm partnership that inspired both men even as it propelled each to great heights. As senior advisor to the president, Axelrod served during one of the most challenging periods in national history and worked at Obama’s side as he battled an economic disaster, navigated America through two wars, and fought to reform health care, the financial sector, and our grid-locked political institutions. In Believer, Axelrod offers a deeper and richer profile of this extraordinary figure—who in just six years vaulted from the Illinois State Senate to the Oval Office—from the perspective of one who was at his side every step of the way. In frankly sharing his life and work over the decades, Axelrod ultimately traces the continuing evolution of the Democratic Party and the country at large. Believer is a powerful and inspiring memoir enlivened by the charm and candor of one the greatest political strategists in recent American history.
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AUTHOR TALKS
Karen Gooen
A must for animal lovers!
“Searching for Bubbe Fischer: the Path to Mah Jongg Wisdom” Friday, October 16, 1:00 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
Robert S. Weintraub “No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog, and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage and Survival in WWII”
In Kind Sponsors: Temple Emanuel Sisterhood and L.E.A. Hadassah
Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall Sponsored by Dottie and Steve Resnick
Robert S. Weintraub is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, ESPN and Slate as well as the author of two acclaimed books on baseball, The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age and The House that Ruth Built: A Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923. No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage and Survival in WWII highlights the incredible bond formed between Judy, an English pointer, and Frank Williams, an RAF technician in a Japanese POW camp during WWII.
Karen Gooen lives in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. She has degrees from Brown and Columbia Universities and has served as a budget analyst, medical writer, and summer camp administrator, but found her true passion in mah jongg. She has spent years analyzing a ten-minute activity that is fortified by popcorn and M&Ms. Mah Jongg is more popular than ever in the Jewish community. Taking one’s seat at the mah jongg table has been a rite of passage among Jewish women and men for almost 100 years. Novice player Karen Gooen loved the game and wanted to take her skills to the next level. She set out on a mission to find the mythical Bubbe Fischer of mah jongg and learn all her secrets. Her book Searching for Bubbe Fischer The Path to Mah Jongg Wisdom is a self-deprecating humorist quest filled with wisdom found along the way. Karen will lead an afternoon of mah jongg, giving pointers and insight to players of any skill level. Bring your tiles and join in the fun.
Review: “Clearly it’s not just cats that have nine lives. In Robert Weintraub’s exceptionally well-researched and engaging No Better Friend, we meet Judy, a purebred English pointer and hero of World War II. Born in Shanghai in 1936, Judy was adopted as a mascot by the British Royal Navy and had already survived a ship’s sinking and a jungle march before encountering 23 year-old Royal Air Force technician Frank Williams. The two met in 1942 in a Japanese POW camp in Sumatra. After another prisoner who’d been slipping scraps to Judy died, Williams made a life-changing decision: he gave the dog his entire ration, beginning an inspiring partnership. To protect Judy from being killed and eaten by guards, Frank convinced the camp commander to give the pointer official POW status. That paper was to save Judy’s life more than once. Through luck, gumption and sheer force of will, Frank managed to keep himself and his dog alive in camp, on a harrowing march and even after a torpedo attack on a prisoner transport ship. And as for regulations that no animals would be allowed on the troopship returning survivors to England when the war ended, well, you can just imagine what this remarkable pair of friends did about that. No Better Friend is an inspiring story, and one that both dog lovers and history buffs will embrace.” — Deborah Hopkin, BookPage
The Young Artists of the Wolf Theatre Academy present
The
DC r wsy h ap e ro ne
Performances: Thursday, Dec. 3 & 10, 7:00 pm | Saturday, Dec. 5 & 12, 8:00 pm Sunday, Dec. 6 & 13, 1:00 pm
Tickets www.maccjcc.org | 303.316.6360 MACC at the JCC | 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246
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AUTHOR TALKS
E.M. Rose “The Murder of William of Norwich: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe” Sunday, October 18, 1:00 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
A “Novel” Idea - Panel Discussion Book Club Members, find your next favorite here.
Nicole Dweck, “The Debt of Tamar” Bernie Schein, “Famous All Over Town” Kim van Alkemade, “Orphan Number Eight” Sunday, October 18, 6:00 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
E.M. Rose is an historian and expert in medieval history. Dr. Rose has taught in Johns Hopkins University, Villanova University, Princeton University, and Baruch/CUNY. The Murder of William of Norwich is a scrupulous and engaging book that delves into the story of William's murder and the notorious trial that followed to uncover the origin of the ritual murder accusation known as the “blood libel” in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the specific historical context 12th-century ecclesiastical politics, the position of Jews in England, the Second Crusade, and the cult of saints and suspense fully unraveling the facts of the case, makes a powerful argument for why the Norwich Jews (and particularly one Jewish banker) were accused of killing the youth, and how the malevolent blood libel accusation managed to take hold.
Review: “E.M. Rose’s book on the murder of William of Norwich is a breathtaking work of revision that addresses one of the central questions in the history of Christian/Jewish relations in the Middle Ages, a topic of enormous relevance in the contemporary world and one around which there is considerable scholarly contestation. The book is a brilliant piece of historical investigation and a marvelous read as well.”
While truth is stranger than fiction, it is often the well-crafted stories that combine the two that captivate us most. We’re excited to bring together three unique novelists to discuss how they craft life, history and storytelling together to recreate historical worlds and bring “what if” to life. Nicole Dweck is a journalist and holds a Master’s in Global Affairs from New York University. The Debt of Tamar is her debut novel and is a USA Today bestseller. The Debt of Tamar follows the last descendant of an Ottoman Sultan and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who meet by a twist of fate that connected them centuries before they met. Their story intertwines with that of their ancestors and an ultimately tragic decision that bound two families together and now threatens to tear these young lovers apart. Bernie Schein is a retired educator and author of several books. His stories and essays have also appeared in numerous magazines throughout the South.
— Gabrielle Spiegel, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University
Famous All Over Town is a comically candid, multi-generational account of two Southern Jews, a low-country native and a Northern transplant, at the epicenter of momentous civil rights events in their sleepy Southern coastal town, Somerset. In Somerset, we are lovingly and laughingly invited to consider what it means in the modern South to be white, black, Jewish, Christian, military, civilian, sane, insane, old, young, male, female, gay or straight. This fictitious stand-in for Schein’s native Beaufort, SC sets the stage for what it means to be of a place, rather than merely in it. Kim van Alkemade is a professor in the English department at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches writing. Her creative nonfiction essays have appeared in numerous literary journals.
Thank you so much to Suzanne Swift and Joyce Lit at the Jewish Book Council for all their hard work in securing the top notch authors for the 8th Annual Neustadt JAAMM Fest!
Orphan Number Eight is a historical fiction inspired by true events. A young Jewish orphan is subjected to dangerous medical experiments in New York. Years later, she encounters the doctor who disfigured her when she becomes his nurse. Her obsession to make him acknowledge his crimes leads to more than she bargained for as she realizes a person’s fate is not always set in stone.
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AUTHOR TALKS
Christopher Noxon
Alan Lelchuk
“Plus One”
“Searching for Wallenberg”
Tuesday, October 20, 7:00 pm $10 Adult. $8 Senior/Student Phillips Social Hall
Wednesday, October 21, 7:00 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall Sponsored by the Handler Family
For anyone in a non-conventional role this is a not-to-miss event! Find out what life as the “Domestic First Responder,” a.k.a. husband to Jenji Kohan (television writer/producer and the creator of Orange is the New Black and Weeds), is really like during this fun discussion with Christopher Noxon. Christopher Noxon is an author, journalist and illustrator. He’s the author of Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes and the Reinvention of the American Grown Up. He has also written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine and Salon. His illustrations have been featured on “The Undo List” and in Unscrolled: Writers and Artists Wrestle with the Torah. Plus One tells the story of a caretaking “support goy,” his breadwinning Jewish wife, and the fast-changing roles of parents and partners. This honest, funny and smart novel takes a comedic look at what it is like to be on the outside looking in to the mad show-business vortex of success, how to balance the rhythms of marriage, children and career and answer the question, “So what do you do?” when you’re the non-bread-winning husband.
Alan Lelchuk is a novelist and professor who was born and grew up in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BA in World Literature from Brooklyn College and studied at University College of London, receiving his MA and PhD from Stanford University. He is a co-founder of Steerforth Press, has taught at Brandeis University and Amherst College, and since 1985 has been on the faculty of Dartmouth College. The world remembers Raoul Wallenberg as the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Budapest before he was subsequently arrested by the Soviets in 1945 and taken to Moscow where he disappeared until his presumed death. Now, more than 65 years after these events, many mysteries about Wallenberg’s life and fate persist. This historical novel explores the mysteries still surrounding Wallenberg. How and when did he die? Did he perhaps survive in some Gulag camp or psychiatric hospital? Why did he languish in a Soviet prison from 1945-1947 without being exchanged by the Swedish government- as other political prisoners in Europe were – or rescued by his very wealthy and well-connected family in Stockholm? Searching for Wallenberg provides a compelling experience for the reader – one filled with multiple layers of feeling, surprising characters, scenes of intense drama, and moments of lyrical revelation.
Review: “Funny is tough and Noxon pulls it off with aplomb. From the first laugh out loud incident concerning a Hollywood Awards Gala, a stranger and duc tape, to the scenes on the beach involving his son, a sea creature and several would-be firemen squirting their hoses in competition, this book rocks.” — Charlene Diane Jones, The Compulsive Reader
MACC’s 8th Annual
2015 Neustadt JAAMM Fest Bookstore October 8–25, 2015 Get The Next Best Seller Here First! Find a new favorite in the outstanding collection of books for all ages and interests. Our expert committee hand selects titles that are sure to please. Need a suggestion? Get ideas from our 2015 Literary Committee Top Picks List, or have a committee member help you! The book store will open one hour prior to each event and remain open until 30 minutes after the event. Events held off-site are excluded. Phillips Social Hall, MACC, 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246
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AUTHOR TALKS
Children’s Read
Food for Thought
Families - don’t miss this interactive workshop. Fun and engaging, watch your child’s imagination blossom.
Two unique stories and authors come together to spend an afternoon talking food, life and healing. Chef Rossi and Jessica Fechtor will share their stories and recipes together in a talk-and-taste panel discussion.
Leslie A. Kimmelman “Everybody Says Shalom” Friday, October 23, 10:00 am $5 per child, accompanying adult free Pre-K – 2nd grade Sponsored by Terry and Art Heller
Jessica Fechtor, “Stir” Chef Rossi, “The Raging Skillet: The True Life Story of Chef Rossi” Friday, October 23, 11:00 am $15 Adult, $12 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
Don’t miss this hands-on workshop and play session with Leslie Kimmelman as she explores the worlds she creates with your children. Your child will step into this book and watch it come to life.
Jessica Fechtor writes the popular food blog Sweet Amandine. She is an alumni of the Bronfman Youth Fellowships and the Dorot Fellowship, both in Israel.
Leslie Kimmelman is the author of many children’s books including the Sam and Charlie books and The Very Crowded Sukkah. She has won many awards which include Best Children’s Books of the Year from the Bank Street College of Education. She is editor at Sesame Street Workshop and a freelance writer and editor.
Stir follows Jessica’s journey of recovery after almost dying from a burst brain aneurysm at 28. As soon as she could stand, she began to stir and learn what it means to nourish and be nourished. Woven throughout the narrative are 27 recipes for dishes that comfort and delight. Stir is sure to inspire and send you straight to the kitchen.
Everybody Says Shalom is a spirited rhyming picture book tour of Israel and invites young readers to join a family with two children as they visit this old-new land of many contrasts. Among the places visited and wondrous sights seen are the Old City of Jerusalem and modern Tel Aviv, a kibbutz and the Biblical Zoo, ancient mosaics and contemporary stained glass windows, desert and sea, busy markets, cafes, Roman ruins and more. Vibrant watercolor illustrations illuminate the lively text and bring to life a colorful country of myriad cultures and customs.
Chef Rossi is the owner and executive chef of The Raging Skillet. She has earned a reputation as the one to call when it’s time to do things differently. She is the host of a longrunning radio show, “Bite This,” and has been featured on The Food Network and NPR. The Raging Skillet: The True Life Story of Chef Rossi shows us how the creativity of the kitchen allows us to give a nod to where we come from while simultaneously expressing everything that we are. When the microwave replaces her mother’s slow-cooked, traditional Hungarian dishes with meals from a box, Rossi takes to the kitchen – and a chef is born. The Raging Skillet is set within Chef Rossi’s story of “wayward” living to serving First Responders at Ground Zero days after 9/11, and includes unpretentious recipes for real people everywhere.
JCC EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER serving the Denver community for over 75 years
hazon.org
Schedule a tour preschool@jccdenver.org
350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246 www.jccdenver.org
Neustadt JAAMM Fest 9
AUTHOR TALKS
Leah Lax “Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home”
Post JAAMM EVENT
Sunday, October 25, 4:00 pm $10 Adult, $8 Student/Senior Phillips Social Hall
David Gregory “How’s Your Faith? An Unlikely Spiritual Journey” Sunday, December 6, 7:30 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $25 Orchestra, $20 Balcony This event will sell out. Get your tickets today.
Leah Lax is an award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. She has been included in numerous anthologies and publications, print and online, including, Dame, Lilith and Salon. Her work for stage has been reviewed in The New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine, has been broadcast on NPR and includes an opera libretto for the Houston Grand Opera. Uncovered is an insider’s view of Hasidic life and of a lesbian who hid closeted among them. After being directed by a rabbi into an arranged marriage, author Leah Lax lived for 30 years keeping her homosexuality a secret while raising seven children, ultimately rejecting everything she had lived in order to be who she really is.
Review: “In Uncovered, Leah Lax tells a personal story that millions of women can recognize. All over the world are women whose bodies are covered, not by their own decision, but by one of the many patriarchal religions that by definition rule their wombs. Leah Lax lived that life, yet has the spirit, courage and honesty to tell her story. It's been said that, if one woman told the truth, the world would split open. If others follow her, it just might.” – Gloria Steinem
Sponsored by Sue Miller and Harold Cohen Elaine and Arnie Tinter
David Gregory is an American television host and former moderator of NBC News’ Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press. David Gregory’s first book is a spiritual autobiography about growing in faith and the lessons learned along the way. David was raised with a strong sense of Jewish identity, but not much belief. After a decade of studying the Bible with an Orthodox Jewish scholar, that changed. How’s Your Faith? takes its title from a question President George W. Bush asked David during his time as a White House reporter. David investigates his own deepening Jewish belief and interfaith marriage. He also turned his journalistic curiosity to Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders, asking them big questions about belief and surrender, in an effort to encourage all of us to live a more spiritual life.
Become A Friend of The MACC BENEFITS: • Eight tickets to JAAMM author event ($64 value)** • Two tickets to JAAMM Concert ($40 value)** • Four tickets to Film Festival ($44 value) • Four tickets to Children’s Theater Production ($34 value)*** • Four tickets to Fall Musical ($40 value)*** • $100 J-Bucks (good for anything but membership dues or discount tickets) • 10% off JCC room rentals • One month free at JCC Fitness Center (new member, first year only) • Year-round discounts on a variety of MACC art and theatre programs • Priority registration for MACC Art & Theatre Academies
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*Must be paid in full at time of purchase. If you chose to waive the benefits, 100% of the fee is tax deductible. ** Select events only and redeem at the box office *** Redeem at the box office
FREE TICKETS
For to more information call Yuri at 303.316.6312 today! JAAMM and FILMFEST 10 Neustadt JAAMM Fest
MOVIES Deli Man
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
2014/USA/92 min/Documentary Film/English
2015/USA/96 min/Documentary Film/English
Sunday, October 11, 6:00 pm
Sunday, October 18, 11:00 am
Elaine Wolf Theatre
Elaine Wolf Theatre
$12 Adults, $10 Seniors/Students
$12 Adults, $10 Seniors/Students
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict is a feature documentary about the life of art icon Peggy Guggenheim, based on her sole authorized biography. As Peggy, an heiress to the Guggenheim family who would become a central figure in the modern art movement, moved through the cultural upheaval of the 20th century, she collected not only art, but artists. Her colorful personal history included trysts, affairs and marriages with such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock and Marcel Duchamp as well as countless others. While fighting through personal tragedy, she maintained her vision to build one of the most important collections of modern art, which is today enshrined in her famous Venetian palazzo. The film is a compendium of the greatest 20th century art mixed with the wild and iconoclastic life of one of the most powerful women in the history of the art world.
For some, delicatessen food is close to a religious experience; a tender crumbling cut of corned beef steeped in its juices, a full-bodied garlic dill pickle, spicy brown mustard with grain, a blintz that melts in your mouth like a Creamsicle on a summer’s day. Recipes and culinary garnishes from Hungary, Poland, Russia and Romania flowed into late 19th and early 20th century America and soon became part of an American culinary and cultural vernacular, known as “deli.” Deli Man is a documentary film produced and directed by Erik Greenberg Anjou. The principal guide of Deli Man is the effusive and charming Ziggy Gruber, a third-generation delicatessen man, owner and maven (as well as a Yiddish-speaking French trained chef) who currently operates one of the country’s top delis, Kenny and Ziggy’s in Houston. The story of the American deli is the story of Jews – their immigration, migration, upward mobility and western assimilation: how this burgeoning tribe moved from city to suburb and from suburb to strip mall, thriving and creating a legacy of the Jewish American journey.
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MOVIES
Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem
Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force
2014/USA/74 min/Documentary Film/English
Audience Choice Award Winner at the Denver Jewish Film Festival 2015 2014/USA/UK/Israel/90 min/Documentary Film/English
Sunday, October 25, 2015 11:00 am Elaine Wolf Theatre $12 Adults, $10 Seniors/Students In celebration of the life and work of beloved and unstoppable performer Theodore Bikel, singer, actor, activist, and mensch.
Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem combines Bikel’s charismatic storytelling and masterful performances with a broader exploration of Aleichem’s remarkable life and work. A pioneer of modern Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of indelible characters. His Tevye the Milkman, Motl the Cantor’s Son, and Menachem Mendl—“shtetl Jews” for whom humor and pathos were two sides of the same Yiddish coin—remain invaluable windows into pre-war Eastern European Jewish life, real and imagined.
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Sunday, October 25, 2015 6:00 p.m. Elaine Wolf Theatre $12 Adults, $10 Seniors/Students
Produced by Nancy Spielberg, Above and Beyond is a story of courage, commitment, and sacrifice. In 1948, a group of World War II pilots volunteered to fight for Israel in the War of Independence. As members of “Machal” – volunteers from abroad – this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war, preventing the possible annihilation of Israel at the very moment of its birth, they also laid the groundwork for the Israeli Air Force. At a time when much of the world stood by, unwilling to help a fledgling nation under attack, a tiny band of airmen answered the call for help. They risked their citizenship, their futures and even their lives. Above and Beyond is their story, told for the first time.
MUSIC Kinky Friedman Showcase Concert Saturday, October 10, 8:00 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $36 Adult, $30 Student/Senior
Yumi Hwang-Williams, Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
For +18 Audience
Salon Concert Wednesday, October 14, 7:00 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $18 Adult, $15 Student/Senior
Sponsored by TriCuzz Productions
He’s back! Kinky Friedman has worn many hats: as a singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist and politician, he has seen and done it all. With more than 30 books and 11 albums under his belt, he has been writing and performing for decades. Kinky has reinvented himself yet again, this time with his first all-new studio album in nearly forty years. Just signed to Avenue A Records/Thirty Tigers, Kinky, with the help of producer Brian Molnar and guitarist Joe Cirotti, presents an “all-new Kinky,” with his CD, The Loneliest Man I Ever Met. Filled with never-heard-before Kinky originals and beautifully rendered covers of such artists as Tom Waits, Warren Zevon and Willie Nelson, the new album is all about Kinky’s ultimate ability to deliver much more than just a funny line or humorous tune. The spare, yet-lush arrangements all point up Kinky’s unique talent as both a songwriter and interpreter of great material. Guest performers Nelson, Little Jewford and Mickey Raphael support but never override the simplicity and grace of the tunes and the artist. We are honored to be one of Kinky’s first stops in his The Loneliest Man I Ever Met Tour. It is also his first record company-supported tour since his earliest days with the Texas Jewboys. It is already being projected to be Kinky’s most successful adventure yet, in a career filled with wondrously successful adventures. And there is more on the horizon! Kinky has just completed his first detective novel in ten years, The Hard-Boiled Computer, which will likely mean another extended tour, this time to promote the book, in early 2016. Perhaps even more exciting for the future, Kinky is now collaborating with Billy Bob Thornton in creating a series of television movies based on the who-done-it books, with Billy Bob slated to play Kinky. There is certainly no stopping him; don’t miss an evening that is sure to entertain us all.
Yumi will be performing Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” for piano, cello, violin and clarinet. She will also perform a viola and violin duet by Max Weiner. “Quartet for the End of Time” was written while Messiaen was imprisoned in the Stalag VIIIA German prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz in the winter of 1941. Imprisoned with Messiaen were a cellist, clarinetist and violinist therefore he composed the piece with these instruments in mind with the piano for himself. Rather than composing a piece lamenting the obvious horror of war, Messiaen’s Quartet tells a story of transcendence, redemption and joy. The eight movements for the Quartet, seven for the days of creation and the eighth for the eternity after, were inspired by a dream Messiaen had of the angel of the Apocalypse. Yumi Hwang-Williams made her debut at the age of fifteen as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra six years after emigrating from South Korea. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she is an artist of exceptional musicianship known both for her thoughtful and stylish interpretations of the classics and for her commitment to the works of contemporary composers. Strings Magazine calls her a “modern Prometheus” who has “emerged as a fiery champion of contemporary classical music.” Yumi is a frequent soloist with the Colorado Symphony and has soloed with other major orchestras both in the US and abroad. Since 2000, Yumi has been Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony. She was Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra for twelve years and Guest Concertmaster for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa, at the invitation of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman. She’s a frequent guest first violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and is a faculty member at Denver University’s Lamont School of Music.
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MUSIC
Co-Presented with Newman Center Presents
Michael Feinstein
Amit Peled - Homage to Pablo Casals
Showcase Concert
Salon Concert
Thursday, October 22, 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 24, 7:30 pm
Newman Center for the Performing Arts
Newman Center Tickets:
Elaine Wolf Theatre
2344 East Iliff Avenue, Denver $29-57 Adults, $27-55 Seniors, $23-46 Students
Call 303.871.7720 or visit www.newmancenterpresents.com
$18 Adult, $15 Student/Senior Sponsored by Gabriella and Peter Gottlieb
Michael Feinstein’s suave vocalism, irresistible charm, and remarkable insights into popular song make his concerts wonderful celebrations of the genre. He has been dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” has released multiple-platinum-selling albums, and has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award and five times for a Grammy Award. His 200-plus shows a year have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as the White House and Buckingham Palace.
Homage to Pablo Casals - Amit Peled, cello and Noreen Polera, piano. This program was originally performed by Maestro Casals in 1915 at the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore Conservatory of Music.
More than simply a performer, Feinstein has received national recognition for his commitment to celebrating America’s popular songs and preserving their legacy for the next generation. In 2007, he founded the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, master classes and the annual High School Vocal Academy and Competition, which awards scholarships and prizes to students across the country. Michael serves on the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America’s sound recording heritage.
Amit Peled is an Israeli cellist of profound artistry and charismatic stage presence. He is acclaimed as one of the most exciting instrumentalists on the concert stage today. At 6’5” tall, Peled started life as a basketball player and was called “larger than life” when he enveloped his cello and “Jacqueline du Pré in a farmer’s body.” Peled often surprises audiences with the ways he breaks down barriers between performers and the public, making classical music more accessible to wider audiences. Tim Smith of the Baltimore Sun reflected on a recent performance: “Peled did a lot of joking in remarks to the audience. His amiable and inviting personality is exactly the type everyone says we’ll need more of if classical music is to survive.”
www.michaelfeinstein.com
Peled is honored to continue sharing with audiences around the world the sound of the historic cello of Pablo Casals. The instrument, a Goffriler ca. 1733, was personally handed to him by the Maestro’s widow, Mrs. Marta Casals Istomin. Peled has performed as a soloist with many orchestras and in the world’s major concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, New York; Salle Gaveau, Paris; Wigmore Hall, London; Konzerthaus, Berlin; and Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium. An active chamber musician, Peled is a founding member of the famed Tempest Trio (with pianist Alon Goldstein and violinist Ilya Kaler). Peled is also a frequent guest artist, performing and giving master classes at prestigious summer music festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Newport Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, Schleswig Holstein and Euro Arts Festivals in Germany, Gotland Festival in Sweden, Prussia Cove Festival in England, The Violoncello Forum in Spain, and the Mizra International Academy and Festival in Israel.
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JAAMM AFTER DARK Yoshie Fruchter - Schizophonia
Poetry Slam
JAAMM After Dark
JAAMM After Dark
Sunday, October 11 Hi-Dive 7 South Broadway, Denver Doors 8:30 pm / Show 9:30 pm 21+ Tickets $10
Thursday, October 15
Mercury Cafe Hi-Dive Tickets: Call 303.733.0230 or visit www.hi-dive.com
2199 California Street, Denver Doors 7:30 pm / Show 8:30 pm / Open Mic 10:00 pm $5 per person; all ages welcome
Amina Iro
Schizophonia: Cantorial Recordings Reimagined (Blue Thread Music) is a series of Jewish cantorial recordings as you've never heard them. This endeavor takes these iconic albums of performative prayer music in a completely different direction, and creates rock masterpieces full of sonic texture, heavy riffing, and deep groove. Yoshie Fruchter is a guitar, bass, oud player and composer whose band, Pitom (Tzadik Records), has received critical acclaim from Jazz Times, the Wall Street Journal, Guitar Player and many more. The unique blend of rock, jazz, experimental and Jewish styles in his playing and composing is a defining characteristic of his music. He has toured the US and Europe with Pitom and other groups, playing the Atlantique Jazz Festival in France, the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival, Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria and others. He recently released an album on the new Jewish record label Blue Thread Music of post-rock arrangements of old cantorial recordings, entitled Schizophonia: Cantorial Recordings Reimagined.
Slam Poetry is more than verse or prose. It is a unique art form, which not only focuses on what is being said, but on how it is being said. It is performance poetry with a deep and diverse range. Poets may share searing social commentary, powerful personal confessions, passionate love poems, or uproarious comedy. Really, the sky is the limit. The JAAMM Poetry Slam is excited to bring HanHannah Halpern nah Halpern and Amina Iro to Denver. Poets and friends, they speak about faith, a powerful term especially when one speaks of the Star of David and her synagogue and the other about Allah and her mosque.
Yoshie is also a sought-after freelance musician in New York City in bands ranging in style from acoustic world music to heavy metal and has performed with John Zorn, Cyro Baptista, and Frank London, among many others. www.yoshiefruchter.com
Hannah and Amina met on a Washington DC slam poetry team, Split the Rock, in 2013 and took their team to the national semi-finals. They connected over their commitment to religion, despite their obvious differences. For these two young women, slam poetry is about breaking stereotypes and looking at people for what they are as opposed to what they are supposed to be.
Review:
Hannah and Amina will headline the evening and then welcome local artists to grab the mic. All poets are welcome, be sure to bring your work to share.
Schizophonia: Cantorial Recordings Reimagined (Blue Thread Music) “Doesn’t pull any punches while slapping around the Jewish liturgical tradition” –Relix magazine “So far past unimaginable that it sets up an entirely new kind of individualism in music...wild, truly wild” –The Buffalo News
Follow them on Twitter @hanhalp @FlipsHijab
“Some of the best psychedelic rock I’ve heard in a long while” –Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
Cosponsored by Art from Ashes
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DANCE Vertigo Dance Company – Co-Presented with Newman Center Presents
MACC and Wonderbound Dance Company Present
Reshimo
Hidden Constellation - Wonderbound with Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe
Showcase Dance Performance Saturday, October 17, 7:30 pm
World Premiere Performance Thursday, November 5, 7:30 pm
Newman Center for the Performing Arts
Elaine Wolf Theatre
2344 East Iliff Avenue, Denver $29-57 Adults, $27-55 Seniors, $23-46 Students www.vertigo.org
Newman Center Tickets:
$36 Adult, $30 Student/Senior
Call 303.871.7720 or visit www.newmancenterpresents.com
Sponsored by Recht Kornfeld, PC, Attorneys at Law
Supported by MDC Holdings/Richmond Homes Foundation
Vertigo Dance (Israel) was founded in 1992 by Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al, dedicated to bringing people together and touching them through the language of the body in motion. Vertigo Dance blends international standards of artistic excellence with a community touch – Noa, her three sisters, and their families founded the Vertigo Eco-Art Village. The Village is home to Vertigo Dance, a School for Earth Building for the use of renewable, local materials and ancient building techniques, workshops and classes in art and practical ecology, a community recycling center offering workshops, an artists’ residence for local and foreign artists, and outreach performances for diverse communities including those with disabilities and special needs. Their goal was to create a family model based on ecological and social principles that can be passed from community to community, even country to country. The major work on this Colorado premiere by Vertigo Dance is called Reshimo, a Kabbalistic idea suggesting the impression light makes – the afterimage – once one is in darkness. Vertigo calls the work an exploration of the remnants of a vacant space, a journey of the receptive soul, as Reshimo lights the way to a future state. It is set to a hauntingly beautiful musical score by Israeli composer Ran Bagno.
Review: “Rashimo draws its inspiration from the Kabbalah…Dance…certainly can suggest states of mind, moods and temperaments. Choreographer Noa Wertheim conveyed that well, and developed flowing movements with a meditative air that hints at her spiritual sources. “ – The Jerusalem Post
Hidden Constellation, Wonderbound’s new collaboration with klezmer fusion band Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe, explores the Kabbalistic idea that we live simultaneously in four worlds: the world of action (the physical, material plane), the world of formation (emotions and feelings), the world of creation (thought and intellect), and the world of emanation (the hidden spiritual world). This piece explores the tension between feelings of despair and chaos, and the Kabbalistic teaching of a cosmic order to the universe and our place in it. Wonderbound is an American dance company that lives at the convergence of tradition and innovation, vulnerability and courage, and intimacy and openness. Under the leadership of husband-and-wife team Garrett Ammon and Dawn Fay, Wonderbound is committed to the development and sharing of collaborative artistic experiences. These undertakings have come to define Wonderbound, producing creations that erase boundaries between mediums and engage artists and audiences in candid explorations of the human experience. Hal Aqua and The Lost Tribe play nouveau klezmer music — an exuberant musical experience, rooted firmly in traditional Jewish modes and melodies and driven by contemporary rhythms and danceable grooves. The versatile musicians who make up The Lost Tribe have a deep respect for their source material, from the evocative tunes of Eastern European Jews and Gypsies to the sinuous rhythms of the Middle East and Mediterranean. In the long-standing Jewish tradition of absorbing musical inspiration from surrounding cultures, The Lost Tribe steeps their songs in a broth spiced with rock, reggae, salsa, funk and blues influences, serving up an irresistible party vibe. The Lost Tribe is dedicated to bringing Jewish music to a wider audience. Whether you’re a longtime klezmer aficionado or have never heard the word, The Lost Tribe will make you a klezmer fan before you can say mazel tov!
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SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE Dr. Rachel Korazim Tuesday, October 20
Seminar: “Hearing the Voice of Women: Exploring Poetry, Commentary and Prayer” JCC, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Wednesday, October 21
Fresh Start BACK TO THE J join today
Seminar: “Bialik: Modern Hebrew Poet of Memory and Hope” University of Denver, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Thursday, October 22
Seminar: “The Jewish Renaissance in Eastern and Central Europe” JCC, 1:00 – 3:00 pm Advanced registration is required for seminars. Please call (303) 316-6360 or purchase a ticket at maccjcc.org/jaamm. $18 per event or $36 for all 3 events (full time students with a valid ID are free with advanced registration)
The Scholar in Residence Program is sponsored by the Denver Jewish Learning Collaborative, a project of the Department of Jewish Life and Learning, Robert E. Loup JCC, and the University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies. Dr. Rachel Korazim is a freelance Jewish educator who travels throughout the world teaching in several different areas of expertise. She is a consultant in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education; engages audiences in Israeli society through the lens of literature; and is a scholar of re-emerging Jewish life in Europe. Born in Israel, Dr. Korazim holds a PhD in Jewish education from Haifa University. She has held positions of leadership in Jewish education throughout her career, including Shlichut in Canada, and as Academic Director of Distance learning programs at The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Department of Education. Dr. Korazim is familiar, through many visits, with the Jewish education communities of the US, Canada, Latin America and Europe. Since 1990 she has been instrumental in helping the emerging Jewish schools of Hungary. Dr. Korazim is a regular teacher at Israel’s well-known learning centers such as Pardes and the Shalom Harman Institute.
Join The JCC Sports & Fitness Center Year-round Salt-Sanitized Indoor & Outdoor Pools Insanity, Boot Camp & TRX • Fitness Classes Yoga & Heated Yoga studio
For more information or to tour the facility call Judy at 303.316.6308 today! OPEN TO EVERYONE IN COLORADO
Fitness Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246
w w w. jccdenver.org
Neustadt JAAMM Fest 17
SPECIAL EVENTS 13th Annual Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Program
Annual Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado Seminar
50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus Documentary Film with director Steven Pressman
With Guest Speaker Ron Arons
Sunday, October 18, 4:30 – 6:30 pm Elaine Wolf Theatre $15 Adults
Sunday, October 18, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm $20 for JGSCO members, $40 for non-members Phillips Social Hall
Sponsored by the Holocaust Awareness Institute of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver
In the spring of 1939, a Jewish lawyer and his wife left their comfortable home and two children in Philadelphia and embarked on a bold and improbable plan to rescue 50 children from Nazi-controlled Vienna. Despite the oncoming horrors of the Holocaust, Gil and Eleanor Kraus bravely traveled into the heart of the Nazi empire in an effort to save innocent lives. Their unlikely mission would turn an ordinary American couple into extraordinary heroes. Their incredible story has never been told…until now. This screening will be followed by a talkback with director Steven Pressman.
Photo by Eris Stephenson
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Featuring: The Kosher Nostra or Jewish Criminals! What’s in a Name? Trouble! Nifty Technologies for Genealogical Analysis and Reporting Mind Mapping for Genealogists Ron Arons became interested in understanding his roots after he lost his parents to cancer 16 and 18 years ago. In the process of researching a criminal ancestor’s past, Ron has traced his roots to England, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. He is a recipient of a Hackman Research Residency Award from the New York State Archives to continue his research of New York Jewish criminals, and Ron appeared on the PBS television series, “The Jewish Americans” as the acknowledged expert on Jewish criminals of New York’s Lower East Side. Born in New York, Ron holds a BS in Engineering from Princeton University of Chicago. He worked for many years as a marketer in the high-tech industry before deciding to work full-time on his first book, The Jews of Sing Sing. Arons is based in California and tours the country giving educational and entertaining presentations on Jewish criminals and Jewish genealogy.
Bellerglass.com
THEATRE MACC and Theater Or Proudly Present
My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding Winner of the Henry Award (Colorado’s Tony Award) for “Outstanding Children’s Theatre”
By David Hein and Irene Carl Sankoff Regional premiere of a new musical comedy based on a true story
Directed by Richard H. Pegg, Musical Direction by Trent Hines October 3 – November 8 (Performance dates and times vary)
Soiled Dove in Lowry
Denver Children’s Theatre
7401 East 1st Ave., Denver $23 – 27 per person
Presents
soileddove.com or 303.830.9214 A hilarious, heartfelt musical comedy about a woman’s journey of self-discovery, this uplifting, life-affirming, modern love story is also about embracing change and finding yourself. With a universal message for all - no matter what religion, sexuality, or spirit you favor - MMLJWW is based on the true story of the playwright’s mother and couldn’t be more timely. A hit at the 2009 Toronto Fringe Festival, this charming new musical is catching on at theaters throughout the country where it has frequently been extended or reprised due to popular demand.
Review: “A heartwarming, charming and infectious new musical comedy” –Broadwayworld.com “A tuneful terrific show”
“A kick-ass musical score”
–The Toronto Star
by Thatcher Hurd
–nytheatre.com
“Pure love, joy, and happiness from start to finish and chock full of hilarious songs, emotionally overwhelming moments…”
Directed by Steve Wilson and Meghann Henry
–Jim Ryan - Boom, St. Louis “A kick-ass musical score”
“Completely adorable”
–nytheatre.com
–Matthew A. Everett, Twin Cities Daily Planet
“A sweet, charming and utterly original new musical.”
MA R CH-MAY 2016
–Miriam Cross, ShalomLife
Soiled Dove Tickets: Call 303.830.9214 or visit www.soileddove.com
RECOMMENDED FOR GRADES PreK-4
For Tickets and Info visit maccjcc.org/dct
MACC AT THE JCC | 350 S. DAHLIA ST., DENVER, CO 80246
Neustadt JAAMM Fest 19
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 MIZEL ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER
Jordon Perlmutter with the Hineni Award ward
Ellen Beller with the Gerald S. Gray Service and Leadership Award
Poland: March 14—18, 2016 Israel: March 18—25, 2016 See Poland & Israel in a whole new way! For more information and full itinerary visit jccdenver.org/trip 350 South Dahlia Street | Denver, CO 80246
303.399.2660 | jccdenver.org
To purchase tickets or tables, please register online at www.jccdenver.org/annualdinner or call Michael Rudnick at 303.316.6352.
Voted Top 5 Camps by Colorado Parent
The Family Programs’ Department at the JCC provides classes and programs for expectant parents and young families, including: · Jewish Baby University (childbirth and Judaics) · Parent-tot classes · Preschool enrichments and camps · Warm Welcome Visits · Jewish Grandparent University · And so much more for families with children from newborns through 5 years old
facebook.com/JCCFamilyPrograms Family Programs Director: Jill Katchen jkatchen@jccdenver.org 303.316.6336 Assistant Director: Rachel Baum rbaum@jccdenver.org 303.316.6332
Loup JCC • 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, CO 80246 • www.jccdenver.org
JAAMM Fest
Literary Committee & Volunteers
MACC Staff Executive Artistic Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Wilson Director of Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lola Farber Grueskin
Ellen Beller, Chair, JAAMM Fest Dottie Resnick, Chair, Literary Committee Terry Heller, Chair, Children’s Literary Committee
Director of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meghann Henry Director of Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brynn Starr Sater Assistant Director, Wolf Theatre Academy/Production Manager . . . . . Emily MacIntyre Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erock Administrative Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kellie Lambert Administrative Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexis Robbins Exhibitions Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simon Zalkind Volunteer Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Kobes
Mizel Arts and Culture Center
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THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
at the jcc
Summer at the JCC Ranch Camp!
Visit us online at www.ranchcamp.org 22 Neustadt JAAMM Fest
Sue Aaronson Hedva Banks Paul Bogan Sandie Brown Berdine Clumpus Lynn Coffee Fran Cohen Harold Cohen Sherrie Davidson Carol Denker Susan Dinn Pat Dworkin Jan Edwards Jeri Elsberg David Feinman Janet & Sheldon Fisher Jan Fisher Jessica Fishman Sue Parker Gerson Wendy Glazer Judy Goldberg Sue Goldberg Jean Guthery Suzanne Handler Marsha Harris Eve Heimbach Rachel Fisher Ingraham Andrea Jacobs Kathy Judd Barbara Kadin Rachel Kodanaz Cynthia Land Diane Levine Della Levy Helen Green Lozynsky Aliza Makovsky Evi Makovsky Judy Marcus Robbie Marks Joanne Matzenbacher Barbara Mellman Davis Bonnie Merenstein Iris Mosely
Eileen Naiman Kathy Neustadt Bonnee Shafner Oderberg Beth Radetsky Dorothy Resnick Marlene Rezvani Janice & Hank Rosen Andi Rosenthal Judy Rothman Susie Schick Marty Schlenker Evelyn (Patsy) Shafner Deanna Simon Selma & Osi Sladek Joyce Spiegler Ben Streltzer Diane Summers Bernice Tarlie Michelle Teitelbaum Elaine Tinter Irwin Wagner Beth Ann Wagy Carol Ward Linda Weiss Susan Zalkind
MACC Board of Directors: Elaine Tinter, Chair Joanne Singer, Treasurer Kathy Judd, Secretary Sue Aaronson Nancy Alterman Rabbi Eliot Baskin Ellen Beller Terry Heller Kathy Neustadt Dottie Resnick Andi Rosenthal Lisa Taussig Carol Wagner
JAAMM Fest
Many Thanks to Our Sponsors Benefactor • Kathy Neustadt Community Read Sponsor • Ellen Beller
The 8th Annual Neustadt JAAMM Fest is made possible with generous support from:
Executive Producer Sponsors • Ralph L. and Florence R. Burgess Trust • Gabriella and Peter Gottlieb • Kathy and Arthur Judd • TriCuzz Productions Supporting Sponsors • Anonymous • Libby Bortz and Michael Altenberg • Sue Miller and Harold Cohen in memory of Leah Cohen • Judy and Harvey Cohen • Gay and Barry Curtiss-Lusher • Barbara Mellman Davis and Lee Davis • Alison and Paul Gillis • Nancy Reichman & Charlie Gwirtsman • Harold Grueskin Family • Handler Family • Terry and Arthur Heller • Roberta and Mel Klein • Carol and Larry Levin • Dottie and Steve Resnick • Elaine and Arnie Tinter • Terri and Gary Yourtz • Recht Kornfeld, PC, Attorneys at Law Friends of JAAMM Fest • Kathi and Steve Cramer • Vicki and Harry Sterling • Henny and Donald Kaufmann • Selma and Osi Sladek • Ruth and Warren Toltz In Kind Sponsors • L.E.A. Hadassah • Family and Youth Programs at the J • The Holocaust Awareness Institute and the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver • Temple Emanuel Sisterhood • Young Adult Department of JEWISHcolorado • University of Denver Department of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Presented by Mizel Arts and Culture Center
macc at the jcc
Mizel Arts and Culture Center and the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center
MACC gratefully acknowledges the extraordinary ongoing support of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Thanks to its vital funding, MACC is able to bring you quality programs and events like the ones you enjoy all year. Indeed, without SCFD, the cultural landscape of Colorado’s Front Range would be far less vibrant and diverse. The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) resulted from the 1988 initiative in which Denver voters awarded a one-tenth of 1% sales tax for the direct funding of non-profit cultural organizations within the six metro Denver counties. The funds support cultural facilities whose primary purpose is to enlighten and entertain the public through the production, presentation, exhibition, advancement and preservation of art, music, theatre, dance, zoology, botany, natural history and cultural history. Over the last two decades, hundreds of non-profit arts and science organizations have received funding from SCFD, supporting thousands of programs and events that have been enjoyed by millions of people. Quality programming that MACC offers year-round is made possible through the continued support of taxpayers like you. For more information, please visit the SCFD website at www.scfd.org
Neustadt JAAMM Fest 23
Mizel Arts and Culture Center at the JCC 350 S Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80246
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SAVE THE DATES!
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Mizel Arts and Culture Center
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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Denver, CO Permit No. 2027