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Neil Diamond Goes Back Home to Brooklyn

Neil Diamond Goes Back Home to Brooklyn

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‘Jewish Elvis’ Returns for Surprise Gig at Erasmus Hall

By Hody Nemes Published September 29, 2014, Jewish Daily Forward

Tough Ticket: Fans wait outside Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn for a chance to see a rare show by singer Neil Diamond.
Tough Ticket: Fans wait outside Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn for a chance to see a rare show by singer Neil Diamond.

Who says you can’t go home again? Singer Neil Diamond returned to Brooklyn Monday for a surprise performance at the high school he attended in the 1950s.

Hundreds of fans lined up outside Erasmus Hall High School in the Flatbush section hoping to snag free tickets to hear a rare intimate performance by the entertainer sometimes called “the Jewish Elvis.”

“My buddy [said], ‘Can you cut out of work? We’re going on an adventure,’” said Henry Zervas, a 26-year-old Jersey City native hoping to see his first Diamond concert.

Other fans travelled from further afield. Jackie Beck, who sported a homemade “Diamond Girl” t-shirt, drove with her husband from western Pennsylvania.

Read More »Neil Diamond Goes Back Home to Brooklyn

Esther Zibell’s colorful and imaginative holiday paintings have left synagogue-goers inspired by Judaism, art and a rather ambitious theme—Jewish unity.

Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn

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Originally published on Chabad.org/NEWS by Sara Trappler Spielman

An exhibit by artist Esther Zibell, right, called “Jewnity” is on display at the Hadas Gallery at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center.
An exhibit by artist Esther Zibell, right, called “Jewnity” is on display at the Hadas Gallery at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center serving the Pratt Institute in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Esther Zibell’s colorful and imaginative holiday paintings have left synagogue-goers inspired by Judaism, art and a rather ambitious theme—Jewish unity.

Her exhibit, “Jewnity”—currently showing at the Hadas Gallery at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center serving the Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill, a neighborhood in the north-central borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., that borders Crown Heights—has been met with enthusiasm by a cross-section of visitors since it went on display in mid-September.

Built five years ago across the street from the Pratt campus, the gallery is run by Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, co-director of Chabad at Pratt. It also functions as a synagogue for the downtown Brooklyn collegiate community and the surrounding area, which is known for its affinity towards the arts.

Indeed, the walls have seen a lot. Ongoing changing exhibits of all kinds—paintings, photography, mixed media and sculpture by local professional Jewish artists, students and professors—and congregants as diverse as the surrounding artwork bring a real mix of creativity and spirituality to the place. On Shabbat, the Torah scrolls are brought out, and Jewish prayerful songs and melodies can be heard; students also attend holiday meals and late-night schmooze sessions there.

Read More »Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn Gallery, Shul and Artistic Endeavor for Students in Brooklyn

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler, a Brooklyn Boy and Chanuka

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Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1966,[2] the son of Judy, a nursery school teacher, and Stanley Sandler, an electrical engineer.[3] His family is Jewish, descending from immigrants from Russia on both sides.[4][5] When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by… Read More »Adam Sandler, a Brooklyn Boy and Chanuka

Avi Hoffman and Suzanne Toren on ‘Death of a Salesman’ and Yiddish

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By LAURA COLLINS-HUGHES NOV. 10, 2015 Before he was a salesman, Willy Loman was a peddler on the Lower East Side. You won’t find any proof of that in the script of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” but it makes intuitive sense to Avi Hoffman, the actor playing Willy in New Yiddish Rep’s Yiddish-language production. In the back story Mr. Hoffman has settled on, Willy is a Jewish immigrant who… Read More »Avi Hoffman and Suzanne Toren on ‘Death of a Salesman’ and Yiddish

DEBORAH KASS UNVEILS OY/YO SCULPTURE IN BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK

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NOVEMBER 10, 2015 – Paul Kasmin Gallery is pleased to announce the unveiling of Deborah Kass’ first large-scale public sculpture OY/YO, now on view in Brooklyn Bridge Park through August 16, 2016. Commissioned by Two Trees Management Company and presented in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Park, the sculptural installation will coincide with No Kidding, an exhibition of new paintings by the artist opening at 515 W. 27th Street, December 9, 2015 – January 23, 2016. OY/YO has been a significant and… Read More »DEBORAH KASS UNVEILS OY/YO SCULPTURE IN BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK

Barbra Streisand talks feminism with release of her newest album

Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand talks feminism with release of her newest album

Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand talks feminism with release of her newest album

By Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press – published in The Brooklyn Eagle – Sept. 17

This image shows Barbra Streisand during the of filming of “Funny Girl”. AP Photo/Steve Schapiro via Taschen
This image shows Barbra Streisand during the of filming of "Funny Girl". Book publisher Taschen announced Sept. 3, 2014, that "Barbra: Streisand's Early Years in Hollywood, 1968-1976" will be published in December and will include more than 240 images, many of them never published before
This image shows Barbra Streisand during the of filming of “Funny Girl”. Book publisher Taschen announced Sept. 3, 2014, that “Barbra: Streisand’s Early Years in Hollywood, 1968-1976” will be published in December and will include more than 240 images, many of them never published before.

Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand’s new album of duets only includes male singers, but it wasn’t a conscious effort to exclude females.

“Everyone we asked was … busy,” Streisand said. The performer almost scored one major diva: Beyonce.

“She had her people try to do a track of one of the songs from my movie, ‘A Star is Born,’ and it just, we didn’t have the time to finish it, to get it right,” she said. “We had to release the album. Maybe someday we’ll do a duet because she’s so great.”

“Partners,” released Tuesday, features Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, John Legend and Babyface, who produced the album.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Streisand talked about music, directing, women’s right and politics.

AP: Would you do an album full of female duets next?

Streisand: (Pauses) Possibly. I loved singing with Celine (Dion) and Donna Summer.

AP: What was the energy like in the studio for you and your guests?

Read More »Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand talks feminism with release of her newest album
Jewish Neighborhoods

“Brooklyn Bridge” Teleplay

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Home Is a Place Over the Bridge Brooklyn informs most of writer and television producer Gary David Goldberg’s work. Goldberg, probably best known for the television series Family Ties, grew up in Bensonhurst in the 1940s and 1950s with his grandparents, parents, and older brother. They were three generations living under one roof. (Goldberg’s grandparents, immigrants from Russia and Poland, lived downstairs in the apartment building.) In 1991, he created… Read More »“Brooklyn Bridge” Teleplay