Who, What & Where: Jewish Hollywood Musical, Oscars update, Ralph Fiennes

MUSICAL: Highgate goes to Hollywood

In a little theatre above a pub in Highgate the “largely Jewish town” of Hollywood is brought to life with a brilliant script and a sublime score. Sue Kelvin, Jack Reitman, Howard Samuels and Mackenzie Mellen are Putting on the Ritz while telling the story of how the Jews created and then ran Hollywood, singing songs from Jewish musical theatre. These are instantly recognisable tunes by Stephen Sondheim, George Gershwin, Kander & Ebb, Mel Brooks and Irving Berlin with a touch of Fiddler and Barbra thrown in and even Hava Nagila, plus too many others to mention. You’ll learn, laugh and love. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime for a ticket? Runs until 17 April – grab a seat to get swept up in The American Dream before the curtain falls. www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com

TELEVISION: Holy Hits

Israel continues to make its presence felt on the small screen and Yes TV, the company that brought us Shtisel and will soon be bringing us another season of Fauda, has just picked up two awards for new shows at the Festival Séries Mania in France. Bloody Murray, starring On the Spectrum’s Naomi Levov, is a nine-part romantic comedy by Stav Idisis about two 35-year-old roommates  (above) — a university lecturer and a gynaecologist — as they look for love. Taking home the Best Series award, it was Yehuda Levy who won Best Actor for Fire Dance, a coming-of-age story about a troubled young woman in a tight-knit ultra-orthodox religious sect. Fire Dance is the first TV series by New York-born Israeli filmmaker Rama Burshtein-Shai, who made Fill The Void. “Both series are already creating a buzz and we can’t wait to introduce them to the international viewing audience,” says Sharon Levi, the newly appointed MD of yes Studios. Neither can we Sharon, neither can we!

THEATRE: Not that One

Hard as it is to ignore the name, Robert Moses screams to be noticed by a Jewish newspaper. So purely on a need-to-know basis we draw your attention to Sir David Hare’s new play Straight Line Crazy which has opened at the Bridge. Directed by the theatre’s Jewish London Theatre Company founder Sir Nicholas Hytner, the play stars Ralph Fiennes as Moses, the maniacal New York developer who created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway, presiding over the destruction of entire neighbourhoods as he did so. Hated as a racist, he turned away from Judaism as speedily as he could and became an Episcopalian. This may not be a Moses for us, but the reviews suggest he is worth a mention. www.bridgetheatre.co.uk

TELEVISION: Sugar by Name

We should have guessed that Harpreet Kaur would win The Apprentice last week, as Lord Sugar befits his moniker. Back in 2017, Sir Alan who has invested £250, 000 in the dessert business of the Huddersfield entrepreneur, put the same amount into Sarah Lynn’s confectionery company Sweets in the City. In 2016 it was the turn of baker Alana Spencer, who set up her company Ridiculously Rich By Alana with Lord Sugar’s investment, selling cakes and traybake treats. Harpreet has already unveiled the new look for her dessert initiative and Oh So Yum is ready to serve, but Lord Sugar only had tweets for sweets before Mother’s Day.

OSCARS: Music to their Ears

Jewish accolades were like hen’s teeth at this year’s Oscar’s but Mazeltov to composer Hans Zimmer, who picked up an Oscar last weekend for best original score for the movie Dune (which starts nice Jewish boy Timothee Chamelet). Despite being nominated 12 times, this is only the second time Zimmer has won an Oscar, the first time being in 1994 for The Lion King. Zimmer tweeted that his daughter Zoë woke him up at 2am when his name was announced, to go and celebrate in their hotel bar in Amsterdam, and posted photos of himself in his dressing gown with his Oscar trophy. Fortunately the pocket was deep enough to hold it. Congrats also to Marlee Matlin, who starred in CODA, which scooped three awards including best picture. Producers David Dinerstein and Robert Fyvolent won Best Documentary Feature for Summer of Soul, while producer and studio executive Robert Evans got a mention in a segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Godfather. Comedian Amy Schumer was the show’s first Jewish host since Billy Crystal a decade ago. In the audience to watch all the drama unfold was Mila Kunis, resplendent in pink silk Zuhair Murad couture with on-trend asymmetrical detailing, subtle draping around the waist and flowing side train. Romantic, feminine and simply stunning.