Who, What & Where: Was Alexander Hamilton Jewish? Plus Maureen Lipman, Mrs Maisel and Golda Meir

RADIO: Role Play

Some people are just plain funny. Maureen Lipman is one of them. To spend a hour in her company, whether it’s watching her, listening to her or driving her home from the theatre (which I once did when she was stranded with no way to get home after a show at which I had been in the audience and got chatting to her afterwards), is one of life’s most special treats. Maureen and Friends, her new show on Radio 4, is a unique collection of musings, monologues, duologues and amusing anecdotes about her life and popular culture. A stand-out skit is a summation of the airport experience during the pandemic. Written and performed by Maureen, with a few roles played by actor Oliver Cotton, she gives life and opinions to characters both human and animal. I saw this recorded live at the BBC Radio Theatre in front of a hugely appreciative audience, which included her family. At 75 years young, Maureen, who recently lost her partner Guido Castro, stood for more than two hours entertaining us with a litany of scenarios and accents. Louisa Walters

The latest episode of Maureen and Friends is available on BBC Sounds now. The next episode is on Radio 4 on Wednesday 23 March at 11:30am.

BOOK: Sleepyhead

Catching up on your beauty sleep is vital for mental and physical wellbeing. But what if you can’t? What if you struggle with sleeplessness, either chronic or occasional? Friday 18 March is World Sleep Day and it seems fitting to mention journalist Miranda Levy’s book, The Insomnia Diaries, which tells of her own experience of devastatingly disruptive insomnia and how she ultimately learned to sleep again. After a single catastrophic event, Miranda – who had, until then, been  mum with young children and the editor of a parenting magazine – had one sleepless night, then another, then another. She sought help from anyone she could, including doctors, complementary therapists, personal trainers and others, but nothing seemed to work, and she suffered for years. The book, which has a foreword by Dr Sophie Bostock, is part memoir, part reportage and includes contributions from sleep experts. Alex Galbinski

The Insomnia Diaries: How I Learned to Sleep Again by Miranda Levy is £9.99 from www.octopusbooks.co.uk

NEW YORK: Move in with Midge

No one needs an excuse to go to New York, but fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel now have a legitimate one. Will it cost you? Obviously. Chippy comic Midge only likes the best and what is better than the iconic Plaza hotel? Not much and especially when they have gone to the trouble of recreating Mrs Maisel’s Upper West Side apartment for your pleasure. Yes, the Plaza is currently offering themed stays in an elegant suite filled with vintage furnishings, bold colours and accoutrements sourced directly from the ’50s and ’60s. if you’re there before April 10 you can also indulge in a Midge-themed afternoon tea with deli-style pastrami tea sandwich and a chocolate Nutella babka cheesecake. You’ll feel like Midge and eat like Midge but hopefully not behave like her, as she has been a self-serving brat in Prime’s new season 4. Stepping back in time with a vintage TV and bar cart could restore your love for the gal and they might even throw in some Tupperware. Actually they probably won’t, but with nightly rates of $1,675 they really should. In fact for that money, Mrs M should stay there with you and make brisket. You can only ask.

UKRAINE: Woman of Words

The most prominent Jewish Ukrainian right now is Volodymyr Zelensky but the runner-up may well be a former prime minister of Israel. Golda Meir was a native of Kyiv but her family fled in 1906 amid antisemitic violence. Since Russia invaded Ukraine her words have appeared in pro-Ukrainian memes, been quoted by Ukrainian diplomats and even been pulled from the backpack of a Ukrainian soldier.

“If Russia lays down its weapons, there is no war. If Ukraine lays down its weapons, there is no Ukraine,” read one widely-shared tweet. This an adaptation of a quote about the Arabs and Israel widely attributed to Meir during the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

Last week an Israeli reporter encountered a Ukrainian soldier who pulled a hefty biography of Meir from his backpack. The soldier, whose nickname is Zion, said he keeps the biography alongside his night-vision device, water and hat.

“This is my favourite book,” Alex said. “I take it with me even if it will be my last battle. I’m not Jewish but I am a Zionist and I think that Ukraine have [to] say thanks to Jewish people.”

MOVIE: Jack of all Movies

Most film debuts don’t include licking a taser while dressed as a mime artist, or having a scorpion crawl on one’s face. But when it comes to the Jackass TV show and movies, that’s par for the course. That doesn’t mean Rachel Wolfson’s Jewish parents weren’t a little worried about her joining the stunt comedy group for its latest film, Jackass: Forever.

“When I first told them, they were like, have you told your therapist?” says Wolfson.

Rachel (35) is the first woman in the Jackass troupe and the first Jewish member with prominent screen time in a Jackass movie. But she’s been prepared for what she describes as a dream job for years.

“I was a big MTV kid. I watched the show, I did prank calls growing up with my friends, and my friends are skaters. I grew up in Vegas, so that kind of culture is very much a part of my life. When I got the call, I couldn’t believe it. And when I met them, it was like I’d known them my whole life.”

Knoxville found Wolfson through her stand-up comedy, which she says is influenced by her Jewishness. “I think Jews use humour as a way to cope, because oftentimes that’s all we had,” she said.

She grew up going to Jewish day school and says her childhood was strongly influenced by “the lens of Reform Jewish teaching. She adds that her parents weren’t strict about sticking to religion — but they were in a cultural sense.

Rachel took her parents to the film’s premiere and they loved it. “My mom is now a Jackass fan, and my dad said that it kept his attention the whole time,” says Rachel.

Jackass: Forever is showing in cinemas now

HISTORY: A Jew? Who knew?

Lin Manuel Miranda clearly didn’t know, we didn’t know – did you know? The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton by Andrew Porwancher reveals a surprising fact about the founding father of the USA: Hamilton, in all likelihood, was born and raised Jewish. The man himself revealed scant details of his youth in the Caribbean, and most biographers, and indeed Miranda, have simply assumed he was a Christian. Porwancher turns that assumption on its head. Although he didn’t identify as a Jew, Hamilton cultivated a relationship with the Jewish community. As a lawyer, he advocated for Jewish citizens in court. As a financial visionary, he invigorated sectors of the economy that gave Jews their greatest opportunities. As an alumnus of Columbia, he made his alma mater more welcoming to Jewish people. And his efforts are all the more striking given the pernicious antisemitism of the era. This fascinating book sets the enigmatic Hamilton in the context of his Jewish world for the first time.

The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton by Andrew Porwanche is £17.53 from www.amazon.co.uk