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Published: 20 March 2013

Created: 20 March 2013

Last Updated: 20 March 2013

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The 2013 Westchester Jewish Film Festival is on from April 3 – 25 at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. This year the festival will feature 35 films from around the world, and the focus is on the arts, including films about music, dance, theatre and literature. You can check out the entire line-up and buy tickets here:

On the final night of the festival, April 25, Edgemont resident and filmmaker Michael Kantor's film, Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy, will be shown and Kantor will do a Q&A with Brian Ackerman followed by a live performance of Broadway tunes by the Kol Rinah Choir.

Kantor's film explores how Jewish-American songwriters created the vast majority of the Great American Songbook—from Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim, and Fanny Brice to Barbra Streisand. It includes interviews and performance footage from Broadway Musicals and is narrated by Joel Grey.

We interviewed Michael Kantor to learn more about him and to find out why Jews are so prominent in musical theatre. Here is what he shared:

1) How do you explain the success of Jews in writing the American songbook? How were a group of writers from a minority group able to dominate the Broadway musical? Our film explores the phenomenon that almost all of the songwriters on Broadway during its formative years were Jewish. There were plenty of non-Jewish singers, producers, directors and so on, but the songwriters were almost all Jewish. Why? It is not easy to explain why one minority created something we think of as an American art form. Part of the explanation is that in the early part of the 20th century Jews were outsiders, and a part of the Jewish tradition is to be able to "smile through the tears", to laugh at one's troubles to survive, coupled with some Jewish musical traditions and the influence of the Yiddish theatre, and you can see how the musical comedy emerged.

2) Are Jewish composers and lyricists continuing to thrive in the theatre? Who are some of your favorites? It was never an exclusive club – the Jewish songwriters created a form of musical theatre, and now there are lots of major songwriters on Broadway who are not Jewish, including Elton John and Lin Manuel Miranda. But the Jewish tradition continues with talents such as Andrew Lippa, Amanda Green, and of course Marc Shaiman who not only created Hairspray but is also the force behind the television show, "Smash."

3) How did you get your start in the business? I earned an M.F.A. as a theatre director and worked in the theatre before joining the world of documentary films. My friend Steve Ives was working on a documentary on the aviator Charles Lindbergh for the American Experience series, and Ken Burns was the executive producer. So I ended up working with Steve and Ken on that project, and then ona history of the West – so I learned about historical documentary filmmaking from the them for about seven years before I founded my own company, Ghost Light Films.

4) Can you share any anecdotes with our readers about the interviews you did while making your film on Broadway Musicals? In my opinion, there is nothing greater than hearing a songwriter sing his/her own songs, and on this project I had the great pleasure of enjoying John Kander performing songs from Cabaret, Stephen Schwartz singing songs from Pippin, and Maury Yeston playing "Be Italian" from Nine. I'm really thrilled that our DVD, which comes out at the beginning of May, will included an entire additional disc of extras, including a number of these performances, such as Amanda Green singing the song "If You Hadn't, But You Did" written by her father Adolph Green with Betty Comden and Jules Styne.

Also, working with our narrator Joel Grey was a great treat. He is a major talent, and extremely funny, and every time I think of him I smile. Most people don't know that his father, Mickey Katz, was a comedian and singer who specialized in Jewish humor, so Joel has a deep understanding of the importance of this history.

5) What's the last great show you saw on Broadway? I just saw "Old Hats" with Bill Irwin and David Shiner at the Signature Theater. It's full of dance, vaudevillean comedy, and music (performed live by Nellie McKay and her band) and this new theater center, designed by Frank Gehry, is wonderful. I'm also looking forward to seeing the revival of Pippin, and the new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

6) What are you currently working on? I am currently creating a three hour series for PBS that will air this fall entitled Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle." It traces the history of how these characters started out in disposable ten-cent comic books and have now taken over the world!

7) Why did you choose to live in Edgemont and what do you like about the community? We moved to Edgemont from New York City in 2006 because we wanted our three children to attend the same schools and find a sense of community. Edgemont has offered just that, a diverse and welcoming community with an amazing school system. We're also big fans of Kirari on Garth Road -- you can find us there enjoying the sushi pretty much every week!

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Published: 17 March 2013

Created: 17 March 2013

Last Updated: 17 March 2013

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Wyatt Gallery will be speaking on Tuesday evening , March 19th about his new project, "The Jews and Synagogues of the Caribbean: A 520 Year History." The event begins at 7:00 pm at Platinum Drive Realty's office at 1082 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale in the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center. Wyatt Gallery has received numerous awards for his photography, including the Fulbright Fellowship. His photographs have been exhibited throughout the U.S. and are in major private and public collections such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the George Eastman House, and American Express.

Gallery was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, Newsweek, Geo Saison, and Mother Jones, amongst other international publications. Mr. Gallery will be signing copies of his book Tent Life: Haiti, after the talk and Q&A. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free and open to the public.

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Published: 06 March 2013

Created: 06 March 2013

Last Updated: 06 March 2013

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New York Times best selling author George Saunders and his editor Andy Ward will visit Scarsdale on Tuesday April 9 at 7:30 pm. The event is sponsored by the Scarsdale Adult School in celebration of their 75th year. Tickets to the conversation are $25 and can be purchased at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org.

Unsettling, insightful, and hilarious, Saunders tackles subjects of class, sex, love, loss, work, despair and war, delving into questions of morality and exploring what makes us human. According to author Zadie Smith, "[n]ot since Twain has America produced a satirist this funny." Joel Lovell, deputy editor of the New York Times Magazine, called Tenth of December "the best book you'll read this year." In the New York Times Sunday Book Review earlier this month, Gregory Cowles judged Saunders to be "one of the most gifted, wickedly entertaining story writers around." The Chicago Tribune has dubbed Saunders "the best short story writer in America." Come to see and hear the author that has all the critics raving.

Advance registration is highly recommended as there is no guaranteed admission for walk-ins. Register now at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org to secure your spot.

More from Scarsdale Adult School:

Knit One, Give Too

Scarsdale Adult School has teamed up with My Sister's Place for 6 sessions of fun, good company, skill development, and community service. Instructors Mary Beth Gose and Susan Pankow will help beginning knitters or those needing a refresher learn to make a hat, scarf, or similar project of your choice. My Sister's Place has donated the wool for the course and one of the finished projects from the course will be donated back. The $140 course meets Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. for six weeks at the Scarsdale High School, starting March 7. Register at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org.

Shakespeare's Leading Ladies

Have you seen or are you planning to go to Tina Packer's Shakespearean tour-de-force Women of Will, currently running in Washington Square? If so, don't miss your chance to catch "Her Infinite Variety: Studying Shakespeare's Leading Ladies," a brand new course offered at the Scarsdale Adult School. Instructor Estha Weiner, adjunct professor at CUNY, will compare and contrast Kate and Beatrice, Juliet and Miranda, Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra, to name just a few. The course meets Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. for six weeks at the Scarsdale High School, starting March 12. Register at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org.

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Published: 26 February 2013

Created: 26 February 2013

Last Updated: 28 February 2013

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Scarsdale residents will join a renowned group of women, including a comedian, a leader in the fashion industry as well as soap opera and other notable actresses in a special production of The Vagina Monologues to benefit FEGS Health and Human Services' Center for Women and Families. The performance will take place on Monday, March 11 at 7:30 pm at the Fashion Institute of Technology's Haft Auditorium. A reception with the performers will follow.

One in four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. The FEGS Center for Women and Families provides counseling services, intensive case management, legal support and job readiness training so adult and child survivors can move from crisis to self-sufficiency.

From Scarsdale, the cast includes:

• Marnie Gelfman
• Lois Kohn-Claar
• Karen Kasner
• Tara Stein
• Susan K. Stern
• Samara Solan Weinberg (formerly from Scarsdale)

In 1996, playwright, performer, activist and Scarsdale native Eve Ensler created The Vagina Monologues to shatter taboos and raise awareness to stop violence against women. It sparked the creation of a charitable foundation and movement called V-Day with the goal of using performances of The Vagina Monologues to raise money for organizations that provide support to female victims of violence and sexual abuse.

"Eve Ensler has transformed women's voices into an enduring worldwide message, which we are honored to resonate once again," said Gail Magaliff, CEO of FEGS Health and Human Services. "We are enormously grateful for the support, dedication and generosity of the incredible cast of women whose performance of The Vagina Monologues will strengthen our capacity to help women at their most vulnerable points to rebuild their lives."

For tickets please click here or call 212-366-8034.

This Vagina Monologues is generously supported, in part, by The FEGS Center for Women and Families who is supported, in part, by the Robin Hood Foundation, NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA), TD Bank and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

FEGS, one of the nation's largest and most diversified health and human services organizations, brings together the best resources and people to help individuals achieve greater personal and economic independence. A beneficiary of UJA-Federation of New York, the FEGS network of compassionate and innovative programs in health, disabilities, housing, homecare, employment, education, youth and family services, coordinates care and assistance to more than 10,000 people each day, over 100,000 people a year – inspiring individuals and families and strengthening communities. Visit FEGS at http://www.fegs.org/.

The FEGS Center for Women and Families provides crisis intervention; counseling; help with navigating systems and accessing benefits; employment services; financial literacy; education and training; advocacy and linkage to legal assistance around immigration, safety, divorce and child support.