EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JCC HOUSTON The Ann and Stephen Kaufman JEWISH BOOK & ARTS FAIR 42 Years of Authors, Music & Films NOVEMBER 1-16, 2014 Underwritten by The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation erjcchouston.org Purchase a Save on programs and receive Series Pass guaranteed seating for selected programs. Buy a Book & Arts Fair Series Pass and receive guaranteed reserved seating for Opening Night with Alan Zweibel, Closing Night with Ari Shavit, and assigned seating at Miller Outdoor Theatre for Yemen Blues, PLUS admission to all Book & Arts Fair programs. Kaddish performances and Book Lovers Lunch excluded. $60 Member | $80 Public | FREE for Students with Student ID $10 Series Pass Discount for Seniors 60+ Discounts for Individual Tickets Available at Time of Purchase ONLINE: erjcchouston.org | BY PHONE: 713.551.7255 IN PERSON: Visit the Information Desk or the Box Office 30 minutes prior to the start of a program. Advance ticket purchase recommended. See page 20 for individual ticket prices. Unless otherwise specified, programs take place at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, Milton Levit Family Campus, Joe Weingarten Building, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX 77096 BECOME A MEMBER OF THE J Membership can save you even more money. Join and get member rates on programs for an entire year, plus access to exclusive member classes. Learn more at erjcchouston.org/join. PATRONS OF THE ARTS Become a Patron! Help the J present a diverse season of dynamic programs to stimulate the mind, strengthen the community and showcase Jewish culture. Benefits include VIP seating, discounts, advance notice of special events and invitations to exclusive meet-and-greets with some of the world’s most memorable people, plus Program Membership. Learn more at erjcchouston.org/patrons. BOOKSTORE HOURS Sunday–Thursday 10:00 AM–10:00 PM JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Friday Follow the J on Twitter at @erjcchouston. 10:00 AM–2:00 PM Use #JBAF for Book Fair highlights and updates Saturday or to Tweet about your experience! 7:30 PM–10:00 PM Closed on November 15 FREE Live Streaming provided for Joel Hoffman, Stephen Smith and Everett Fox events. Auditory Equipment Available for Hearing Impaired If you need assistance in hearing clearly, equipment is available to enhance your ability to hear the program. Just ask at the Box Office when you arrive and it will be provided for you with courtesy and sensitivity. Closed Captioning provided for Alan Zweibel, Rebecca Alexander, and Ari Shavit events. 2 SATURDAY, November 1 Save on programs and receive guaranteed seating for selected programs. OPENING NIGHT 8:00 PM | Alan Zweibel Laughing at Me: Rebounding from the “Misses” Sandwiched Between the Hits For decades, Alan Zweibel’s comedy writing and signature offbeat humor have delighted millions. An original Saturday Night Live writer, Zweibel is famous for writing most of the Samurai sketches for John Belushi and the complaining Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadana for Gilda Radner. Zweibel has won multiple Emmy, Writers Guild of America, and TV Critics awards for his brilliant work, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Tony Award-Winning 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal. Zweibel won the Thurber Prize for American Humor for his novel, The Other Shulman. He has made numerous guest appearances on David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon and NPR—to name a few. A prolific author, playwright, screen writer and essayist, he is executive producer of Showtime’s hit series Inside Comedy starring David Steinberg. A trilogy of his one-act plays, The Boca Collection, is in the works for stage production. The movie rights to Lunatics, his most recent novel co-authored with Dave Barry, have been purchased by Universal Studios with Steve Carell slated to play one of the leading roles. His proudest production, however, is the family he’s co-produced with his wife Robin. “I’m a specialist. I only do me.” – From Alan Zweibel, the Bottom Drawer, Volume II IN HONOR OF MARILYN HASSID Underwritten by Janet and Elton Lipnick FREE EVENT Evelyn Rubenstein JCC Patrons of the Arts: Guaranteed Premier Reserved Seats Series Pass Holders: Guaranteed Reserved Seats FREE: Limited Seating | First Come, First Served 3 SUNDAY, November 2 11:00 AM | Roberta Newman 4:00 PM | FILM Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl: Yiddish Letter Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story Manuals from Russia and America Directed by Barry Avrich At the turn of the 20th Canada, 2013, 75 min century, Jewish families English, Documentary dispersed by migration, At the height of his stayed in touch only popularity, David through letters. For Steinberg was one of many, communicating in the world’s best known writing was a challenge. stand-up comics. Leaving How could they make behind his Yeshiva sure their spelling was correct, their thoughts properly Photo Credit: Seventh Art Releasing studies to join Chicago’s organized? The solution? Brivnshtelers—Yiddish-language legendary Second City, he never looked back. He appeared books of model letters. Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl is a magic on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson dozens of times; window into the daily lives of a scattered people sharing yet, his irreverent take on religion caused CBS to cancel The a common language and culture. Roberta Newman Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Priceless performance is the Director of Digital Initiatives, YIVO Institute for clips and TV directing credits (i.e. Seinfeld, Curb Your Jewish Research, and co-authored the book with Alice Enthusiasm) are paired with backstage stories from Alan Nakhimovsky, Professor of Russian and Jewish studies at Zweibel, Larry David and others, illuminating Steinberg’s Colgate University. “Rich detail and variety…” – ChaeRan Y. place in the pantheon of comedy. “Overdue biography of a Freeze, author of Everyday Jewish Life in Imperial Russia satirist and provocateur who influenced and entertained generations.” – Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2:00 PM | Gary Rosenblatt Underwritten by the Barbara and Mark Paull Families Between the Lines: Reflections on the American Jewish Experience 7:30 PM | Ofir Touché Gafla Gary Rosenblatt has The World of the End been the editor and publisher of The New As an epilogist, York Jewish Week for over Ben Mendelssohn 20 years. Here, for the appreciates an first time, is a curated unexpected ending. But collection of his most when that denouement thoughtful columns, is the untimely demise selected from the more than 1,000 he has written since of his beloved wife, Ben 1993. The book features 80 columns ranging from prescient is incapable of coping. analyses of the Mideast situation to warm remembrances More than his life partner, Miriam was the fiber that held of his childhood as the rabbi’s son in Annapolis, Maryland. together all that he is. And, Ben is willing to do anything, “A discerning observer, a serious reporter and an elegant even enter the unknown beyond, if it means a chance to essayist. Oh, and a mensch. Read him.” be with her again. Award winning Israeli author Ofir Touché – Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles Gafla teaches creative writing in the Sam Spiegel School of TV and Cinema in Jerusalem. He was recently named by Underwritten by The Maurice Amado Foundation The Forward one of the “8 New Israeli Writers you need to Patron Sponsors: Mitzi Shure and Jerry Wische Read Right Now.” “Astonishingly inventive, funny and totally fascinating.” – Kirkus Review 4 MONDAY, November 3 6:15 PM | Sheana Ochoa Stella! Mother of Modern Acting Stella Adler began her career in Yiddish theatre on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and from there went on to revolutionize modern day acting. She devoted her life to the craft of acting, igniting the talents of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro and beyond. An imperialistic grande dame who was a member of the democratic depression- era Group Theatre, Stella covertly secured passage for 700 displaced Jews during and after WWII. The FBI and Photo Credit: Dina Douglass the Department of Army kept records of her every move during the 1940s and 1950s. Stella! Mother of Modern Acting chronicles the life and times of a luminary described as a force of nature. “After reading Sheana Ochoa’s biography, I understand why her legacy as an actor and teacher burns so brightly...” —Michael Phillips, Film Producer Interviewing Ms. Ochoa on-stage will be Susan Weidman Schneider, Editor in Chief of Lilith Magazine. Patron Sponsors: Maxine and Steven Goodman & Elaine Kellner 8:00 PM | Joel M. Hoffman The Bible's Cutting Room Floor: The Holy Scriptures Missing from Your Bible Acclaimed author and translator Joel Hoffman gives us the stories that didn't make it into the Bible despite their penetrating insights. Deftly bringing these ancient scriptural texts to life, Hoffman reveals what's missing, who left it out and why it is so important. A Ph.D. linguist, and returning JBAF author, Hoffman has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College. He is known for his "fresh insights and interpretations about religious life in the 21st century." “Hoffman ably demonstrates why these ‘second tier’ works…should not be ignored.” –Publisher’s Weekly Patron Sponsors: Karol and Daniel Musher Sheila and Gordon Sack FREE Live Streaming available for this program at houstonjewishlive.com 5 TUESDAY, November 4 10:00 AM | Ruchama King Feuerman In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist IN COLLABORATION WITH CONGREGATION BETH YESHURUN SISTERHOOD ALTERNATE LOCATION Congregation Beth Yeshurun | 4525 Beechnut The unlikely friendship of an intellectual New York Jew and a working class Jerusalem Arab drives Ruchama King Feuerman's evocative second novel. Jerusalem emerges as a character, depicted with a lyricism that contrasts with the area's political tension. The characters—immigrants and natives; Muslim and Jewish; prophets and lost souls—move through their worlds, uncertain if they will fall prey to the cruel tricks of luck or be sheltered by a higher power.