Today we welcome two very special guests: Cantor Ida Rae and Rabbi Michael Cahana of Portland’s Congregation Beth Israel!
We're chatting about Sondheim’s Jewish heritage – and the subversive power of ritual & theatre in Jewish contexts.
________________________________
We talk about:
- Jewishness in the music of Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim
- West Side Story as an immigrant show exploring the tension between alienation and assimilation
- "Outsider" narratives in Sondheim’s stories as a reflection of both his Judaism and his homosexuality
- The "problem of the ending" – and the phenomenon of unresolved musical, dramatic, and theological conclusions
- Purim, the tradition of the Purim Spiel, and the subversive nature of Purim
- How we pass down our stories to our children
*Read Gabrielle Hoyt’s article "Kaddish for Steve" at https://www.americantheatre.org/2022/01/28/kaddish-for-steve-on-the-jewishness-of-sondheim/
________________________________
You’ll hear:
- The Prologue and Quintet ("Tonight") from West Side Story (2022 film soundtrack)
- The documentary Original Cast Album (You can find it on YouTube!)
- The Finale ("Children Will Listen") from Into The Woods (Original Broadway Cast recording)
- "I Remember" from Evening Primrose (Sung by Bernadette Peters on the 2016 Album The Essential Sondheim)
- The cast of Congregation Beth Israel’s 2016 production of West Side Spiel. Watch the whole Spiel on CBI’s YouTube page: https://youtu.be/Ely7r_Ax_AE
________________________________
Never miss an episode! Sign up for our email list to get updates when new episodes are released, info about upcoming special events, and more.
________________________________
Check out some of our all-time favorites!
________________________________
Continue the conversation with us on Instagram (@gospelofmt).
