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Welk’s ‘Footloose’ is high energy entertainment
By Carol Davis
Carol Davis
ESCONDIDO, California–One might wonder if Footloose-The Musical would go over big at The Welk Resorts Theatre in Escondido. If you were sitting where I was on a matinee performance a short time ago, you would say, “Bring it on!” Heads were bobbing, swaying and sometimes shoulders lifting to the beats of the very high-energy production (of the same name) directed and choreographed by Dan Mojica. Most in the audience that day (myself included) had, well mostly silver hair!
The musical based on the movie, has something for everyone. There’s God and church, rebellious teenagers, caring parents, goofy kids and even some back street fighting.
The stage adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford (additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Logins and Jim Steinman) gives us a pretty stock book.
Ren McCormack, (Luke Yellin) a high school senior and his Mom Ethel (Eileen Bowman) are forced to move from their home in Chicago because their father/husband abandoned them and financially they couldn’t stay where they were. We find them in the small town called Bomont (taken in by his kindly aunt) where Ren finds himself the outsider in a town where insiders are in and outsiders are well shunned, and to this big city boy, pretty backward.
It seems some time ago there was a tragic auto accident in the town of Bomont and four of their teenagers were killed after the senior prom. One of those killed was the Reverend’s (Gary Lee Reed) son. The council, headed by the good Reverend decided to ban all dancing, records and booze in Bomont and senior prom time was just around the corner.
That meant a dry, danceless senior prom night. That just didn’t sit right with Ren. He moves ahead, much to the chagrin of the council, and organizes the kids and Ariel to plead for a high school dance.
Making matters worse for Ren, he’s smitten with the Rev’s rebellious daughter Ariel (Marci Anne Wuebben) who’s creeping around meeting up with one of the town’s rebel and delinquent, Chuck Cranston (Joey Elrose) unbeknownst to her dad. Yup!
She sneaks out of the house every chance she gets to meet up with big Chuck who also happens to be a big bully. Why it takes her so long to hook up with Ren, baffled my sense of justice, but I’m just a silly old romantic.
In the 1984 movie version Kevin Bacon played the displaced Ren with John Lithgow as the Reverend and Sarah Jessica Parker as Rusty one of the female support actors and Ariel’s best friend. Shanna Marie Palmer is Welk’s Rusty.
For a show over twenty-five years old, it doesn’t feel that way. Several of the story lines are as relevant and predictable today as they were in 1984; teens vs. parents, to rebel or not, insider/outsider conflicts and growing up is hard to do.
Musical director Justin Gray keeps the pace lively and the show moves at a pretty fast clip especially where it shines and that’s with the great dancing of all the cast members.
Overall the voices are strong with sound performances turned in by Yellin, Bowman, Reed, Cynthia Ferrer as Vi Moore, Ariel’s mother and Allen Everman (great performance) as their hayseed friend, Willard Hewitt. It was good seeing john Grzesiak on the stage again (long time no see), except for the fact that he was a priss as the High School principal who refused to let the kids have any fun.
In case you were wondering, “Let’s hear it for the Boy” and “Almost Paradise” are the two musical numbers most recognizable but all are pretty lively and catchy. Sharell Martin’s costumes represent any time period, Patrick Hoyny designed the sound, is just right, Mike Buckley does his usual wonders with the set design showing off the many locations and Jennifer Edwards-Northover’s lighting shines positively on this high-energy production.
“Footloose” is pretty footloose and deserves a look-see.
See you at the theatre.
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Dates: May 6th– June 27th
Organization: Welk Resorts Theatre
Phone: 888-802-7469 or 760-749-3448
Production Type: Musical
Where: 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido, California
Ticket Prices:
Web: welktheatresandiego.com
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Theatre critic Davis is based in San Diego
ZOA calls for investigation of Turkey’s role in Gaza flotilla violence
NEW YORK (Press Release)–The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has condemned the media and foreign government attacks, including from China, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey, on Israeli defensive actions against the Gaza terror ship. This ship, part of the ‘Gaza flotilla’ which was organized by a Turkish Islamist group, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi – IHH), deliberately attempted to breach the lawful Israeli blockade of Gaza, a territory at war with Israel, run by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist regime whose Charter calls for the destruction of Israel (Article 15) and the world-wide murder of Jews (Article 7) and which has fired thousands of missiles into Israel in recent years.
The violence of the Hamas supporters on one of the six ships in the Gaza flotilla, including the use of knives, axes, bats, firebombs and metal rods, as well as seizing and using of Israeli personnel’s side-arms, led to clashes and exchanges of fire that has resulted in the reported deaths of 15 people onboard the flotilla. Seven members of the Israeli boarding party, whose non-aggressive intent was evident from being armed principally with paint-ball guns (usually used in crowd control situations, not armed confrontations) were also wounded and injured, some seriously.
The ZOA calls for an investigation of Turkey, the country in which the organization assisting Islamist terrorists and responsible for the flotilla is based; from which the flotilla set sail; and whose government wrongly assured that the flotilla cargo had been duly inspected and found to consist purely of humanitarian supplies and had found no weapons. Yet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged no Turkish responsibility, condemned Israel and demanded punishing Israel for the calling it a “bloody massacre.”
To call the deaths of the 15 on board, as Erdogan did, a “massacre” when shooting did not occur until half an hour after Israeli personnel boarded the vessel and were assaulted by Hamas supporters in the manner already described is an obscene and absurd charge. It was only when the lives of Israeli personnel were in serious jeopardy that the Israelis begin to defend themselves. If those on board had not brutally assaulted the Israeli soldiers, not one Israeli shot would have been fired and no one would have been harmed.
The ZOA also rejects international criticism of the lawful Israeli action to board and inspect the vessels of the Hamas-supporting Gaza flotilla and contrasts this criticism with the relative silence and lack of interest in North Korea’s recent, unprovoked torpedoing of a South Korean vessel, resulting in the deaths of 45 South Korean servicemen. That the United Nations and the world said virtually nothing over North Korea’s unjustified and unprovoked action exposes the hypocrisy of the hue and cry against Israel for a lawful boarding of the Gaza flotilla that encountered unnecessary, unjustifiable and deliberate assault from the Hamas supporters ion the flotilla.
The bad faith and violence of the flotilla has passed without serious condemnation from the United Nations and the world, thereby assisting the cause of the terrorists who organized this propaganda event.
The IHH is not a peaceable, charitable institution – it is a Muslim Brotherhood-connected, Islamist organization, outlawed by Israel in 2008 for involvement in Hamas’ global fund-raising machinery. It has been similarly involved in assisting violent Islamist groups in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. In 2006, the Danish Institute for International Studies demonstrated the IHH’s connections to al-Qaeda. The IHH belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic), chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. In November 2008, the U.S. Treasury designated the Union’s leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) “created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.”’
According to the French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere, testifying at the Seattle trial of would-be al Qaeda Millenium bomber Ahmed Ressamin, the IHH had played “[a]n important role” in the al Qaeda Millenium bomb plot targeting Los Angeles airport. The IHH has also been involved in weapons trafficking, and played in addition a key role in galvanizing anti-Western sentiment among Turkish Muslims in the lead-up to the 2003 war in Iraq.
The Gaza flotilla is also the brainchild of prominent members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), including ISM co-founder Huwaida Arraf, who has described suicide bombings as “noble” and argued that Palestinian so-called resistance “must”’ include violence.
The ZOA condemns those journalists and media outlets that grossly mislead the public by falsely identifying the Hamas-supporting Gaza flotilla members as “peace activists” (for example, Charles Levinson in the Wall Street Journal) and the armed clashes aboard the ship initiated by the Hamas supporters as a “massacre” (The Scotsman). It also condemns Associated Press (AP) reporters Selcan Hacaoglu and Lee Keath, who virtually eliminated from their account any reference to the violence initiated against the Israeli boarding party and who were silent about the video evidence showing the initiation of violence by the flotilla members against the Israeli boarding party.
These inexcusable omissions and distortions enabled them to mislead the public by writing of “Israel’s deadly commando raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.” Such reports have given aid and comfort to the terrorists by helping produce condemnation and anti-Israeli demonstrations in Europe and the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Prior to sailing, the flotilla members were filmed chanting songs glorifying violence and killing, including one about ‘Khaybar’ – the iconic slaughter of Jews by Muslims in the 7th century which is used as a rallying cry to kill the Jews today by Islamist terrorists. Some of these supporters spoke keenly of ‘martyrdom’ – achieving their own death through launching violence against others.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA is appalled at the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the international criticism of Israel to the deaths on board the Gaza flotilla and the corresponding relative absence of international condemnation of the deliberate and violent assault of the Hamas-supporting Gaza flotilla members to a lawful Israeli boarding party….”
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Preceding provided by Zionist Organization of America
The celestial Jerusalem versus the concrete Jerusalem
By Rabbi Dow Marmur
Rabbi Dow Marmur
TORONTO, Canada–Elie Wiesel, social activist, celebrated exponent of Judaism and Nobel Peace Prize winner, published a letter in leading American newspapers last month stating that “Jerusalem must remain the world’s Jewish spiritual capital.” It was a reaction to tensions between the United States and Israel, urging the U.S. administration to support Jewish expansion in all parts of Israel’s capital, even though it may harm its Arab population and impede a peace settlement.
Arguing that as Jerusalem is mentioned more than 600 times in the Bible and not even once in the Koran, Wiesel maintained that it shouldn’t be judged by political categories but as “a homecoming” for every Jew. “The anguish over Jerusalem,” he wrote, “is not about real estate but about memory.”
A hundred Jewish public figures and intellectuals, all residents of Jerusalem, reacted sharply against Wiesel’s initiative. In an open letter in the New York Review of Books, they challenged him: “We cannot recognize our city in the sentimental abstraction you call by its name . . . Our Jerusalem is concrete,” they wrote. Alluding to an oft-cited distinction in Jewish sources, they added: “You speak of the celestial Jerusalem; we live in the earthly one.”
They were troubled by Wiesel’s statement because “it upholds an attachment to the other-worldly city which purports to supersede the interests of those who live in the this-worldly one.” They wished to make homecoming available to Jews and Arabs alike: “We prefer the hardship of realizing citizenship in this city to the convenience of merely yearning for it.”
The writers list some of what they see as injustices committed against the Arab population of Jerusalem because it’s “being used as a springboard for crafty politicians and sentimental populists.” Their vision of Jerusalem makes room for all.
As I divide my time between Toronto and Jerusalem, I find myself uncomfortably astride both sides of the argument. As a Jew rooted in my tradition, I know of the centrality of Jerusalem in Jewish consciousness. But as a resident of the earthly Jerusalem, I identify with the concluding affirmation of the critics that “only a shared city will live up to the prophet’s vision: ‘Zion shall be redeemed with justice.’ ” And I agree with their assertion that “nothing can be holy in an occupied city!”
My commitment to Jerusalem would in no way be diminished if in a comprehensive peace settlement part of it would become the capital of a Palestinian state and the rest remain the capital of the sovereign State of Israel. Precisely because Jerusalem “is not about real estate but about memory,” it must make room for both Jewish and Arab memory.
Canada is more than an interested observer in this debate. The Jerusalem Old City Initiative based at the University of Windsor is largely funded by the Canadian government. It has published a lengthy paper on how to deal with one of the most contentious issues in the pursuit of peace: the governance of the area where most of the holy places of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are situated.
The authors seek a workable way of sharing space and overcoming divisions. Therefore, their proposals are bound to raise objections from all sides, because each is adamant about exclusive control. But the fact that a third party is trying to find a solution is indicative of how important the issue is for the international community. The argument between Wiesel and his critics reflects the drama. Perhaps outside experts can help bring it to a happy end.
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Dow Marmur is rabbi emeritus at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple. This column appeared previously in The Star of Toronto
Clinton backs impartial, credible investigation into flotilla violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — During a joint press conference on Tuesday with Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked about the aftermath of the Gaza Flotilla violence. Here is the exchange:
REPORTER: Madam Secretary, I’d like to ask you a couple things about the Israeli situation which, as you know, is getting more and more serious by the day. I know there are many unknowns at this point, but do you accept Israel’s argument of self-defense? And do you think that the investigation should be done by Israel or by a third independent party, as other Security Council members have said?
And more broadly, we all know there are so many moving pieces to this. There’s Turkey, there’s Israel and in the Palestinians, there’s Iran, there’s Syria. What are the implications in your mind of this situation to the peace process and in the larger issues in the Middle East? Thanks.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Nick (Kralev of Washington Times), on your last day, you’ve asked a very complicated set of interrelated questions. And let me put it into context as I respond. First, let me say how deeply we regret the tragic loss of life and injuries suffered among those involved in the incident aboard the Gaza-bound ships, and we offer our condolences to the families of the deceased and the wounded.
Turkey and Israel are both good friends of the United States, and we are working with both to deal with the aftermath of this tragic incident.
The United States supports the Security Council’s condemnation of the acts leading to this tragedy. And we urge Israel to permit full consular access to the individuals involved and to allow the countries concerned to retrieve their deceased and wounded immediately. We urge all concerned countries to work together to resolve the status of those who were part of this incident as soon as possible.
We support in the strongest terms the Security Council’s call for a prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation. We support an Israeli investigation that meets those criteria. We are open to different ways of assuring a credible investigation, including international participation, and we will continue to discuss these ideas with the Israelis and our international partners in the days ahead.
The situation in Gaza is unsustainable and unacceptable. Israel’s legitimate security needs must be met, just as the Palestinians’ legitimate needs for sustained humanitarian assistance and regular access for reconstruction materials must also be assured.
We will continue to work closely with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority along with international NGOs and the United Nations to ensure adequate access for humanitarian goods, including reconstruction and building supplies. And we welcome efforts to promote the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under the legitimate and internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.
Ultimately, the solution to this conflict must be found through an agreement based on a two-state solution negotiated between the parties. This incident underscores the urgency of reaching this goal and we remain committed to working with both sides to move forward these negotiations.
I think the situation from our perspective is very difficult and requires careful, thoughtful responses from all concerned. But we fully support the Security Council’s action last night in issuing a presidential statement and we will work to implement the intention that this presidential statement represents.
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Preceding provided by U.S. State Department. (The United Nations presidential statement called for “a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.” IThe statement did not mention Israel specifically, but condemned acts that led to death and injury.)
El Al ticketing will lead to tree being planted in Israel
NEW YORK (Press Release)– EL AL Israel Airlines and Jewish National Fund (JNF), are partnering in a promotion: Anyone who buys a ticket to Israel via www.elal.com will have a tree planted in Israel by the Jewish National Fund. Once the purchase is completed, the passenger receives a certificate via mail or email that EL AL and JNF are planting a tree on their behalf. Every year, tens of thousands of passengers departing from the USA purchase their EL AL tickets online.
“It is appropriate for EL AL and JNF to partner and provide this symbolic and environmentally friendly gesture,” commented Offer Gat, Vice President, EL AL Airlines, North and Central America. “The planting of these trees further enhances the beauty of Israel and EL AL is proud to play a small part.”
“It is a natural fit for JNF and EL AL to work together,” said Russell F. Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, JNF. “The mission of JNF has been and always will be to care for the land and people of Israel. Whether it’s planting trees, managing water resources, sustainably developing the Negev desert, promoting tourism, or driving pro-Israel dialogue on college campuses, our hearts, minds, and vision are about Israel.“
An El Al spokesperson said the JNF promotion does not extend to tickets sold through travel agencies.
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Preceding provided by El Al Airlines
Muslims, Christians and Jews together ponder lessons of the Shoah
By Jeanette Friedman
Jeanette Friedman
PHILADELPHIA–They came in early spring, like migrating birds from every corner of the world—more than 200 professors and clergymen, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and even atheists and agnostics—to discuss and study the Holocaust and to celebrate and honor the work of the late Rev. Franklin Littell at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia. They came from as far away as Russia, Bosnia, Israel, France, England, and from across America—California, New York, New Hampshire and Florida. Sponsored by St. Joseph’s, Stockton State College in New Jersey and Temple University, the Conference was founded 40 years ago by Rev. Littell and Dr. Hubert G. Locke, who have been at the leading edge in presenting the latest research in Holocaust and Genocide Studies to the rest of us.
Among the presenters were Dr. Michael Berenbaum, founding director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; theologian Dr. Richard L. Rubenstein, University of Bridgeport; premier Holocaust educator Samuel Totten, the Chambon Foundation’s Pierre Sauvage, and Holocaust studies pioneers Father John Pawlikowski and Rabbi Irving Greenberg, all of whom paid tribute to Rev. Littell, who died on May 30, 2009. This was the first conference to take place without him.
The conference was founded in 1970 to create an academic forum for the exchange of information and ideas about the Holocaust between scholars, researchers and educational pioneers; to promote an interfaith, international, interdisciplinary, rigorous intellectual tradition; to encourage continued research on church responses to the Holocaust and the destruction of European Jewry while encouraging and deepening interfaith discussions; to use the Holocaust to determine early warning signs of genocide and to get the information to others through review, editing and publication.
The opening evening was a memorial to Rev. Littell. A poignant 28-minute documentary about Littell was produced and presented by Dr. Sauvage, and earned unanimous acclaim. It was clear from the film, which consisted of clips from the Reverend’s own presentations and one-on-one interviews, that his philosophy of church responsibility in response to the Holocaust, his views of the need for Holocaust education, his passion and his teachings have had a deep impact on the way the Holocaust is taught today in middle schools and high schools. He has also influenced how research and Holocaust and Genocide studies are pursued on the university level.
The opening plenary session was devoted to the “Unfinished Agenda,” outlining the work that must still be done. Breakout sessions covered the lack of safe haven for Jews who attempted to leave Europe; contemporary theology; issues in teaching the Holocaust in primary schools; ethics after Auschwitz; uses of the law; contemporary antisemitism; the use of memoirs; the arts; Peter Bergson; the healing professions during the Holocaust; resistance; the churches’ response to the Holocaust; other genocides; and most interestingly, a Jewish-Christian-Muslim trialogue with participants Leonard Grob of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Henry F. Knight of Keene College, Rochelle L. Millen of Wittenberg University and Khaleel Mohammed of San Diego State University.
As noted by Dr. Marcia Littell, in addition to academicians, participants included survivors, descendants of survivors, community leaders, interfaith clergy and undergraduate and graduate students. In a parallel session, The Teachers’ Institute presented a seminar for high school teachers on Integrating Themes of Rescue and Resistance into the Teaching of the Holocaust and other Genocides.
Those who spoke most movingly during tributes to Rev. Franklin Littell were his devoted widow, Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell; Rabbi Irving Greenberg, one of the first leaders in the Jewish community to begin the movement to remember with his organization, Zachor, and Dr. Elisabeth Maxwell of Remembering for the Future, who is currently working on a searchable survivor testimony database—a central on-line directory of all the testimonies in existing collections.
The Conference’s executive director is Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell of Stockton State College’s Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Dr. Hubert G. Locke is the conference chairman. Honorary Chairman is Prof. Elie Wiesel and the major benefactor is Holocaust survivor Felix Zandman, who, with his wife, Ruta, was presented with the Eternal Flame Award.
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Friedman is bureau chief in the greater New York City area for San Diego Jewish World.
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