By Dale King Gone, sadly, are the nostalgic “Borscht Belt” days when visitors to the Catskills used to roar with laughter at comedians named Red, Lenny, Rusty, Mort, Zero and Herschel, among others. Yes, even The Three Stooges and Joan Rivers. Delray Square Performing Arts Center partner Gary Waldman remembers that era well – because he lived it. He and his family were part … [Read more...]
Poignant ‘Asher Lev’ pits art versus religion
In the same way that one can think of theater as a substitute temple, Jacob Kahn, the renowned painter and mentor to young Asher Lev, instructs him that art can be a religion. It is an empowering idea for an Hasidic Jew struggling with the conflict between the faith he was brought up in and the artwork which pours out of him and offends his parents and the orthodox community. … [Read more...]
‘Shouting’ a poignant look at growing sound of silence
Nearly 50 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, most of it related to aging and exposure to loud noise. For more than two decades Katherine Bouton has lived with hearing loss so severe that it forced her to quit her job as a New York Times editor. Although Shouting Won’t Help is sometimes overly technical and is stuffed with statistics, the book nevertheless provides an … [Read more...]