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Miracle of Miracles … Fiddler Sing-a-Long + First Night of Chanukah Celebration!

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*** FIDDLER UPDATES (skip to main article)
We’re pleased to announce an dynamic and eclectic line-up of Fiddler Hosts for 2016!

Ahrya Fine Arts
Cantor Phil Baron – of Valley Beth Shalom – BUY TIX
BONUS! – BARBARA ISENBERG will be on hand to sign copies of her book TRADITION!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World’s Most Beloved Musical.

Claremont 5
Cantor Paul Buch – of Temple Beth Israel – BUY TIX

NoHo 7
Susan Edwards Martin – Broadway star, entertainer – BUY TIX

Playhouse
Jason Moss – of Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX

Royal
Eli Batalion – actor, star of Yidlife Crisis – BUY TIX

Town Center 5
Gustavo Bulgach – musician, bandleader of Klezmer Juice – BUY TIX

Jump below to find out more about our hosts.

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Wonder_of_Wonders_edit_2Will the matchmaker make you “the perfect match?” There’s only one way to find out … join us this year for our 9th Annual Fiddler on the Roof Christmas Eve Sing-a-Long … plus FIRST NIGHT OF CHANUKAH CELEBRATION!

(Scroll down to watch the event trailer. For tickets, visit Laemmle.com/Fiddler).

The rare concurrence of Christmas Eve and the first night of Chanukah adds a new wrinkle to our tradition this year, enabling the community to come together in celebration of the Jewish holiday. “This year we can sing from the rooftops … and light the Chanukah Menorah!” comments Greg Laemmle.

To accommodate demand, the popular Fiddler program has been extended to six venues including the newly re-opened AHRYA FINE ARTS art deco movie palace in Beverly Hills.

In addition to exuberant movie and song, the evening will feature TRIVIA with PRIZES being awarded to Fiddler buffs with the quickest recall. Dressing in COSTUME is not required, but highly encouraged! Who knows, perhaps the best costume will garner a prize? That will be up to the emcee.

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PHIL BARON at the Ahyra Fine Arts
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SUSAN EDWARDS MARTIN at NoHo 7

We’re excited announce several new hosts this year. These include Broadway performer Susan Edwards Martin, Klezmer musician Gustavo Bulgach, comedian and star of YidLife Crisis, Eli Batalion, and community leader Jason Moss. Returning are Cantor Paul Buch of Temple Beth Israel and Cantor Phil Baron of Valley Beth Shalom, the latter to be master of ceremonies at the Ahrya Fine Arts.

Jump down to get more info on each of our hosts.

Our own Greg Laemmle is enthusiastic as ever about the Fiddler experience, in part due to it having one of the best movie scores of all time, declaring that “Christmas Eve isn’t just Chinese food anymore!” Furthermore, “We welcome all those in the community who are looking for an alternative Christmas eve experience … and this year, a different first night of Chanukah to boot!”

He continues, “This is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl. Join voices with friends and neighbors and sing your heart out alongside Fiddler’s screen legends,”?he continues. “And it’s okay if you haven’t memorized all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”

Song highlights include the iconic “TRADITION”, “IF?I?WERE?A?RICH?MAN”, “TO?LIFE”, “SUNRISE SUNSET”, “DO?YOU LOVE ME?”?and “ANATEVKA”, among many, many more.

Don’t miss the buggy! Those who wish to attend the program are advised to purchase tickets in advance as the program has traditionally sold to capacity.

See you in the shtetl…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnuyNaOEBt4&feature=youtu.be

Fiddler Hosts – 2016

phil-baron_02_crop2_lrCantor PHIL BARON at the Ahrya Fine Arts (Beverly Hills)
Cantor PHIL BARON of Temple Valley Beth Shalom in Encino comes to us courtesy of community partner JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY (JHS) and the BREED STREET SHUL. Baron is the son of a violinist and the grandson of a Vilna rabbi. Before becoming a cantor, he took a successful detour into children’s entertainment, where he had over 300 original songs recorded – nearly 200 of these by the Walt Disney Co. He co-created two television series for Jewish children, Bubbe’s Boarding House, and the multiple award-winning series Alef…Bet…Blast-off! As a vocalist he has been featured with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New Orleans Philharmonic.

susan_martin_crop_prSUSAN EDWARDS MARTIN at the NoHo 7 (N. Hollywood)
Broadway star SUSAN EDWARDS MARTIN will represent partner Temple Beth Hillel at our NoHo 7 venue. A star of Broadway, Martin is an accomplished singer, musician, actress and comedienne who originated the role of ‘Lady Blue’ in HARVEY FIERSTEIN’s Tony Award-winning play “Torch Song Trilogy.” She has also appeared in many other Broadway and Off-Broadway productions such as “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” “The Suicide,” and the long-running musical comedy “Scrambled Feet.” Numerous television credits include a recurring role on “Days of our Lives,” and guest appearances on “NYPD Blue,” “Designing Women,” and “Columbo,” among many others. Martin is currently creating a new original musical, “Unlimited” based on her personal story of growing up in Long Island and her ensuing life in show business.

jason-photo_02_edit_cropJASON MOSS at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena)
Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys JASON MOSS will be our host at the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. Under his leadership, the Federation has doubled its programming with the creation of such programs as the Cultural Arts Program, PJ Library, a nationally recognized program to reach and connect with unaffiliated Jewish families. In addition, Moss will soon launch JLife SGPV, a lifestyle magazine celebrating Jewish life in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

eli_pix_01_crop_prELI BATALION at the Royal Theatre (West L.A.)
Star of comedy web series Yidlife Crisis, ELI BATALION will be our host at the Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles. Created with co-star JAMIE ELMAN, Yidlife Crisis is a love letter about modern Jewish identity set in Yiddish (with English and French subtitles), that uses comedy as a vehicle for inclusiveness. Batalion is a multi-faceted talent, at once writer, producer, actor, and composer for film TV and stage. His many projects have ranged from award-winning horror musical films (including the recently release “Stage Fright” starring Minne Driver and Meat Loaf) to touring musical comedy productions and live comedy shows such as the cult hit “J.O.B The Hip-Hopera.”

gustavositting_crop_prGUSTAVO BULGACH at the Town Center (Encino)
Accomplished Klezmer musician and bandleader GUSTAVO BULGACH will be our host at the Town Center 5 in Encino. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Bulgach was inspired at an early age by the religious and secular life of the Argentine community. Now based in L.A., Bulgach travels the globe uplifting audiences with a vibrant, soulful Klezmer he terms the “soundtrack of the Diaspora.” Bulgach has been a longtime member of the House of Blues Foundation house band backing artist such as LITTLE RICHARD, TAJ MAHAL, and THE WAILERS. His own outfit, KLEZMER JUICE, was featured in the Hollywood mega hit movie THE WEDDING CRASHERS featuring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.

Paul Buch_prCantor PAUL BUCH at the Claremont 5 (Claremont)
Cantor PAUL BUCH has served Temple Beth Israel in Claremont since 2003. He came to the cantorate after a 25 year career in TV and film production in Los Angeles, New York, and Portland. In addition to his cantorial duties, Buch is President of the Claremont Interfaith Council and serves on the Faith-Based Roundtable of the Pomona Unified School District. He is also Chair of the City of Claremont’s Human Relations Committee and serves on an advisory committee at the Claremont School of Theology. This will be his third consecutive year as our Fiddler host in Claremont!

LAEMMLE LIVE New Performing Arts Series at the Monica Film Center Launching January 22, 2017

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The Laemmle Foundation presents LAEMMLE LIVE, a new performing arts series at the Monica Film Center. Emerging artists and professional performers from local schools and organizations will celebrate our diverse community with live performance.

In our inaugural year, LAEMMLE LIVE’s free monthly Sunday morning performances will turn the Monica Film Center’s mezzanine lounge into a salon style venue and serve as a potential pilot for live performance programs at other Laemmle locations throughout Los Angeles — delivering an alternative community arts experience — inviting our Los Angeles neighbors into our Laemmle living room.

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Illustration by Nancy Nimoy

LAEMMLE LIVE’S first concert will feature musicians from Santa Monica High School’s Chamber Orchestra on January 22, 2017.

Future program partners include Lincoln Middle School, SO-LA Music Academy, Street Symphony, McCabe’s Guitar Shop and Elemental Music.

LAEMMLE LIVE will be a place for cultural intersection and engagement with social issues that matter to the community. Mindful that Santa Monica can be a place where privilege lives next door to a growing homeless population — LAEMMLE LIVE invites high school performers to inspire underserved neighbors and welcomes Street Symphony musicians who state “…we bring music to lift up the brave stories and voices of people who, although living in an impoverished situation, are in no way impoverished in spirit.”

“Live performance is a natural sequel to ART IN THE ARTHOUSE, a program that delivers a unique art-viewing experience by reclaiming wall space throughout our theaters for the display of fine art.” says Greg Laemmle, Laemmle Theatres President.

Winter-Spring
2017 Calendar

Sun Jan 22, 2017 11 AM — Samohi Chamber Orchestra
Joni Swenson, Jason Aiello, Directors

Sun Feb 5, 2017 11 AM — Sol-La Music Academy Chamber EnsembleMargaret Lysy, Founder and Artistic Director

Sun Mar 5, 2017 11 AM — Lincoln Middle School Madrigal Singers
Vanessa Counte, Director

Sun Apr 30, 2017 11 AM — Street Symphony
Vijay Gupta, Founder and Artistic Director

Free Sneak Preview Screening of STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE with Director Maria Schrader in Person.

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FREE SCREENING – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 10 am. Director MARIA SCHRADER in person. RSVP: SashaBerman@mac.com.

STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE, Austria’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 89th Academy Awards®, was written and directed by Maria Schrader (one of Germany’s most acclaimed actresses, best known for her award-winning lead role in “Aimee & Jaguar” and for her lead role in the Emmy-winning TV series “Deutschland 83”).

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The film episodically tells the story of the Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig and his life while in exile from 1936 to 1942. Best known in the U.S. for his novellas “The Royal Game” and “Letter from an Unknown Woman,” that was later adapted into a film directed by Max Ophüls, starring Joan Fontaine. His writings have also inspired Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Stefan Zweig (next to Thomas Mann) was the most-translated German-speaking writer of his time, but having been driven into emigration at the peak of his worldwide fame, Zweig falls into despair at the sight of Europe’s downfall, which he had anticipated early on. Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Petrópolis are four stations in Stefan Zweig’s exile, which despite offering him safe refuge and overwhelming tropical nature, won’t help him find peace and won’t be able to replace his home.
STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE is the story of a refugee, a tale of losing one’s home and of the search for a new one. It is a visually stunning historic picture about a great artist and, at the same time, a film about a time in which Europe was coming apart.

https://vimeo.com/181008086

 

SINS OF OUR YOUTH Special Event at the Royal.

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Special Q&A Event after the Thursday 12/15 7:30PM SINS OF OUR YOUTH screening featuring Cast & Crew including Director & Writer Gary & Edmund Entin as well as stars Mitchel Musso, Joel Courtney, Bridger Zadina & Dani Knights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJoc98rqN70

Nancy Nimoy: Solo Exhibit at the Royal

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19 Art in the Arthouse is pleased to present the vibrant works of accomplished painter, illustrator and designer, NANCY NIMOY, at the Royal Theater. Curated by our own Tish Laemmle, this exhibit showcases Nimoy’s versatile talent in over 30 stunning pieces.  Expansive in both theme and approach, Nimoy tackles issues of politics, social media, and celebrity.

Nimoy has a way of finding beauty and meaning in the seemingly mundane. Her unique take on the everyday commands attention, while playful use of light and color make her work visually “pop.” The end result being whimsical and engaging paintings of undeniable craftsmanship.

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When Nimoy began her career in New York, a well-known design team famously admonished her for presenting a portfolio that was “all over the map.”  Today, as a sought after painter and illustrator with a long list of private commissions, corporate, publishing, theatre, and film clients, her work is quite literally, all over the map.

In the end, Nimoy’s  flexibility is, in fact, her strength.  Whether exploring icons such as The Rolling Stones, depicting a woman’s dress, or documenting the last anxious days of a diabolical political campaign, her gift for observation and storytelling shines through.  Nimoy’s influences are also many, reflecting her love of Diebenkorn, Picasso, Hockney and the German Expressionist movement, with a deep bow to Maira Kalman.

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Nimoy’s work, including portrait commissions, can be found in collections from Dublin to Brooklyn and scattered throughout her messy studio where she does her best work in her bathrobe.

The Nancy Nimoy Solo Exhibit runs through January.  Make sure to visit the gallery outside of the Royal’s main auditorium (House #1) next time you come for a movie.  Or just stop by – movie tickets are not required to view the art.

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BEST WORST THING THAT EVER COULD HAVE HAPPENED Q&A Opening Night at the Royal with Actor Jason Alexander.

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Actor Jason Alexander, who appeared in the original Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along and is among the luminaries who talk about the experience in the new documentary BEST WORST THING THAT EVER COULD HAVE HAPPENED, will participate in a Q&A after the 7 PM screening at the Royal on Friday, November 25. Lisa Fung of the L.A. Times will serve as moderator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCwqEdQykJU

Humphrey Bogart Double Feature on Wednesday, November 30th in Pasadena, North Hollywood, and West LA!

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Humphrey BogartLaemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a tribute to screen legend Humphrey Bogart with a double feature of The Big Sleep (1946, 70th anniversary) and High Sierra (1941, 75th anniversary).

College students launched a passionate Bogart cult in the 1960s, and it is still going strong today. His tough screen persona gave dimension to a number of memorable characters, and we present two of those seminal roles in this Bogie double bill.

The Humphrey Bogart double feature will play on Wednesday, November 30 at three locations: the Royal in West LA, the NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, and the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the 5:10PM High Sierra (includes admission to the 7:30PM The Big Sleep).

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to the 7:30PM The Big Sleep (includes admission to the 10PM High Sierra).

HIGH SIERRA is a 1941 heist film with impeccable crime story credits; it was written by W.R. Burnett (Little Caesar, Scarface) and John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo) adapting Burnett’s novel, and directed by Raoul Walsh (The Roaring Twenties, White Heat). Bogart plays “Mad Dog” Roy Earle, a weary, aging gangster who attempts to reject his life of crime. Co-star Ida Lupino (as his adoring moll) was actually top billed, but Bogart’s acclaimed performance vaulted him to leading man status for the rest of his career. The film also cemented the strong partnership Bogart formed with Huston, and they would collaborate on several screen classics in the next decade.

THE BIG SLEEP is a masterpiece of film noir, released in 1946, directed by Howard Hawks and written by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman adapting the Raymond Chandler novel. It marked the second teaming of Bogart with his wife Lauren Bacall, after the two created a screen sensation in Hawks’ To Have and Have Not in 1944. The film is noted for its convoluted plot (just try to follow it) and rich atmosphere. Bogart’s take on private detective Philip Marlowe pleased Chandler, who praised him as “so much better than any other tough-guy actor.” The hero’s sexy interplay with Bacall playfully flirted with contemporary censorship restrictions, as the duo wove the mystique of “Bogie and Bacall.”

A Brilliant New Batch of Introspective American Movies.

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Recent events being what they are, we welcome several upcoming films that look deeply and well at our country and its underrepresented groups in drastically changing and challenging times.

A precursor to the marriage equality movement, the fight to legalize interracial marriage culminated in the story depicted in LOVING (opening November 18 at the Playhouse and November 23 at the NoHo, Claremont and Monica Film Center).

Written and directed by gifted young filmmaker Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special), the film celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown.

Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry – and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since. The acting is excellent, prompting Michelle Dean to write in the New Republic that “Edgerton is likely to get more attention, though it is Negga’s incredible performance that makes the film so powerfully subtle.”

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A tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, MOONLIGHT is told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality. The film has been garnering rave reviews from everyone who see it.

Writing in the Detroit News, Adam Graham called it “a film of rare grace – a tender, compassionate, restrained look at a life lived in the shadows.” Ty Burr of the Boston Globe called MOONLIGHT, “in its quietly radical grace…a cultural watershed – a work that dismantles all the ways our media view young black men and puts in their place a series of intimate truths.” We open the film this Friday at the NoHo 7, November 18 at the Playhouse and Monica Film Center, and December 16 at the Claremont 5.

A scene from MOONLIGHT.
A scene from MOONLIGHT.

Our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced a huge new population of young veterans and their service and experiences are the focus of two new films. We open the documentary NATIONAL BIRD on November 18 at the Monica Film Center. It follows the harrowing journey of three U.S. military veteran whistle-blowers determined to break the silence surrounding America’s secret drone war. Tortured by guilt for their participation in the killing of faceless terror suspects, and despite the threat of being prosecuted, these three veterans offer an unprecedented look inside this secret program to reveal the haunting cost of America’s global drone strikes. Wim Wenders and Errol Morris are the executive producers. Jason Bailey of Flavorwire called the film ” gripping indictment of America’s increasing reliance on drone warfare. Scary, potent, powerful stuff.”

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MAN DOWN is a fictionalized account of U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf), who returns home from his tour in Afghanistan to find that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a hard-nosed marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son, Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) and wife, Natalie (Kate Mara). We open MAN DOWN December 2 at the Playhouse and Monica Film Center.

Finally, legendary director Ken Loach’s new movie I, DANIEL BLAKE is not a U.S. film but one that does offer a profound look at the issue of income inequality in a way that has a strong bearing on our problems here in the U.S.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the latest I, DANIEL BLAKE is a gripping, human tale about the impact one man can make. Gruff but goodhearted, Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is a man out of time: a widowed woodworker who’s never owned a computer, he lives according to his own common sense moral code. But after a heart attack leaves him unable to work and the state welfare system fails him, the stubbornly self-reliant Daniel must stand up and fight for his dignity.

A scene from I, DANIEL BLAKE.
A scene from I, DANIEL BLAKE.

In his Variety review, Owen Gleiberman described I, DANIEL BLAKE as “one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” The film is a reminder that what ails us here at home has parallels abroad.

Watch all five trailers: