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Friday June 13, 2008

Celebrities

by nate bloom

Tony time

The 2008 Tony Awards, for excellence in the Broadway theater, are being presented Sunday, June 15 at 8 p.m. on CBS. Here are the Jewish nominees in the major “non-craft” categories:

“Cry-Baby,” a satire about a rock singer, got nominations for best original musical and best original score. The composer, Adam Schlesinger, 40, is best known as a rock singer-songwriter for the band Fountains of Wayne (“Stacey’s Mom”). The lyricist is David Javerbaum, 36, a top TV comedy writer and producer. Also vying for the best original score Tony are the songwriters of “The Little Mermaid,” based on the hit animated film musical. The Broadway version includes songs from the film and new songs. The music is by Alan Menken, 58, with lyrics by the late Howard Ashman.

Three shows with Jewish connections are nominated for best musical revival: “Gypsy,” “South Pacific,” and “Sunday in the Park with George.” First staged in 1959, “Gypsy” was written by the late Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, 78. Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book for the 1959 production, is still sharp enough at 90(!) to helm the current revival and he’s nominated for best musical director. “Sunday” was written (words and music) by Sondheim. (Sondheim also will be honored at this year’s Tonys with a special award for lifetime achievement.)

A brilliant new production of “South Pacific” is the favorite to win. The show was created by the legendary team of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Danny Burstein, 30, is the lead singer of “South Pacific’s” show-stopping number, “There is Nothing Like a Dame.” Nominated for best featured actor, Burstein is the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish Costa Rican mother.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll,” by British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, is nominated for best play. The play’s central character is a young Czech Jew who opposes the 1968 Soviet invasion of his country. Stoppard was born in 1937 to Jewish parents in Czechoslovakia. In 1939, his parents fled the Nazis and went to Singapore. His father ended up dying in a Japanese POW camp. His mother hid her and her late husband’s Jewish origins and remarried a non-Jewish British soldier. Around 1990, Stoppard first learned that his parents were Jewish and since then the secular writer has often called himself Jewish.

A new season for Snow

On May 29, singer Phoebe Snow, 55, was honored at UJA Federation of New York philanthropic event for her compassion. In the words of the federation, “She sacrificed her career to devote herself to her severely disabled daughter.”

Born Phoebe Laub, the jazz/pop singer-songwriter came out of nowhere in 1974 and had a huge hit with her song “Poetry Man.” Her critically acclaimed first album went gold. Then she seemed to disappear, although big fans knew there were a few new recordings over the years. Mostly, though, Snow stayed at home, caring for her daughter, who died last year at 31. Jewish music, she says, was one comfort as she endured some emotionally dark periods. Snow has recently begun to tour again, either solo or as the opening act for loyal big-name friends, such as Linda Ronstadt and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.

The Hulk returns

Opening Friday, June 13 is “The Incredible Hulk,” another retelling of the story of the Marvel Comic book character who starts off as Bruce Banner, a mild-mannered guy — but when provoked becomes the Hulk, a green monster. Edward Norton stars as Banner and Tim Blake Nelson, 43, has a large supporting role as a geneticist who tries to help him. Nelson is a well-known character actor who was one of the three leads in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” He directed and co-wrote the Holocaust film “The Grey Zone.”

Columnist Nate Bloom , an Oaklander, can be reached at middleoftheroad1@aol.com.

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