Earlier this year, Jewish philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer opened another exhibition of works from his collection at his namesake Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. A UO alumnus, he started contributing art to that institution as soon as he graduated. The Portland native recently sat down with OJL to…
When two art collectors asked glass artist Steve Klein if he would be interested in creating the windows for their California congregation as it rebuilt its fire-damaged sanctuary, he realized two things. First, he didn’t want to just make windows, he wanted to create “something special that would have meaning to the building and to…
By Joseph A. Lieberman A 30-year-old dream inspired Eugene Public Library Director Connie Bennett to pen a full-length play based upon a novel based upon a Yiddish play. If that sounds complicated, it is, in more ways than you might imagine. Interwoven into this tapestry of the arts are secret lovers, the evil spirit of…
The April 28-May 24 run of “4000 Miles” by Amy Herzog will feature an exciting collaboration of Artists Repertory Theatre, The Geezer Gallery and ORA Northwest Jewish Artists. The Geezer Gallery, which is now in residence at ART, asked ORA artists to create visual art responding to the play, which Time magazine named the number one…
Collaborators Explore How Two Jewish Women and Five Black Singers Changed Music History The seeds for “Soul Harmony” were planted four years ago when Portland pianist and composer Michael Allen Harrison and Rabbi Alan Berg collaborated on their first musical theater creation, “Crossing Over: A Musical Passover Story.” As the pair worked on that musical,…
Congregation Shaarie Torah presents “Tell It Like It Is: Jewish Storytelling Festival” May 2-3 with featured storytellers: Maggid Cassandra Sagan, mythteller Brian Rohr and musician/teller Eric Stern of Vagabond Opera. Storytelling is both an ancient and modern part of the Jewish tradition. The festival begins Saturday evening and continues the next day from 1-7:30 pm…
Jewish characters finally joined the impeccably attired throng at “Downton Abbey,” and it’s not an altogether happy day. While Lord and Lady Grantham welcome the new arrivals with exquisite manners and the perfectly calibrated amount of modest warmth, series creator and writer Julian Fellowes is a good deal less hospitable. Fellowes has devised a nuclear…
The October 2012 cover story of Oregon Jewish Life shared the story of Susan Sygall and her band of 156 “Loud, Proud and Passionate” WILD women and “their efforts to enhance the lives and rights of women with disabilities around the globe.” Now the Eugene resident and cofounder of Mobility International USA has shared her…
The Jewish Theatre Collaborative has once again brought a little-known story of Jewish history to life with its Page2Stage season focused on a novel, The Ministry of Special Cases. “Part of our vision is to open up parts of the Jewish world we are unaware of,” says JTC founder Sacha Reich. “For our Page2Stage productions…
Portland has a reputation for the vibrancy and diversity of its dance scene, and fans of contemporary dance in particular have long known something Portland’s Jewish community may be only just now discovering: Israel is a hotbed of bold, innovative and critically acclaimed contemporary dance. What’s more, you don’t have to travel to Israel to…
