Just announced: FUNNY JEWS Seminar
Philip Roth, SNL's Jews, Funny Women, Sitcoms (Thursdays in May)
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The Broadway Maven has just announced a four-part “Funny Jews” series for May:
What is (Ashkenazi) Jewish humor, and why has it played such a key role in tickling the American funnybone? We’ll look at four aspects of Jewish humor in America:
• Philip Roth: how the hilarious storyteller and author of Portnoy’s Complaint and The Plot Against America explored sexuality, Jewish identity, and American belonging through a wickedly funny gift of wordcraft.
• SNL’s Jews: Jewish characters and themes in the late-night humor program, from "Coffee Talk with Linda Richman" to “The Chanukah Song” to “Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy” to “Jewess Jeans.”
• Funny Women: the contributions of Fanny Brice, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, and Sarah Silverman to American comedy.
• Norman Lear’s sitcoms: how the master programmer’s shows like All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude helped shape American humor, values, and life from the 1970s and on.
Early bird rate $18 (before April 15) and regular rate $25. No partial registrations (no exceptions) and no refunds. Register: bitly.com/MavenFunny
You can always find the latest schedule at TheBroadwayMaven.com, but here’s a quick rundown (subject to change):
Wednesday, April 7 West Side Story (Noon and 8 pm ET)
Wednesday, April 14 Hair/Grease (Noon and 8 pm ET)
Wednesday, April 21 “If You Could See Cabaret Through My Eyes…” (Noon and 8 pm ET)
Tuesday, April 27 Fiddler on the Roof (Noon ET, ALL-ACCESS only)
Wednesday, April 28 Into the Woods (Noon and 8 pm ET)
Thursday, May 6 Philip Roth (Noon ET)
Thursday, May 13 SNL’s Jews (Noon ET)
Thursday, May 20 Funny Women (Noon ET)
Thursday, May 27 Norman Lear’s Sitcoms (Noon ET)
Link for West Side Story registration