AJTC celebrates Jewish Broadway composers

The golden age of Broadway musicals gave the American public dozens of memorable songs - "I Got Rhythm," "Oklahoma," "Some Enchanted Evening," "My Favorite Things" and more.

What connects them?

All were written by Jewish composers.

The Arizona Jewish Theatre Company pays tribute to the numerous contribution of Jews to the American musical theater in "From Berlin to Brooks," an original revue playing through Sunday, April 10.

"It's overwhelming," says AJTC producing director Janet Arnold, of the Jewish contribution to Broadway musicals. "I can't believe it."

Peter Hill, artistic director of Fountain Hills Community Theatre and Copperstate Dinner Theatre, wrote the show, which he worked on closely with Arnold.

About a year ago, "It occurred to me that with the 350th anniversary (of the Jews' arrival in North America), what we needed was a revue of Jewish composers," Arnold recalls.

Putting together "From Berlin to Brooks" has been a learning experience for Arnold. She hired Jamie Saperstein, an Arizona State University West student, to do research on the composers who were going to be included in the show. The results of his efforts will be on display in the theater lobby.

"I was surprised at who wrote what," Arnold says. For example, "I had no idea that 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,' which is an old standard, was in a musical called 'Roberta,' written by Jerome Kern.

"I also had no idea that a Jewish writing team, (Jerry) Lieber and (Mike) Stoller, wrote everything from 'Yakity Yak' and 'Love Potion Number Nine' to 'Jailhouse Rock.'" The Lieber and Stoller songs were brought together for their musical "Smokey Joe's CafÇ."

There are so many Jewish Broadway composers that not everyone made the cut, Arnold laments. Still, the lineup for "From Berlin to Brooks" reads like a Who's Who of the best of American musical theater - Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and John Kander and Fred Ebb are just some of the composers covered in the show.

Arnold notes that when many of the featured composers were writing, it was unpopular to be Jewish or write about Jewish subjects.

"They were Jewish, but the contributions weren't, with the exceptions of 'Milk and Honey' and 'Fiddler,'" Arnold explains. The research "made it clear that certainly up until the '60s or so, you weren't going to want that. All of them changed their names, because it was so important to assimilate."

Arnold attributes the overwhelming contribution of Jews to musical theater in part to the fact that "music has always been important in Jewish homes. I feel it's almost in our souls.

"We should all be really proud of that contribution."

So far, audience response to "From Berlin to Brooks" has been phenomenal, according to Arnold. "We got standing ovations all weekend," she says. "We're starting to think that we really will have to do a sequel."

"From Berlin to Brooks" plays 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. An additional matinee performance is also available at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 9.

Details

What: "From Berlin to Brooks"
Who: Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
When: Through April 10
Where: Playhouse on the Park, inside the Viad Corporate Center, 1850 N. Central Ave., Phoenix
Cost: $29-$32
Call: 602-264-0402

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AJTC celebrates Jewish Broadway composers

JENNIFER GOLDBERG Staff Writer

JENNIFER GOLDBERG
Staff Writer