JCC is the Place to Be - for the Arts!

For the 2008-2009 season, the JCC is planning a variety of cultural events that will delight everyone.

Jewish Bookfair Will Delight 'Bookworms' - The JCC's annual Jewish Bookfair is one of Central Ohio's largest and most popular literary events, and takes place each fall. The JCC's Jewish Bookfair features author appearances and book signings, events and activities, and a wide selection of books for sale either written by Jewish authors or about Jewish topics. The 2008 JCC Jewish Bookfair will be held Nov. 3-17 at the JCC. For more details, contact Bookfair Coordinator Melanie Butter at (614) 559-6233 or mbutter@columbusjcc.org.

Gallery Players Announce 60th Season Lineup - Gallery Players, the oldest community theater group in Central Ohio, has announced its line up of productions for its 60th season beginning this fall. To kick off the season, Gallery Players will present Women's Minyan by Niomi Ragen. Based on a true story, Women's Minyan tells how a mother of 12 from the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel flees her abusive husband and, for the transgression of leaving her family, is banned by a court of men from ever seeing her children again. In the play, the woman meets with an all-female "minyan" to confront the issue. (Traditionally, a minyan is a group of 10 or more male religious Jews required for authorized public prayer.) Hearing for the first time what led to her divorce, they explore the boundaries between religion and social convention, truth and falsehood and woman's true place in the religious world. Performance dates are Saturdays, Nov. 1, 8, 15 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, Nov. 2, 9, and 16 at 2:30 p.m., and Thursdays, Nov. 6 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. Audition dates for this production are set for Sunday, Sept. 7, from 1 to 3 p.m., and Monday, Sept. 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. Audition dates for the remainder of the season's productions will be announced in a future edition of CenterScene.

The winter Children's Production will be Joseph and Koza, with book, music and lyrics by Sean Hartley. Based on a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, this children's tale takes place in the wild and superstitious kingdom of Mazovia in ancient Poland. Like other royal maidens, Princess Koza faces danger - she's to be sacrificed to a river demon - but her rescuer isn't the usual sort. Instead of a prince charming, he's a nice young Jewish goldsmith. Joseph, the goldsmith, wanders into Mazovia, whose backward inhabitants fear Zla, an evil witch. When she chooses Koza for the sacrifice, even the king, Wilk, feels powerless. But Joseph convinces him and the rest of the townspeople that they are in control of their own demons, if only they will believe in themselves. (Last season, Gallery Players performed another of Singer's tales Mazel and Shlimazel, both plays adapted by Sean Hartley.) Performance dates are Saturdays, Dec. 13, 18 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays, Dec. 14 and 21 at 2:30 p.m.

In early 2009, Gallery Players will present Parade, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Written by Alfred Uhry and co-conceived by Harold Prince, Parade is the tragic true story of the trial and the lynching of a man wrongly accused of murder. In 1913, Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jew living in Georgia, is put on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher and a janitor's false testimony seal Leo's fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and, eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. Performance dates are Saturdays, Feb. 28 and March 7 and 14 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, March 1, 8, and 15 at 2:30 p.m., and Thursdays, March 5 and 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Rounding out Gallery Players' 60th season in Spring 2009 will be The Tale of the Allergist's Wife by Charles Busch. The play is the story of how one woman deals with her own mid-life crisis. Marjorie Taub, who lives comfortably with her doctor husband, Ira, in an expensively furnished condo near Zabar's, spends her days and evenings pursuing culture at various museums and the theatre. Unexpectedly invading her depression is flamboyant childhood friend Lee, who becomes entrenched in the Taub household as a seemingly permanent guest, not only drawing Marjorie out of her dark mood, but impacting her marriage as well. Performance dates are Saturdays, May 9, 16 and 23 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, May 10, 17, and 24 at 2:30 p.m., and Thursdays, May 14 and 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The plays will be produced by JCC Cultural Arts Director Jared Saltman, and all Gallery Players productions take place in the Roth-Resler Theater at the JCC. For ticketing prices and purchases, visit the Gallery Players website at www.jccgalleryplayers.org.

2009 Gala - As the JCC's most popular fundraising event, the Gala is held at the JCC - the place where funds from the Gala make such a huge difference in the lives of 120,000 people every year. Money raised during the Gala is vital to keeping the doors of the JCC open for educational, recreational and cultural programs for all ages. The 2009 Gala is being planned for Saturday, Feb. 7. This year's co-chairs, Carrie Madison and Connie Tuckerman, are planning an amazing, themed event that you won't want to miss.

5th Annual Columbus Jewish Film Festival - From March 7 through 12, 2009, the JCC will present six days of gripping drama, thought-provoking documentaries, and heartwarming comedies during its 5th Annual Columbus Jewish Film Festival. "The festival features international and independent films shown at a variety of venues throughout the city," said Emily Schuss, film festival director. "Because the films are produced outside of the U.S., they do not always adhere to the movie rating system as we know it. However, the majority of the films we show would be the equivalent of a PG-13 movie, with a few exceptions." Plans are underway now for the selection of the 2009 roster of films. Films to be shown, venues, and event details during the Columbus Jewish Film Festival will be available as they are determined on the film festival website at www.cjfilmfest.org.