Members of first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner’s synagogue call her a savior, Esther, a Jewish queen who steered her husband, a Persian king, away from annihilating Jews. The nickname for Trump, who converted to Judaism to marry Kushner who is Jewish, is detailed in a New York Magazine piece Monday by journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis. Since Madonna’s Hebrew name is Esther, maybe she and Ivanka/Esther can Rosh Hashanah together this year.
She showed up Saturday, and it was her first Garden appearance in 13 years. She sang most of her big hits, though nothing from “Yentl.” Ramin Satoodeh reports: ‘About 45 minutes into her show, Streisand paused to salute the high-profile Democrats in the house, including former New York Mayor David Dinkins, Al Sharpton, Congressman Jerry Nadler and Bill and Hillary Clinton, her longtime friends. Streisand praised the 42nd President for balancing the budget and rescuing the economy during his eight years in office. “But being a great President is about more than just dollars and cents,” Streisand noted. “A great President needs a sense of history, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the compassion to not let children be separated from their parents.’
Movies: A new “Fast and Furious” — already? The critical hit of the weekend is “Luce” — have fun! TV/Streaming: I’m still getting over the end of “The Big Bang Theory” so I’m catching up with “Young Sheldon.” Music: I’ve been lost in the mire of 70s pop hits, trying to figure out the meaning of cryptic lyrics like “I’m the Number One fan of the Man from Tennessee.” Huh? Books: “Furious Hours,” by Casey Cep, is a fascinating account of Harper Lee’s last serious stab at writing a book — about a true-crime saga in Alabama. Sports: Serious soccer returns this weekend with a non-league game between Man City and Liverpool. Finally: August — the season when many of Manhattan’s worst assholes go away for weeks: hooray!
Tonight, at 7:45, the lights of all Broadway theaters will be dimmed for Hal Prince. If anyone ever deserved this tribute it is he. I mean: 21 Tony awards! No one else is even close. (Fun fact: among the living, the person with the most Tonys is lighting designer Jules Fisher, with 9.) Good night, sweet (Hal) Prince, and flights of phantoms sing thee to thy rest!
The biographical film stars Robert De Niro as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a union leader and hitman for the Bufalino crime family, and Al Pacino as union activist Jimmy Hoffa.
Both actors appear at different ages spanning decades, which is accomplished with VFX and makeup. Details.
As I will say until I’m blue in the face, Rita Moreno is the only living EGOT winner (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) in competitive performance categories. Not Barbra, not Liza: only Rita. So it’s splendid news that Lin-Manuel Miranda and Norman Lear are teaming to produce a documentary about Miss Moreno.
