“How to Dance in Ohio” is an uplifting, original musical playing on Broadway only through February 11, 2024. That is disappointing news. Based on a documentary by the same name, the production has been a huge watershed moment for neurodivergent representation on Broadway, with seven openly autistic actors playing the show's seven autistic characters. Part of the production’s accessibility team includes Autistic Creative Consultant, Ava Xiao-Lin
Rigelhaupt, a Temple Beth-El congregant who has graced both the bima and the stage as a Bat Mitzvah and last year’s Vashti in the Purim spiel. Here are two links worth checking out. Mazel tov, Ava! Theatermania PBS Newshour Arts + Culture report/interview w/ Jeffrey Brown “A Prayer for the French Republic” by Josh Harmon (“Bad Jews”) has been extended through March 3, 2024 at The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Manhattan Theatre Club). Relevant, well-written and engaging, the play addresses the legacies of anti-semitism and follows five generations of a French Jewish family in its examination of history, family and the results of an age-old hatred. My attention was never deterred by the three-hour running time.
The lights of Broadway are beckoning but if you can’t get there, join us this Friday evening as we celebrate Shabbat Shirah (Sabbath of Song) with Songs of Healing. What a fitting antidote to the world’s anguish.
