A funny thing happened to actor and singer Ari Axelrod, not at the forum but at Eastern Michigan University when he was invited to present an academic evening on the history of the Jewish influences on musical theater. In October 2018 he wrote a script that was so well received he decided to take the talk/concert on the road. New York City’s Birdland booked it and it launched in January 2019 but then COVID hit. Even so, he performed it in parking lots and in masked venues. Now this one-man musical has evolved, growing like Topsy, and has become the favorite thing Ari Axelrod wants to do.
You have the unique pleasure of enjoying an evening with him at the Westport Country Playhouse on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. when he presents “A Place For Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway.” That night you will learn the what and why and how Jews were so instrumental in creating magical success on the Great White Way, with tunes and stories you may already know or ones that will be a delightful surprise.
With the enormous shadow of the October 7th attack on Israel looming, Ari Axelrod knows the world needs this show more than ever. He recently returned from the Jewish homeland where he felt safer than in New York City, even with the trauma there and palpable pain and grief. All Israel is suffering from the loss of life of October 7th and the hostages who still need to be released, as well as the suffering in Gaza. He feels hearts have been hardened because of this barbarism from Hamas that hasn’t been experienced since the Holocaust.
To Axelrod, people have forgotten Jewish joy with so much oy! He finds it amazing to watch his audiences rediscover songs they’d forgotten and find new tunes heard for the first time. He considers his show “an umbrella offering a look at what Jews have accomplished,“ with a little “Fiddler on the Roof” to start. He only does what he personally loves and can relate to, with changes to the production as the world changes, including deaths of men like Stephen Sondheim, Sheldon Harnick and Hal Prince. He also provides nods to the spiritual and the liturgy, to help the audience acknowledge the origin of this song or that prayer.
For Axelrod, “Our history is not only about how we survived but also about how we thrived." Jewish Week awarded him with a “36 to Watch Award” recognizing him as one of 36 most influential Jews in the United States. When he first heard, he thought it was spam but now he is equal parts amazed and surprised by this honor and validation. Broadway World hailed his show as “genuinely one of the finest shows this writer has ever seen.”
For tickets ($40), call Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Route One, Westport at 203-227-4177 or online at boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org. ADL CT Regional Director Stacey Sobel will have a conversation with Ari Axelrod after the show about the inspiration for it and how to cope with the increased levels of hatred and antisemitism nationwide.
When you attend this show, you will be asked what, why and who and discover what causes Ari Axelrod to be so committed and connected to it for deeply personal reasons. He promises you will discover Jewish vitality and how Jews thrive, and the ways light, in the Sabbath candles, Havdalah candles, Chanukah candles and yahrzeit candles illuminate our way. He quotes composer Sheldon Harnick of “Fiddler on the Roof” fame, on its 50th anniversary, with three lines from the musical Ari finds especially moving, “ God would like us to be joyful even when our hearts lie panting on the floor. How much can we be joyful, when there’s really something to be joyful for! To life! To life! L’chaim." Come light your way and be joyful with Ari Axelrod and explore your musical roots and your theatrical wings.
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