Schedule of Events
The Athens-Clarke
County Library and the Congregation
Children of Israel are excited to present this traveling
exhibit to the community. Featuring lively and striking images from
Broadway musicals, classic films, posters and personal collections,
this museum-quality exhibit tells the story of Jewish songwriters and
their shaping of the American songbook. Come immerse yourself in the
melodies and learn more about beloved classic songs and the composers
behind them with these special events!
January
Wednesday, January 11, 2012: Exhibit Opens
Exhibit opens at Congregation Children of Israel, 115 Dudley
Drive, Athens. (706) 549-4192.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.: "How American Jews
Helped Shape and Preserve American Traditional Music; and their role in
the Folk Revival."
Featuring Musician/Artist/Folklorist Art Rosenbaum. Mr.
Rosenbaum will present a program of story and song. At the Lyndon House
Arts Center, 293 Hoyt Street, Athens. (706) 613-3623.
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.: Opening Reception for
Exhibit at Congregation Children of Israel
Featuring keyboardist Jim Sherman, who will present songs from
Broadway musicals featured in the exhibit. Sponsored by
Congregation Children of Israel Sisterhood.
February
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.: "Irving Berlin: An
American Original."
Presented by Dr. David Schiller, an ethnomusicologist at the
University of Georgia's Hodgson School of Music. At Congregation
Children of Israel.
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.: "An American in
Paris."
We will show the 1951 musical film starring Gene Kelly and
featuring music by George and Ira Gershwin. At Congregation Children of
Israel. Sponsored by the Athens Jewish Film Festival.
All programs are free and open to the public!
"A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs,
1910-1965" was developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization
dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture and ideas, and the
American Library Association Public Programs Office. The national tour
of the exhibit has been made possible by grants from the Charles H.
Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg
Foundation and an anonymous donor, with additional support from the
magazine Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life.
Photograph Credits:
- #1: Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Courtesy of Photofest.
The partnership of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart lasted for 24 years
and produced "The Lady is a Tramp," “Bewitched, Bothered, and
Bewildered," "Where or When," and "My Heart Stood Still," among other
jazz and cabaret standards.
- #2: Poster for Swing Time. Courtesy
of RKO Radio Pictures Inc./Photofest ©RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Photographer: John Miehle
Swing Time may be the finest of the Fred
Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies. "The Way You Look Tonight," from the
score by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, won the Academy Award for best
song in 1936.
- #3: Poster for Stormy Weather.
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Pictures/Photofest ©Twentieth Century
Fox Film Corporation
Lena Horne's performance of the title song by Harold Arlen and Ted
Koehler is a highlight of this 1943 movie from Twentieth Century Fox
based loosely on the career of the dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
- #4: Poster from Oklahoma! Courtesy
of Photofest.
Richard Rodgers' and Oscar Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
began its record-breaking run on Broadway in March 1943, when America
was at war on two fronts. Songs such as "Oh What a Beautiful Morning"
captured American audiences with their optimism and high spirits during
a challenging time.
