Last night, the Jewish festival of Purim began. That's the Jewish St. Patrick's Day, with lots of drinking and laughs. As usual, Temple Ner Tamid is celebrating with its annual Purimspiel, defined aptly by Wikipedia as a "comical, yet erudite" re-telling of the Queen Esther story.
This year's show, Saturday night at 7 pm, is entitled "Backarach to the Future," and stars Dana Jennings as Austin Powers and Fred Schnitzer as Dr. Evil, aka Haman.
The show is open to all and just a nominal donation is asked. But get there early, as the Purimspiel rivals the High Holidays for crowds. The temple is at 936 Broad St., Bloomfield. More information here.
(Photo by Michael Reitman.)
This is one of the GREAT annual entertainment experiences in Baristaville. And like Levy's Rye, you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy it. This year's show was very funny with inspired cameos from the rabbi and cantor. And the director's name is O'Reilly! Thanks to all the performers. Another great show.