Last week, Variety reported that “more than 1,000 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s ‘The Zone of Interest’ Oscar speech.” The angry letter is a tight script for a real-life drama of defending Israel as it continues to methodically kill civilians no less precious than the signers’ own loved ones.

 A few ethical words from Glazer while accepting his award provoked outrage. He spoke of wanting to refute “Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people,” and he followed with a vital question: “Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

Wolf Mankowitz’s The Bespoke Overcoat is a theatrical adaptation of The Overcoat, a short story written in 1842 by the Ukrainian-born Nikolai Gogol, who along with Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Gorky is one of the most renowned contributors to Russian literature. The one-acter’s plot seems simple enough, except that it is rendered more complex with an otherworldly dimension Mankowitz derived from the original story (what would you expect from someone who wrote Dead Souls, also written in 1842?).

Scenic designer Rich Rose’s set deftly combines the locations delineated in the play (although there is no samovar, alas!), which takes place in London’s East End at some unspecified time in the early to mid-20th century. Fender (a cherubic Harry Herman) is an aging Russian émigré Jew and shipping clerk, who has worked decades for a family business at a desk located on stage right, in front of racks and racks of overcoats. Despite the expertise he has accumulated over the years, Fender has little pay and even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield to show for his lifelong labors.

Twelve important items to browse and share as you see fit to help end the
march of folly to a regional and global war.

ITEM 1: 21st March we celebrate Mothers' Day. For the record this was
founded by Anna Jarvis and Julia Ward Howe as  "Mothers' Day For Peace"
where mothers demanded an end to wars and stop sacrificing people on the
altar of men's racism, greed, and egos. Look it up.  I remember my own
mother who fought for peace and died peacefully last year remembering a
 massacred friend of hers (Hayah Balbisi from Deir Yassin killed April 1948
by terrorist Zionist militias).

ITEM 2: Update on the genocide. 32,000 confirmed civilians murdered in the
genocide on Gaza till now (and thousands more missing under the rubble).
Genocide by US sponsored Israeli junta military both by carpet bombings and
by starvation and thirst. The levels of misery and genocide in Gaza is part
and parcel of colonial tactics to destroy indegineous communities who stand
between the colonizers and their vision of transforming the land to a new

Felice Thomas

The Free Press Second Saturday Salon will present an Earth Day Birthday celebration and awards event for WGRN 91.9 FM community radio on Saturday, April 13, 2024. WGRN will honor it’s “Producer of the Year,” Felice Thomas, and “Volunteer of the Year,” Board member Joe Keehner.

The doors will open at 5:30 with light refreshments, socializing and an awards ceremony. It is followed by a 7:00 PM concert by folk musician Tom Neilson. It is free and open to the public.

The celebration and awards event will be held in Beach Hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 93 West Weisheimer Rd. in Columbus. For information, contact: spatzer1959@gmail.com.

WGRN is pleased to present the “Producer of the Year” award to Felice Thomas, one the first local producers to join the station. Her program has run on WGRN since 2016 and she has been a tremendous supporter of the community radio station.

Felice Thomas

The Free Press Second Saturday Salon will present an Earth Day Birthday celebration and awards event for WGRN 91.9 FM community radio on Saturday, April 13, 2024. WGRN will honor it’s “Producer of the Year,” Felice Thomas, and “Volunteer of the Year,” Board member Joe Keehner.

The doors will open at 5:30 with light refreshments, socializing and an awards ceremony. It is followed by a 7:00 PM concert by folk musician Tom Neilson. It is free and open to the public.

The celebration and awards event will be held in Beach Hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 93 West Weisheimer Rd. in Columbus. For information, contact: spatzer1959@gmail.com.

WGRN is pleased to present the “Producer of the Year” award to Felice Thomas, one the first local producers to join the station. Her program has run on WGRN since 2016 and she has been a tremendous supporter of the community radio station.

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