Springtime for Nazi humor (Mel Brooks and The Producers) with Broadway Maven (David Benkof

There are only TWO more FREE inaugural issues of The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast, which after March 1 will be free only once a month. Inaugural subscribers by the March 8 debut of the weekly paid Blast will get 25% off FOREVER (that’s $27 instead of $36.) Press HERE.

This week, the Broadway Maven Looks at Mel Brooks and Roy Lichtenstein:

The Wednesday, February 17 "History of Mel Brooks Part One—and Two” class from 8 pm to 10 pm ET looks at the nonagenarian Jewish funnyman’s lifetime of creative output: his television work, films (especially his triumphs The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein) and both his musical comedies (The Producers and Young Frankenstein).

If you’re coming to the Mel Brooks class, you might watch the following video to prepare:

Thursday, February 18’s Roy Lichtenstein 101 class at Noon ET explores the paintings of the Pop Art pioneer, especially his images drawn from romance and war comic books. Famous for his Ben Day dots mimicking low-end printing, Lichtenstein helped tease out the ways high and low culture are different - and the same.

• My YouTube channel contains one Mel Brooks and two different Roy Lichtenstein videos.

• This Weekly Blast looks at the question of using Nazis for laughs; RANTS about how the final moments of the extraordinary Come From Away hurt the show’s own well-deserved impact; and links to two YouTube GEMS: a 13-minute “Crash Course” on Broadway book musicals and my own video explaining Roy Lichtenstein’s well-known but perplexing painting “Step-On Can With Leg.”

Since we’ll be discussing The Producers in the Mel Brooks class on Wednesday, I thought I’d raise again one of the two most recurring disputes in my classes (the other is racial casting): Is it OK to laugh at Nazis?

A highlight of the 1967 movie, of course, is the production number “Springtime for Hitler” (see above), an over-the-top extravaganza that would warm the heart of any black/white/red-blooded Teutonic show tune queen.

But is it OK for us to laugh at Nazis? The question can be rather nuanced and even “meta.”

FUNNY JEWS MARATHON announced; new tix added for Singer-Songwriters 

Great news! The very popular “Funny Jews” classes from Jewish Culture 101 are coming back for a four-part marathon on Wednesday, November 18. Tuition is $1 and the sign-up is at bitly.com/BenkofMarathon. Students can take one or all classes.

Schedule:

Noon ET MAD Magazine

1 pm ET Norman Lear’s Sitcoms

2 pm ET Funny Women

3 pm ET SNL’s Jews

Also, due to overwhelming demand I’ve added an additional 100 tickets to the completely full Peter, Paul, & Mary 101 (Monday, November 16) and Carole King 101 (Monday, November 23) classes over and above the 1,000 free tickets already distributed. The overflow tickets are $10 each.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were still FREE spots left in these upcoming Monday classes (Noon ET):

Monday, November 30 Billy Joel 101 (ALMOST FULL)

Monday, December 7 Rodgers & Hammerstein 101

Finally, my popular Greatest Hits series on Stephen Sondheim returns on Thursdays at Noon ET December 3, 10, and 17 (tuition for the series $1):

Thursday, December 3 Sondheim’s Lyrics

Thursday, December 10 West Side Story

Thursday, December 17 Into the Woods

Do the math!

There are 11 classes left in 2020, including two that are already full and two more that will probably fill up; and seven classes that require tuition. COVER ALL OF THAT with a $40 ALL-ACCESS Pass, available at bitly.com/Benkof2020

Note: students with an All-Access Pass get admitted to all classes even if they are otherwise full.

David Benkof's YouTube Channel

 BOB DYLAN 101, Mel Brooks revisited

Notification: Sign-ups for this Monday’s Bob Dylan 101 class and next Monday’s Simon & Garfunkel class are nearly 80 percent full. They will be capped at 1,000 free registrants, so sign up now.

At Noon ET on Monday, November 2, Jewish Culture 101 will launch its five-part Singer-Songwriter course with a close look at the early music of Bob Dylan. What were the messages of songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’”? (Hint: they’re probably not what you think.) Why did his music strike a chord with American youth in the early 1960s? In what ways is it still relevant today? Sign up: bitly.com/BenkofSingers

Response to the Singer-Songwriter series has been extremely strong, with more than two-thirds of the slots already taken. The classes will NOT be extended beyond the weekly 1,000-participant limit, so if you plan to come, please sign up today. Most or all classes will fill up. All are Mondays at Noon EST:

November 2 Bob Dylan 101

November 9 Simon & Garfunkel 101

November 16 Peter, Paul & Mary 101

November 23 Carole King 101

November 30 Billy Joel 101

CHECK OUT DAVID BENKOF'S FREE COURSE ON DISNEY'S JEWS & MORE

Did you know that the majority of Disney’s beloved musical repertoire was written by Jews? From Cinderella in 1950 through Teen Beach Movie 2 in 2015 and beyond, Disney’s movies, TV shows, and theme park attractions have consistently relied on Jewish composers and lyricists for such hits as:

• “Bippity Boppity Boo” (Cinderella);

• “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (Mary Poppins);

• “It’s a Small World” (theme park attraction);

• “Under the Sea” (The Little Mermaid);

• “Be Our Guest” (Beauty and the Beast);

• “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (Toy Story);

• “Stick to the Status Quo” (High School Musical);

• “That’s How You Know” (Enchanted); and

• “A Happy Beginning” (Once Upon a Time).

On Monday, October 19, at Noon EDT Jewish Culture 101 will present “Disney’s Jews,” a look at the songwriters whose music has formed the soundtrack of young and young-at-heart Americans for more than seven decades. Register: bitly.com/BenkofDisney 

That’s followed by “Rodgers & Hammerstein 101” on Monday, October 26, at Noon EDT (also FREE) and a FREE “Singer-Songwriter'“ series every Monday at Noon Eastern in November:

• Bob Dylan 101 November 2

• Simon & Garfunkel 101 November 9

• Peter, Paul, & Mary 101 November 16

• Carole King 101 November 23

• Billy Joel 101 November 30

On Thursday, November 5, at Noon EST, David will be teaching “Mel Brooks: A Second Look” which is a continuation of Mel Brooks 101, but with completely new clips and topics to discuss. Both veterans and newbies are welcome. Tuition: $1. Register: bitly.com/BenkofBrooks 

Do you know any young or aspiring theater professionals 18-25 who might like a ten-week seminar on the history of Broadway, with a $1,000 stipend upon completion of the course requirements? If so, tell them about me and send them to bitly.com/BroadwaySeminar

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here: bitly.com/BenkofChannel. You’ll find dozens of American Jewish culture videos, including this six-minute video about newly minted Nobel Laureate poet Louise Glück, which grew out of last week’s class on Jewish women poets; and this five-minute video about Jewish Voice Actors drawing on the previous week’s content.

And I’m booking Zoom talks for individual organizations, and eventually in-person classes. Here’s a demonstration of my in-person teaching and this one-minute intro shows how Jewish Culture 101 works.

JEWISH CULTURE 101: TOMORROW: Philip Roth's "Eli, the Fanatic" (FREE)

“Eli, the Fanatic” 

WHEN: Thursday September 10, noon
WHERE: Zoom
TUITION: FREE

Jewish Culture 101 will offer a FREE class examining Philip Roth’s wondrous short story “Eli, the Fanatic,”which tells of an acculturated Jewish lawyer, Eli Peck, who when charged with expelling a “fanatical” Hassidic yeshiva that has moved into his suburban community, begins to wonder who, exactly, is the fanatic. What’s the relationship between fervent religiosity and mental illness? The story has a lot to say about that topic, and it may surprise you. 

You can read the story to prepare for class here.

There will be two other free Thursday classes in September: my very popular Debbie Friedman 101 class, which more than 1,500 people have taken so far, will be offered September 17, and we’ll finish up our series of Roth short stories on September 24 with my favorite short story of any kind ever, “The Conversion of the Jews.” That gorgeously written and richly evocative tale shows Ozzie, a bar mitzvah boy whose rabbi cannot answer challenges to his theology, respond by forcing the rabbi to adopt Christianity. It’s delightful.

And for October,“Greatest Hits” Thursdays have been supercharged with “Jewish Culture Academy,” which includes two repeat classes per week.

Included in Jewish Culture Academy next month:

• West Side Story

• Cabaret

• Philip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus (two-part class)

• Norman Lear’s sitcoms

• MAD Magazine

• Mel Brooks 101

• Funny Women

• Sondheim’s Lyrics

• Women Photographers

TUITION: A monthly pass to all ten classes for October is $25 (less than $3 a class). 
Register here: bitly.com/BenkofOctober

Jewish Culture Academy is designed to accommodate the many requests I get for repeat classes. Without sufficient sign-ups, though, I will stop the Thursday “Greatest Hits” classes and only offer the Monday all-new classes.

Also new for October is the eight-week Judaism 101 course set for Wednesdays at Noon EDT, starting October 7. Every week, we’ll explore the most important knowledge and wisdom needed to understand Jewish history, life cycle, calendar, Israel, values, Hebrew, theology, Bible, and the Jewish home. All are welcome—Jews with no background; Jews with minimal or moderate Jewish educations; and non-Jews. Limited to 40 participants

TUITION:  $125 for eight sessions.
Register: bitly.com/Benkof101

Here’s the upcoming calendar, with links (note the newly announced “Voice Actors” class on October 5):

Thursday, September 10, Philip Roth’s “Eli, the Fanatic” (Noon EDT)

Monday, September 14, The Holocaust and American Jewish Culture (Noon EDT)

Thursday, September 17, Debbie Friedman 101 (Noon EDT)

Monday, September 21, Arthur Miller 101 (Noon EDT)

Thursday, September 24, Philip Roth’s “The Conversion of the Jews” (Noon EDT)

Monday, September 28, NO CLASS (YOM KIPPUR)

Thursday, October 1, Jewish Culture Academy: West Side Story (Noon EDT) and Cabaret (1 pm EDT)

Monday, October 5, Voice Actors (Noon EDT)

Wednesday, October 7, Judaism 101 course begins (Noon EDT)

Thursday, October 8, Jewish Culture Academy: Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth double class (Noon EDT)

Thursday, October 15, Jewish Culture Academy: Norman Lear’s sitcoms (Noon EDT) and MAD Magazine(1 pm EDT)

Thursday, October 22: Jewish Culture Academy: Mel Brooks 101 (Noon EDT) and Funny Women (1 pm EDT)

Thursday, October 29: Jewish Culture Academy: Sondheim’s Lyrics (Noon EDT) and Women Photographers (1 pm EDT)

 Sign up for David Benkof's Jewish Culture 101 Free online Classes

bitly.com/BenkofClasses