Bonnie Weiss: Word Wizards:  Broadway’s Legendary Jewish Lyricists (Virtual on Zoom)

Explore the cultural, social, and economic forces that led to a remarkable phenomenon:  although the Jewish population in America has rarely exceeded 2%, over 80% of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley songwriters have been Jewish. How are Jewish religion and tradition and the qualities inherent in the Yiddish language reflected in the songs written by those lyricists, including Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Sheldon Harnick, and Alan Jay Lerner.

The course will include filmed performances by legendary entertainers on stage and screen and, occasionally, by the lyricists themselves.

4 sessions: June 1, 8, 15, 22

When you register you’ll receive a confirmation email that says “start date: June 1”. Rest assured, you are automatically registered for the full series. (You can only register for the full series, not individual sessions.)

Did you miss a session? Watch the videos!
Session 1—6/1; https://youtu.be/AaX47zJwA6A
Session 2—6/8: https://youtu.be/hYeFRbsd6ew (2 copyright-protected clips were removed)
Session 3—6/15: https://youtu.be/K8U9DtxC2Ic (1 clip was removed. It can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9awS1RRL4)
Session 4—6/22: https://youtu.be/_0VIy_X5edI