Now in its fourth year, The Jewish Museum’s popular SummerNights series will take place on Tuesday evenings during July and August beginning on July 10. In addition to its new exhibition, Marc Chagall: Early Works from Russian Collections, The Jewish Museum will feature TV Treasures from the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting, screenings of favorite classic TV shows from the collection of the Museum’s broadcast archive, and will present live music ranging from jazz to folk to world music from 5 pm to 9 pm. A diverse selection of summer drinks, pastries, salads and sandwiches, as well as wine and beer, will be available for purchase in Café Weissman, the Museum's gourmet kosher café. General admission to The Jewish Museum is pay what you wish from 5 pm to 9 pm on Tuesday evenings. There is a $2 surcharge for the Chagall exhibition.

Cynthia Sayer, an internationally acclaimed jazz banjoist, will perform on the opening night (July 10) of SummerNights. Different musicians will perform each Tuesday evening. In the Museum’s air-conditioned Scheuer Auditorium, celebrated television programs of the past will be continuously screened. This year’s highlights include newly acquired episodes of shows such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Your Show of Shows, and vintage Neil Diamond television specials. TV Treasures will focus on specific themes such as Bronx-situated comedy and television’s treatment of anti-Semitism. Returning by popular demand are screenings of Westerns (dubbed in a 2000 article in The New York Times as “Hebrew horse operas”), including episodes of Bonanza and Have Gun Will Travel. In conjunction with television clips featured in the Museum’s exhibition, Voice, Image, Gesture: Selections from The Jewish Museum’s Collection, 1945-2000, entire episodes of such favorites as thirtysomething, Square Pegs, Rhoda and Northern Exposure will be shown. Another program will present variety shows with Danny Kaye, Woody Allen, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Joan Rivers.

SummerNights visitors will be able to enjoy all of the Museum's current exhibitions, including Marc Chagall: Early Works from Russian Collections, featuring important early paintings and drawings by Chagall never before seen in the United States; Voice, Image, Gesture: Selections from The Jewish Museum’s Collection, 1945-2000 (on view through August 14), which offers new insights into the Museum’s renowned collection of fine art, ceremonial objects and broadcast media; and Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, The Jewish Museum’s two-floor permanent exhibition.

SUMMERNIGHTS AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM – Tuesday evenings, 5 – 9 pm

JULY 10

Music
Cynthia Sayer

Considered one of the world’s great jazz banjo players, Cynthia Sayer has performed with such artists as Woody Allen, Doc Cheatham, Bill Cosby and Marvin Hamlisch. Her work has been included in such films as The Purple Rose of Cairo and Sophie’s Choice.

Screenings
Life Cycle #1

“Prelude to a Bris,” thirtysomething, ABC, 1990
“The Bris,” Seinfeld, NBC, 1993
“Birthday Boy,” The Wonder Years, ABC, 1989
“Wake Up, We’re Getting Married,” Bridget Loves Bernie, ABC, 1972
“Kaddish for Uncle Manny,” Northern Exposure, CBS, 1993

JULY 17

Music:
Aywah - Basya Schechter and Raquy Danziger

Basya Schechter, the lead singer of the acclaimed band, Pharaoh’s Daughter, and Raquy Danziger will perform Middle Eastern and Jewish melodies featuring such instruments as oud, saz, zarb and dumbek.

Screenings
Anti-Semitism

“Some of My Best Friends are Rhoda,” The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS, 1972
“Archie is Branded,” All in the Family, CBS, 1973
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, syndicated, 1976
“The Fatalist,” Have Gun Will Travel, CBS, 1960
“Look to the Stars,” Bonanza, NBC, 1962

JULY 24

Music
Sonido Isleño

This Latin jazz ensemble blends traditional Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban music with contemporary jazz and rhythm and blues.

Screenings
The Variety Show

Your Show of Shows, NBC, 1950
Milton Berle’s Kraft Music Hall, NBC, 1959
The Danny Kaye Show, CBS, 1963-1967
The Ed Sullivan Show (featuring Woody Allen, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Myron Cohen, Joan Rivers, Sam Levenson, and Menashe Skulnik), CBS, 1948-1971

JULY 31

Music
Chris Rael and Deep Singh

Mr. Rael and Mr. Singh combine Indian tabla music (Hindustani classical music played on sitar and small hand drums) with Western musical traditions. They will also present music from Turkey and Africa, and offer their interpretations of traditional Jewish songs.

Screenings
Life Cycle #2

“For Real Men Only,” Cheers, 1989
“Muffy’s Bat Mitzvah,” Square Pegs, CBS, 1982
“Buddy Sorrell, Man and Boy,” The Dick Van Dyke Show, CBS, 1966
“Rhoda’s Wedding,” Rhoda, CBS, 1974
“Death in Brooklyn,” Brooklyn Bridge, CBS, 1991

AUGUST 7

Music
Kevin Blancq Duo

This trumpet/piano duo plays swing and popular standards from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Screenings
Flowers, Love Songs, Diamonds and Buttah

My Name is Barbra, CBS, 1965
The Neil Diamond Special: “I’m Glad You’re Here With Me Tonight”, NBC, 1977
Color Me Barbra , CBS, 1966
The Neil Diamond Special: “Love at the Greek”, NBC, 1977

AUGUST 14

Music
Andrea Wolper

Part of the New York jazz scene since 1993, Ms. Wolper is known for her fine vocal and interpretive abilities, innate feel for jazz singing, and soulful style. She has appeared in such venues as Birdland, Metronome, the Village Gate, Cleopatra’s Needle and the Garage.

Screenings
The Bronx

The Goldbergs , CBS, 1949
“I Won’t Go,” Car 54, Where Are You?, NBC, 1961
The Goldbergs, CBS, 1950
“See You at the Bar Mitzvah,” Car 54, Where Are You?, NBC, 1963
“You Can Go Home Again,” Rhoda, CBS, 1974
The Goldbergs, CBS, 1949
“Rhoda’s Sister Gets Married,” The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS, 1973


AUGUST 21

Music
The Spiritmen

Lee Moncrieffe and Zelaka Jenkins perform Afro-Caribbean rhythms featuring kora, guitar and percussion.

Screenings
Anti-Semitism (see July 17 for description)

SUMMERNIGHTS AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM PAGE FIVE

AUGUST 28

Music
John Train – Jon Houlon, Mike Brenner, Bill Fergusson, Steve Demarest, Jay Ansill

This Philadelphia-based quintet plays folk, blues and alternative country music featuring dobro, bass and mandolin.

Screenings
The Variety Show (see July 24 for description)

WNYC Radio is the media sponsor of SummerNights.

Public programs at The Jewish Museum are funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and a special appropriation obtained by New York State Senator Roy M. Goodman and administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Major annual support is provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The audio-visual system has been funded by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.

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5/18/01

The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan. For general information, the public may call 212.423.3200, or visit The Jewish Museum's Web site at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org.