“Fiddler on the Roof” and “Yentl” are musical productions that have an obvious Jewish theme; but there are a number of productions on Broadway that were originally stories from Jewish and Yiddish culture.
Ari Axelrod is releasing an album on January 17 titled “A Place for Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway”.
Among the songs on the album is “Bring Him Home” from “Les Misérables”…but with a twist; Axelrod performs the song in Hebrew and English.
Axelrod spoke on creating the album saying, “in recording ‘Bring Him Home,’ I felt it was a powerful choice to take a song that is so beloved and do it in Hebrew to allow the listener to hear it in a new way. Then, while we were in the recording studio, I had an idea I wanted to try that felt very personal, very powerful, and very of the moment. Ultimately, we decided to incorporate that idea into the album. I think it brings new meaning to a beloved classic.”
Backed by a 13-piece orchestra with arrangements by Mike Stapleton and Larry Yurman, the album includes works by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, Mary Rodgers, Jason Robert Brown, and Adam Guettel.
Axelrod is celebrating the album’s release with a performance on January 18 at 54 Below.
The tracklisting for “A Place for Us”:
“Migratory V”
“Hatikvah” – Israeli national anthem
“Hope”
“Everybody Says Don’t”
“You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” / “Papirosn”
“So in Love”
“Shalom” / “Milk and Honey” / “I Will Follow You”
“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” / “Children Will Listen”
“Some Enchanted Evening”
“Shy”
“Corner of the Sky”
“God Knows Where”
“Miracle of Miracles”
“It Ain’t Necessarily So”
“Lost in the Stars”
“Cool”
“Somewhere”
“Bring Him Home”
“Adrift on a Star” / “Silent Spring”