Oy Mendele (Adar/March)

Purim starts Thursday night March 24th, making this our last show before Purim. The Purim story is closely tied in with issues of political power, and the holiday is also known for Purimshpiels, the dramatics plays staged in may Jewish communities in conjuction with the holiday.

And so, for this episode of Oy Mendele!, we'll focus on politics and drama. On this episode you'll hear:

- Abby Levine, Bay Area Regional Director of Progressive Jewish Alliance. PJA just opened a local office in the Bay Area and Abby was kind of to tell us what they're up to and why.

- Amy Tobin, whose cabaret rock opera The Esther Show will be retelling the Purim story at Cafe Du Nord on March 18th. (She'll also be performing in in NYC and Boston). Amy's got a great voice, and this is a prime opportunity to listen to a taste of some distinctly adult oriented megillah mining.

- The Golem, direct from Prague, in a radio play by the students of East Bay Midrasha. This very special production was facilitated by Jewlia Eisenberg, who teaches Radical Jewish Culture at Midrasha.

- And speaking of Golems, the band Golem is at Cafe Du Nord on Sunday (6:30 and 9:30 shows, with 'Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad'). Their album 'Homesick Blues' is all about being nostalgic for places you've never been, and it's some of the funnest, loudest, sometimes sloppiest newish Klezmer I've heard in a while. I spoke with Annette Ezekiel, Golem's co-lead-singer/accordionist.