Weinstein JCC announces 2023-2024 Arts + Ideas Season

The Weinstein JCC has announced a lineup of in-person and virtual events for the 2023-2024 season of Arts + Ideas, an annual celebration of arts, culture, ideas, and entertainment.

“This season features an exceptional lineup of in-person and virtual programs that bring culture and community together,” said Leslie McGuigan, Director of Cultural Arts for the Weinstein JCC. “From local fan favorites to exciting theatrical performances to interactive book/author discussions to thought-provoking art exhibits, there’s truly something for everyone to enjoy.”

Highlights of the 2023-2024 season of Arts + Ideas include:

• A season-opening performance of classic American songs by the ever-popular entertainer Scott Wichmann in October
• A performance in October by Voices in Peace, a newly-created inclusive community choir with a mission to enrich and inspire the collective Richmond and Jewish communities through music
• Seven performances of the Tony award-winning play Cabaret in December
• The Israeli Film Festival in January
• Six performances of actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith’s groundbreaking documentary Fires in the Mirror in February/March
• The Adolf-Adams JCC Forum presents An Evening with Dahlia Lithwick: The U.S. Supreme Court: What has happened and What’s to come in March
• A season-ending performance in May by the Latin Ballet of Virginia to honor Marcel Marceau, who used his art of mime to save Jewish children during the Holocaust

Arts + Ideas kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7pm with one of Central Virginia’s premier entertainers, Scott Wichmann, highlighting the enduring contributions of Jewish composers to the catalog of American popular music. The full 2023-2024 lineup is listed below:

• 7-Oct. 26 – Art Gallery Exhibit, Unfolding Nature: Dancing Through Waves by Shony Rivnay
• 12, 7pm – Scott Wichmann presents ‘People of the (Great American Song) Book’
• 29, 3pm – Voices in Peace: Songs of Love, Peace and Unity
• 2, 7pm – Art Gallery Opening & Reception: Perceptions of Beauty with artists Mona Dworkin and Sandhi Schimmel Gold (on exhibit through 1/4/24)
• 6, 12:30pm – VIRTUAL, Deborah Applegate, author of Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age
• 13, 12:30pm – VIRTUAL, Christopher C. Gorham, author of The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America
• 14, 10:30am – Rachel Beanland, author of The House is on Fire
• 15, 7pm – Brittany Mullins, author of Mostly Veggies: Make-Ahead Meals for Healthy Living
• 20, 12:30pm – VIRTUAL, Martin J. Siegel, author of Judgment and Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs
• 27, 12:30pm – VIRTUAL, Andrew Lawler, author of Under Jerusalem
• 7-17 – JFT presents Cabaret (opening Dec. 7 at 7:30pm; additional performances on Dec. 9, 13, 14, 16 at 7:30pm; Dec. 10 and 17 at 2pm; recommended for ages 12 and up)
• 11, 7pm – Art Gallery Opening and Reception, This is Us: Express Yourself (on exhibit through Feb. 29)
• 18, 7pm – Farewell Mister Haffmann, kickoff to the Israeli Film Festival
• 18-28 – Israeli Film Festival
• 28-March 10 – Fires in the Mirror (opening Feb. 28 at 7:30pm; additional performances March 2, 7, 9 at 7:30pm; March 3 and 10 at 2pm; recommended for ages 12 and up)
• March 7, 7pm – Art Gallery Opening & Reception, Left Brain/Right Brain-Intersection by Carl Patow, Deborah Pollack and other science-minded professionals who are also artists (on exhibit through May 2)
• March 14, 7:30pm – The Adolf-Adams JCC Forum presents An Evening with Dahlia Lithwick, The U.S. Supreme Court: What has happened and What’s to come
• May 2, 7pm – Marcel Marceau, A Silent Hero, Performance by the Latin Ballet of Virginia in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• May 9, 7pm – Art Gallery Opening & Reception, Bright Darkness by Israeli-American artist Anne Schlachter Dagan (on exhibit through June 28)

For more information about all Arts + Ideas programs and to purchase subscription or individual tickets, visit https://weinsteinjcc.org/programs/arts-and-ideas/.