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SPOTLIGHT | ACADEMY AWARDS
 When cinema's luminaries light up the Los Angeles firmament on Oscar night Sunday, the Star of David inevitably shines bright. Filmmakers of Jewish heritage have helped create some of America's most celebrated films, and the Academy Awards have acknowledged those contributions since the first Oscar ceremony in 1928, when Lewis Milestone was cited for his direction of "Two Arabian Nights." full story >
SPOTLIGHT | REVIEW
 Tune up the violin, arrange a look of mock sympathy on your face and settle in for a long self-examination delivered by the tormented main character in Charlie Varon's "The People's Violin," which the New Jewish Theatre opened last Thursday at the Little Theatre at Clayton High School. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | DANCE
 Corrie ten Boom's story of her family's experiences before and during their imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II was first told in a book, "The Hiding Place," published in 1971. Four years later, a film version with the same title was released. In 2006, Jiri Sebastian Voborsky, resident choreographer at Ballet Magnificat, adapted the story and interpreted it in dance. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | THEATER
 The stunning production of 'The Diary of Anne Frank," now showing on the main stage of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, is simply a must-see, even for those well-acquainted with the material. full story >
THEATER | Q&A
 There are many reasons why Steve Woolf, artistic director of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis wanted to direct "The Diary of Anne Frank," but perhaps the most compelling, he says, is that "it's a terrific story that needs to be told." full story >
SPOTLIGHT | VISIONS OF MODERNISM
 "Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman," which will be shown at the Webster Film Series this weekend, is a documentary about how one photographer's visually lush images of modern architecture helped popularize the style by showing the beauty in modern buildings. Director Eric Bricker, who grew up in St. Louis, created this fascinating and visually beautiful documentary about the work of architectural photographer Julius Shulman. You may not recognize Shulman's name but you will not forget his striking, dramatic photographs. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | LOCAL WRITER INCLUDED IN COLLECTION
 If B'nai B'rith International Jewish Monthly or Hadassah magazine were the periodicals of your Bubbe and Zayda, and Commentary and Moment are the magazines of your parents, then Heeb is the "zine" for your grandkids or even great-grandkids. The articles, cartoons and photographs adorning the pages of Heeb are not only amusing but deliberately push the envelope of outrage to the point that they might make the late, great Lenny Bruce blush. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | JAN. 9 PERFORMANCE AT TRADITIONAL
 Lynyrd Skynyrd was named after an unpopular gym teacher. REO Speedwagon came from the moniker of an old fire engine. The appellation Bad English was made famous due to a missed pool shot. If local band The Northwoods ever makes it as big as those groups, it will again show music's awesome power to immortalize mundane terms into household words. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | 'GELTY' PLEASURES
Granted, Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song" did give us Jews something to sing about besides waiting for dreidels to be "dry and ready." There also was the classic Saturday Night Live skit in which Hanukkah Harry (played by Jon Lovitz) pinch-hits for a flu-ridden Santa (the late Phil Hartman) by delivering toys on a pushcart pulled by three donkeys: Moische, Herschel and Schlomo. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | THEATER
 Brooklyn Boy, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies ( Dinner With Friends), has hit the boards of The New Jewish Theatre with a splendid production, featuring skilled direction by Bobby Miller and moving, superbly believable performances by the cast. Margulies, a native of Brooklyn himself, again demonstrates that he is a dramatist of the first rank. Brooklyn Boy invites comparison to some of the seemingly autobiographical works of playwright Neil Simon, filmmaker Woody Allen and perhaps especially the novelist Philip Roth, but deserves respect as a serious and memorable exploration of Jewish family, friendship and professional conflicts in its own right. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | 'FLAME AND CITRON'
 Unlike Quentin Taratino's wild, Nazi-killing romp, Inglourious Basterds, the Danish film Flame and Citron is a historically based thriller. However, the story does merit a superficial comparison: it tells the story of Resistance fighters whose overarching goal is the assassination of as many Nazis as possible. full story >
SPOTLIGHT | Q&A
 For a young director, Jason Reitman has an impressive resume: He directed Thank You for Smoking, Juno and the film that set St. Louis abuzz — Up in the Air. full story >
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